Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia or Queen City and The ATL
Two of the biggest cities in the Southern United States, just four hours apart on
Interstate 85.
In fact, the rivalry between the NFL teams of both cities, the Carolina Panthers and
Atlanta Falcons, is even called the “I-85 Rivalry.”
But it’s not just a football rivalry.
Plenty of folks from both cities talk trash about each other.
Atlanta has more than twice as many residents.
But both have a similar population density.
Both have about the same median age. (A-33.5, C-33.9)
Both have a lot of African American residents, although Atlanta has more (A-54%, C-35%).
Both have similar climates.
A humid subtropical climate, to be specific.
Both get a lot of rain each year, but Atlanta gets more (A- 52 in, C- 43 in).
Both don’t get much snow, but since it gets slightly colder in the winter in Charlotte
due to it being further north, it does get more.
Mostly, though, both are known for somewhat mild winters, which is a big reason why so
many folks have been moving to both in recent decades.
Speaking of which, Atlanta was the 8th-fastest growing city last year and
Charlotte was the 9th.
Both are far enough inland that they rarely get hit by hurricanes.
Both have a bike sharing system.
Both are known for great barbecue.
Both call any soft drink not soda or pop but Coke.
Ah, but it’s Atlanta that is home to the world headquarters of Coca-Cola, the largest
Coke company in the world.
Er, I mean, the largest soft drink company in the world.
Atlanta has lots of huge companies headquartered there, actually, like UPS, Delta, Newell Rubbermaid,
and Home Depot.
Oh yeah?
Well Charlotte has Bank of America, Honeywell, Duke Energy, Brighthouse Financial, and Lowe’s.
Wait, Atlanta has Home Depot and Charlotte has Lowe’s?
This is getting good.
Major industries in Atlanta include financial services, telecommunications, and technology,
although the city is also known for its TV and film industry.
Due to Georgia’s generous tax credits, producers have filmed A LOT of movies and TV shows in
the city in recent years.
Hollywood South represent.
Major industries in Charlotte also include financial services, but also energy, and automotive
...particularly motorsports.
Wait...what?
Motorsports?
Heck yeah.
And Charlotte has a growing TV and film industry presence, too.
But yeah, let’s just focus on differences for the rest of the video.
First of all, Atlanta is Georgia’s state capital.
Charlotte is closer to the ocean (A- 267 miles/430km, C-165 miles/266km).
But Atlanta is closer to the Appalachian Mountains, and therefore is much hillier
and at a higher elevation.
More Atlantans than Charlotteans have at least a bachelor’s degree or higher. (A-37.9%, C-35.5%)
Slightly more Charlotteans were born outside of the United States.
More people in Charlotte identify as religious. (A- 48.4%, C- 54.1%)
Charlotte has less crime.
Atlanta has a lot more single folks living it up.
While both have decent public transit, Atlanta predictably has a much larger and better system.
The Charlotte Area Transit System, with the awesome abbreviation CATS, carries more than
83,000 passengers each day.
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, aka MARTA, carries more than 433,000 passengers
each day.
Traffic is worse in Atlanta, and the commute time is a little longer there, too.
Charlotte has been around longer.
Before European arrival, the Creek people lived in the area that is now Atlanta, and
the Catawba people lived in the area that is now Charlotte.
Most of the Catawba people eventually died from smallpox, however, and Europeans took
their place beginning in 1755 and officially incorporating Charlotte in 1768.
Remember how I said Charlotte was nicknamed Queen City way back at the beginning of the video?
Well that’s because King George III, who ruled over it, named it after his wife, the
Queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Aw how sweet.
The first settlers of Charlotte were mostly Scots-Irish Presbyterians, Ulster-Scots, and Germans.
Most of Charlotte’s residents, however, ended up turning against the British during
the American War of Independence.
After suffering heavy losses in the Battle of Charlotte of 1780, the British General
Charles Cornwallis wrote in his diary that Charlotte was a “hornet’s nest of rebellion.”
Ever since, Charlotteans have embraced the hornet as a symbol of their city.
In 1799, Charlotte was home to the new country’s first gold rush.
And it wasn’t until 38 years after this, that the Georgia Assembly established a railroad
that went south from Chattanooga.
At the end of the railroad, a small settlement sprung up unoriginally named Terminus.
Later residents renamed it Thrasherville, and even later they renamed it Marthasville,
and renamed it one more time...Atlanta, on December 29, 1847.
It grew quickly as a transportation hub over the next couple decades.
