County food-access profile · North Carolina
Mecklenburg County, NC
Distance to a supermarket is a real obstacle for a meaningful share of Mecklenburg County residents. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert here and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).
- 21.3%
- low-access pop.
- 19
- food-desert tracts
- 8.7%
- on SNAP
- 1.2M
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
21.3% of Mecklenburg County residents live in a low-access area, and 19 of its 231 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 93
- low-access tracts
- 50K
- food-desert residents
- 5.8%
- households, no vehicle
- 10.4%
- below poverty line
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA, 1-and-10-mile measure).
USDA data puts Mecklenburg County's low-access share at 21.3%, above the national share. 93 of the county's 231 census tracts are classified low-access, meaning residents there live far from a supermarket, an area covering about 195,936 people. 19 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 50,345 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How Mecklenburg County compares nationally
Relative to the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA food-access data, Mecklenburg County's 21.3% low-access share is elevated, higher than 50% of them and ranked #1,581 most-affected nationwide.
Mecklenburg County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 231 census tracts in Mecklenburg County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Mecklenburg County vs. other North Carolina counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in North Carolina
- Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg County, NC
21.3 % low-access
- Alamance
Alamance County, NC
25 % low-access
- Alexander
Alexander County, NC
20.4 % low-access
- Alleghany 4.3
Alleghany County, NC
4.3 % low-access
- Anson 8.4
Anson County, NC
8.4 % low-access
- Ashe
Ashe County, NC
22.2 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 231 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 919,628 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 93 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 19 |
| Low-Access Population | 195,936 |
| Low-Access Share | 21.3%near the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 50,345 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 1,154,681 |
| Median Household Income | $87,005 |
| Poverty Rate | 10.4%below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 40,445 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 8.7%below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 5.8%below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 1.4% |
About 8.7% of Mecklenburg County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 21.3% of residents are low-access, above the national share for U.S. counties.
- 8.7% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 40,445 households here.
- 5.8% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 19 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Mecklenburg County
above the national share
19 of Mecklenburg County's 231 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 8.2% of all its tracts.
A further 74 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 93.
An estimated 195,936 residents, roughly 21.3% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 50,345 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 138 tracts (59.7%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Mecklenburg County
Mecklenburg County has 693 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 2 store categories. Combination Grocery/Other lead with 161 locations (23% of the total), followed by convenience store.
Combination Grocery/Other · 161
- a & a international food, charlotte
- akachi african international food market, charlotte
- asian & shwe myanmar market, charlotte
- balageru mart, charlotte
- bosna market, charlotte
- cvs 10574, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 1674, huntersville
- cvs pharmacy 187, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 2314, cornelius
- cvs pharmacy 2357, huntersville
- cvs pharmacy 2560, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 2563, huntersville
- cvs pharmacy 2571, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 2772, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 3319, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 3526, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 4295, matthews
- cvs pharmacy 5264, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 5583, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 6402, davidson
- cvs pharmacy 6518, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 7157, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 7213, matthews
- cvs pharmacy 7407, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 7492, matthews
- cvs pharmacy 7536, mint hill
- cvs pharmacy 7941, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 8260, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 2559, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 2562, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 3185, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 3540, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 3896, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 5445, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 7089, charlotte
- cvs pharmacy 7688, charlotte
- cvs/pharmacy 1632, charlotte
- cvs/pharmacy 2561, charlotte
- central fish market, charlotte
- dollar general 11106, charlotte
- dollar general 1186, mint hill
- dollar general 18687, charlotte
- dollar general 3851, charlotte
- dollar general 4249, charlotte
- dollar general 7239, mint hill
- dollar general 9418, pineville
- dollar tree 0808, charlotte
- dollar tree 1534, charlotte
- dollar tree 1859, charlotte
- dollartree 9006, charlotte
- dollartree 9950, matthews
- dt plus 9185, charlotte
- dollar general 11951, charlotte
- dollar general 12207, charlotte
- dollar general 12214, charlotte
- dollar general 12834, charlotte
- dollar general 13548, charlotte
