Opportunity and a new life draw immigrants to Charlotte. What we should know about them
The Charlotte area is growing rapidly, with an estimated 104 people moving to the region every day.
Among the people relocating to the Queen City are immigrants. According to the latest census data, more than 15% of Mecklenburg County residents were born outside of the U.S.
Here is a look at the city’s immigration population, their contributions to the demographic makeup of Charlotte and some of the reasons why they’ve made the area home.
Which countries are immigrants coming from?
According to estimates from the latest American Community Survey conducted by the census bureau in 2019, nearly 1 in 3 foreign-born people who live in the Charlotte metropolitan area were born in either Mexico or India.
Here’s a breakdown of the countries where immigrants in the Charlotte area were born:
Mexico: 50,988
India: 31,727
Honduras: 15,988
El Salvador: 11,221
China: 10,609
Vietnam: 9,703
Dominican Republic: 8,095
Guatemala: 7,692
Ecuador: 5,858
Canada: 5,743
Why are immigrants attracted to Charlotte?
Some immigrants come to Charlotte for job opportunities, and to find a sense of community in a foreign country, according to Emily Yaffe, the immigrant integration specialist for the City of Charlotte.
In 2019, foreign-born workers made up 17.4% of the labor force, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show.
“When Bank of America brought their headquarters here, that brought a large number of immigrants,” Yaffe said, adding that people outside of the U.S. are able to come to Charlotte with work visas. “A lot of people move here because our tech economy and our banking economy needs them.”
Immigrants from Afghanistan recently relocated to Charlotte to escape violence and political upheaval in the Middle East. While being in the U.S. offers a sense of comfort, many Afghan refugees have had trouble finding reliable housing in the area.
“Refugee resettlement agencies have been really challenged with this lately,” said Yaffe. “When they receive refugees they need to identify housing for them to move into that they can keep sustainably as they begin to work in Charlotte. That used to be a much simpler process four years ago for them.”
What challenges do immigrants in Charlotte face?
Aspiring homeowners, including those who were not born in the U.S., have been impacted by the lack of affordable housing in Charlotte, Yaffe said.
In 2019, immigrant households had a median household income of $63,550, compared to $66,040 for native-born households.
“It’s really hard to find housing within certain price ranges, and that impacts immigrants and refugees as well,” Yaffe said.
Language barriers can also hinder access to government services and learning opportunities for students, since many areas of the U.S. are not known for being multilingual.
In 2019, more than 32,000 students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools came from homes where Spanish is spoken, accounting for more than 70% of all “language minority” students in the district. Other common languages spoken in CMS homes included Vietnamese, Arabic and French.
English language classes are offered at Central Piedmont Community College and some local churches, Yaffe said, but finding the time between jobs and caring for children to learn another language can be difficult.
What you can do to help
There are a number of Charlotte-based organizations like the Latin American Coalition, Refugee Support Services and Camino Health Center that provide support services to foreign-born citizens, Yaffe said. Many of them also welcome volunteers on a regular basis.
“You can easily find an organization that’s looking for volunteer support,” Yaffe said.
Other organizations such as the Carolina Refugee Resettlement Agency and Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte accept cash donations year-round to help support immigrant families.
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 6:49 PM.
