What stands out worked out from the figures below

Charlotte has the most affordable homes ($141k median).

Amherst has the most people working from home (11%).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Charlotte	Amherst
People
Population	377Lowest	424Highest
Median age	48.6±3.1Lowest 8% above ME	50.9±9.9Highest 14% above ME
	Amherst and Charlotte are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	21.8%±10.4Highest ME: 18.1%	19.3%±8.6Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Charlotte and Amherst are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	21.8%±7.7Lowest ME: 22.4%	24.3%±2.9Highest ME: 22.4%
	Amherst and Charlotte are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	28.8%Lowest ME: 36.2%	31.3%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.2%±2.4Highest ME: 5.8%	3.8%±2.5Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Charlotte and Amherst are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$67,813±$18kLowest 9% below ME	$72,656±$12kHighest about the ME average
	Amherst and Charlotte are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$140,800±$30kLowest 53% below ME	$210,200±$38kHighest 29% below ME
Property taxmedian, yearly	$2,000Highest 34% below ME	$1,527Lowest 50% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	—	50%±100 ME: 48.4%
Below poverty line	22.8%Highest ME: 10.7%	6.1%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	98.2%Highest ME: 74.3%	96.9%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1978Lowest 1 yr newer than ME	1982Highest 5 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minLowest about the ME average	27 minHighest 11% above ME
Work from home	2%±2.6Lowest ME: 15.9%	11%±5.5Highest ME: 15.9%
On TownTapestry
Old photos in Our Story	None yet	None yet

ME average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.