These North Carolina towns rank among the best lakefront spots in the US
If you’re dreaming of a lakefront lifestyle, two North Carolina towns are among the best places in the United States to settle down, a new report finds.
Cornelius and Davidson rank in the top 10 on a list of U.S. communities offering the best living conditions near the water, according to results published Wednesday from personal finance website WalletHub.
The towns are roughly 20 miles north of Charlotte and lie along Lake Norman, which spans more than 500 miles of shoreline and is the largest human-made lake in North Carolina, according to the Visit N.C. website.
The two Lake Norman towns were named top waterfront spots after WalletHub said it examined 191 U.S. cities, including those near oceans and lakes. Each city received scores in six categories: costs, weather, safety, economic opportunities, quality of life, and health and education.
Among the North Carolina towns on the list, Cornelius came out on top, earning a No. 5 spot overall.
The town is known for Ramsey Creek Park, which includes a public swimming beach that Mecklenburg County in May said was closing due to a lifeguard shortage. A county representative didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for an update about the closure on Wednesday.
In the WalletHub report, Cornelius was named the most affordable among the 46 lakefront cities in the study. It also received nods for its pleasant weather and economy, a category that weighed population growth, unemployment, bankruptcy and poverty rates.
Davidson came just behind at No. 6 in the study, also earning among the top scores for costs, weather and economic opportunities. It edged out Cornelius in the health and education category, a measure of local schools, hospitals and the environment.
It’s not the first time a North Carolina city has earned national recognition as a top place to call home.
In October, Charlotte was named among the most desirable cities for millennials looking to rent. The report from RentCafé examined apartment applications to determine where people ages 24 to 39 want to live, McClatchy News reported.
But a report published in March found the Charlotte metropolitan area lacked enough affordable places to rent as of 2019. The region had “38 affordable and available units for every 100 households earning up to 30% of the area median income,” and challenges were expected to mount due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Charlotte Observer reported.
In the most recent study, the only other North Carolina city to make it into WalletHub’s lakefront rankings was Hope Mills at No. 45.
Overall, the top lakeside town was Traverse City, Michigan. The lowest spot on the list went to Morgan City, Louisiana, roughly 85 miles southwest of New Orleans.
