Three Charlotte Suburbs Among The Best In The Nation

I was talking to my nephew today on the occasion of his birthday.  He was telling me about his apartment in downtown Austin and how much he loves being there...just being in the mix of the city.  I thought to myself how different we are in that respect.  I was raised in a suburb of Houston, Texas (about 20 miles NW of the city) and no matter where I've stayed as an adult, I've ALWAYS been in the 'burbs.  We've been in Charlotte for almost 17 years now.  We've lived in Indian Trail, Monroe, and now in the Ft. Mill/Indian Land area.  We moved to our current place a year ago and now, we look like geniuses.  You see, according to a recent Smart Asset study, we're now living in the 18th BEST suburb in the nation!

18. Fort Mill, South Carolina
Average distance to Charlotte by car: 19 miles (30 minutes)
Jobs score: 97.68
Affordability score: 55.6
Livability score: 65.27

Okay, so what does all this mean? Here's the methodology. SmartAsset looked at specific data for close to 500 suburbs that are within 15 minutes-1 hour by car of a large city (population of 250k or more). The ranking was determined by various metrics in three categories: jobs, affordability and livability. In addition to Ft. Mill, two other suburbs of the QC landed inside the top 100.

40. Concord, North Carolina
Average distance to Charlotte by car: 25 miles (35 minutes)
Jobs score: 80.83
Affordability score: 52.91
Livability score: 73.88

92. Davidson, North Carolina
Average distance to Charlotte by car: 22 miles (35 minutes)
Jobs score: 75.77
Affordability score: 48.51
Livability score: 65.9

Other cities in and around the Queen City that found their way inside the top 500 include:  Tega Cay, SC, (No. 130), Matthews, NC, (No. 200), Huntersville, NC, (No. 227), Rock Hill, SC, (No. 237), Mooresville, NC, (No. 306), Pineville, NC, (No. 369), Conover, NC, (No. 386), Gastonia, NC, (No. 398), Gaffney, SC, (No. 410), Hickory, NC, (No. 418).