What stands out worked out from the figures below

Charlotte has the shortest commute (24 min average).

Cooper has the most people working from home (13.5%).

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	Cooper
People
Population	377Highest	157Lowest
Median age	48.6±3.1Highest 8% above ME	46.5±9.1Lowest 4% above ME
	Charlotte and Cooper 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%	16.6%±17Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Charlotte and Cooper 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%	22.9%±14Highest ME: 22.4%
	Cooper 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%Highest ME: 36.2%	22.2%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.2%±2.4Lowest ME: 5.8%	4.5%±9.8Highest ME: 5.8%
	Cooper and Charlotte are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$67,813±$18kHighest 9% below ME	$48,750±$15kLowest 35% below ME
	Charlotte and Cooper 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	$212,500±$66kHighest 28% below ME
	Cooper and Charlotte are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$2,000Highest 34% below ME	$1,929Lowest 36% below ME
Below poverty line	22.8%Highest ME: 10.7%	20.4%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	98.2%Highest ME: 74.3%	95%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1978Highest 1 yr newer than ME	1977Lowest same as ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minLowest about the ME average	44 minHighest 78% above ME
Work from home	2%±2.6Lowest ME: 15.9%	13.5%±11Highest ME: 15.9%
	Cooper and Charlotte are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
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.