Which communities in Charlotte are located the farthest from grocery stores?
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North of Charlotte Douglas International Airport, on either side of Brookshire Boulevard, is a small pocket of Charlotte with a distinction unfamiliar to most residents of the city.
Here, where homes are flanked by industrial and commercials developments and patches of woods, is one of the few places in Charlotte where residents live more than 2 miles from the nearest grocery store, according to a Charlotte Observer analysis of locations for more than 180 grocery and superstores.
This area, near where Oakdale Road and Fred D. Alexander Boulevard intersect Brookshire Boulevard, is the largest of the areas that sit at least 2 miles from a store, data show. It measures about 1.5 square miles.
The others are slivers of communities. One sits just east of the airport.
Another is located across the city, east of Reedy Creek Nature Preserve and south of The Plaza, data show.
Here is more information about these areas:
▪ North of the airport, near Brookshire Boulevard: More than half of the residents here are Black. Roughly 10% are Hispanic. And depending on the community, the median household income ranges from $47,000 to $65,000.
▪ East of the airport: Because only portions of these communities fall outside of 2 miles from the nearest grocery store, it’s difficult to draw sweeping conclusions about the makeup of this area. Some communities’ population could be as high as three-quarters Black, according to census data. Income could be as high as $74,000.
▪ East Charlotte near Reedy Creek Nature Preserve: This area is even smaller and more difficult to assign numbers to. But the block groups – the community-size boundaries used by the census to make estimates – show the area in general is between 40% and 50% Black. The median household income for the area is about $66,000.
This story was originally published June 29, 2023 at 6:00 AM.