By the American Civil War, Atlanta was already much larger than Charlotte.
Speaking of the Civil War, yeah...Atlanta went through some tough times during it, you
could say.
Several major battles took place in or near the city, and the Union Army led a four-month
long siege of it in 1864.
And then famously, the Burning of Atlanta….both the Confederate Army and the Union Army...but
mostly just General William Tecumseh Sherman and the Union Army, destroyed more than 3,000
buildings in Atlanta.
But Atlanta residents rebuilt, and by 1880 it was Georgia’s biggest city.
Folks like Henry Grady, the editor of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper, were promoting
Atlanta as a city of the “New South,” that would be less dependent on farming and
more about a modern economy.
Charlotte, meanwhile, had a boom as a major cotton processing center and railroad hub,
becoming North Carolina’s biggest city by 1910.
During the first half of the 1900s, both cities grew quickly, but...being in the South….still
lagged behind the rest of the country….and had racial segregation.
Both cities later became hot spots for the Civil Rights Movement and set great examples
for the rest of the South with how they enforced integration.
Oh, and Atlanta was the home of THE Martin Luther King, Jr.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Charlotte’s banking industry became one of the biggest and most
revolutionary in the country.
Atlanta’s economy was a bit more diverse.
But it really wasn’t until the last three decades that both cities became dominant cities
in the country.
Check this out.
In 1990, the population of the Atlanta metro was 2.9 million and the population of the
Charlotte metro was 1.1 million.
Today the Atlanta metro is home to almost 6 million people, and the Charlotte metro
is home to 2.6 million people.
While Forbes Magazine says both cities have promising futures, it argues Charlotte is
a better city for business and careers.
However, Atlanta does have a lower unemployment rate (A-2.9%, C-3.5%) and a higher median
household income (A-65.345, C-60,764) But yeah, the cost of living is higher in Atlanta,
mostly due to housing.
Also, the poverty rate is much higher in Atlanta. (A-22.40%, C-14.90%)
But, Atlanta simply has more fun stuff to do.
Major attractions there include The Center for Civil and Human Rights, The Georgia Aquarium,
Piedmont Park, the World of Coca-Cola, and Centennial Olympic Park.
Major attractions in Charlotte include Freedom Park, the U.S. National Whitewater Center
Mint Museum Uptown, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Around 75% of all NASCAR teams in the world are headquartered in or near Charlotte.
Charlotte doesn’t have CNN.
Atlanta does.
Atlanta has hosted the Olympics, which I actually attended back in 1996.
Charlotte has not.
Earlier I mentioned the Falcons-Panthers rivalry, but there’s also the NBA rivalry of the
Hornets and Hawks.
"hornet's nest of rebellion"
And NOW you understand why they’re called the Hornets.
And after Charlotte gets their new MLS team, there will probably be yet another rivalry.
That said, for Major League Baseball, Atlanta has the Braves but Charlotte surprisingly
doesn’t have a team.
Both the air quality and water quality is much better in Charlotte.
Ah, but Atlanta has more trees.
In fact, it’s the most heavily forested city in the country.
But there are no peach trees, even though lots of things are named after peach trees there
Atlanta has the world’s largest drive-in restaurant.
It also has the world’s busiest airport.
Charlotte is the only major city in the country served by two nuclear plants.
Atlanta has a better music scene, in my opinion.
And, a more impressive skyline.
It has 357 buildings that are at least 12 floors or higher, compared with just 100 in
Charlotte.
What’s that Charlotte, you got the Bank of America Corporate Center?
Aw, that’s cute.
Atlanta has the Bank of America Plaza.
Oh snap.
Charlotte is just a better planned city.
Sure, it’s a bit sprawling, like most American cities, but Atlanta’s suburban sprawl is
crazier.
But here’s a crazy prediction for ya.
Some researchers say that by 2060, the two cities will merge.
Yep, the sprawl will creep all the way along Interstate 85 connecting the two cities.
Some even call this new megapolis Char-lanta.
So when will the rivalry end?
WHEN THE TWO CITIES MERGE.
MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
So which is better?
Charlotte or Atlanta?
And if you’re actually from one of the two cities, I especially want to hear from you
in the comments.
Speaking of which, this video was requested by a Patreon supporter from Atlanta, Eric
B. Wolman.
Thanks for the suggestion, Eric, and for your continued support on Patreon.
Remember- if you want your Comparison suggestion made into a video, donate on Patreon.
Thanks for watching folks!