- dollar general 13672, charlotte
- dollar general 23206, matthews
- dollar general 24804, charlotte
- dollar general 25253, huntersville
- dollar general 25692, charlotte
- dollar general 821, charlotte
- dollar tree 0238, charlotte
- dollar tree 208, charlotte
- dollar tree 2255, charlotte
- dollar tree 2280, matthews
- dollar tree 229, charlotte
- dollar tree 2316, charlotte
- dollar tree 3611, charlotte
- dollar tree 4259, charlotte
- dollar tree 4609, charlotte
- dollar tree 4661, cornelius
- dollar tree 5134, charlotte
- dollar tree 5722, mint hill
- dollar tree 5826, charlotte
- dollar tree 6358, charlotte
- dollar tree 6865, charlotte
- dollar tree 6985, charlotte
- dollar tree 7703, charlotte
- dollar tree 8546, charlotte
- family dollar 10077, charlotte
- family dollar 10257, charlotte
- family dollar 11330, charlotte
- family dollar 11376, charlotte
- family dollar 11575, charlotte
- family dollar 11612, charlotte
- family dollar 12060, charlotte
- family dollar 12450, charlotte
- family dollar 1931, charlotte
- family dollar 1933, charlotte
- family dollar 2, charlotte
- family dollar 2817, charlotte
- family dollar 2972, charlotte
- family dollar 30, charlotte
- family dollar 3737, charlotte
- family dollar 3843, charlotte
- family dollar 4231, charlotte
- family dollar 4761, charlotte
- family dollar 5203, charlotte
- family dollar 5424, charlotte
- family dollar 5446, charlotte
- family dollar 5851, charlotte
- family dollar 64, charlotte
- family dollar 6656, charlotte
- family dollar 6680, charlotte
- family dollar 7179, charlotte
- family dollar 7523, charlotte
- family dollar 8259, charlotte
- family dollar 829, charlotte
- family dollar 8388, charlotte
- family dollar 8876, charlotte
- family dollar store 10078, charlotte
- family dollar store 10175, charlotte
- family dollar store 10701, charlotte
- family dollar store 7747, charlotte
- family dollar store 7926, charlotte
- family dollar store 8486, charlotte
- family dollar store 8840, charlotte
- golden elephant lao-asian market llc, charlotte
- ken international market, charlotte
- kora sounds the african market, charlotte
- la centroamericana, charlotte
- latda asian market, charlotte
- mam's tropical food market, charlotte
- s & w asian grocery store llc, charlotte
- supermecado la paloma, huntersville
- vieng keo lao-thai market no, charlotte
- walgreen 07766, charlotte
- walgreens 04549, mint hill
- walgreens 4546, charlotte
- walgreens 4869, charlotte
- walgreens 5761, charlotte
- walgreens 6480, charlotte
- walgreens 7342, charlotte
- walgreens 07400, huntersville
- walgreens 09184, charlotte
- walgreens 10275, charlotte
- walgreens 10287, huntersville
- walgreens 11266, cornelius
- walgreens 11396, charlotte
- walgreens 11460, pineville
- walgreens 11484, charlotte
- walgreens 11919, cornelius
- walgreens 1376, charlotte
- walgreens 13985, charlotte
- walgreens 15008, charlotte
- walgreens 15392, huntersville
- walgreens 16087, charlotte
- walgreens 17073, charlotte
- walgreens 17660, charlotte
- walgreens 18053, charlotte
- walgreens 18121, charlotte
- walgreens 18352, charlotte
- walgreens 19220, charlotte
- walgreens 19654, charlotte
- walgreens 19702, charlotte
- walgreens 4547, charlotte
- walgreens 4548, charlotte
- walgreens 6479, matthews
- walgreens 9084, matthews
Convenience Store · 89
- 1-stop food store, charlotte
- 2701867.0 1867, charlotte
- 49ers bodega, charlotte
- 7 eleven #38626a 38626a, charlotte
- 7 eleven 35546j, charlotte
- 7-eleven #36776j 36776k, charlotte
- 7-eleven #41168a 41168a, huntersville
- 7-eleven - f2386 35572a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35545a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35552, cornelius
- 7-eleven 35554a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35557k, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35559, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35560, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35561j, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35562a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35566j, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35568a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35569j, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35570j, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35592k, charlotte
- 7-eleven 37028j, charlotte
- 7-eleven 37282h, charlotte
- 7-eleven 37292h, charlotte
- 7-eleven 38539h, charlotte
- 7-eleven 41328h, charlotte
- 7-eleven 41352h, charlotte
- 7-eleven 42346h, charlotte
- 7-eleven inc f 35556a, charlotte
- 7-eleven, inc. 35589l, charlotte
- 7-eleven #35543a 35543a, charlotte
- 7-eleven #35547c 35547c, charlotte
- 7-eleven #35549c 35549c, huntersville
- 7-eleven #35564c 35564c, pineville
- 7-eleven #35580c 35580c, charlotte
- 7-eleven #35582b 35582b, charlotte
- 7-eleven #35584b 35584b, charlotte
- 7-eleven #35593b 35593b, matthews
- 7-eleven #36993b 36993b, charlotte
- 7-eleven #38677a 38677a, charlotte
- 7-eleven #38721a 38721a, charlotte
- 7-eleven #38863a 38863a, charlotte
- 7-eleven #41253a 41253a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 30348a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35544, huntersville
- 7-eleven 35555, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35565a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35576a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35578a 35578a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35579a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35583b, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35585a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35586a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35588c, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35590a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 35594, matthews
- 7-eleven 36779a, charlotte
- 7-eleven 37007b, charlotte
- 7-eleven 37105a, charlotte
- 786 cstore, charlotte
- 786 distribution, inc. 1, charlotte
- adam's mart #1, charlotte
- amore store llc, charlotte
- archdale minimart & laundry, charlotte
- artesania los potrillos, charlotte
- asian grocery, charlotte
- at rozzelles mini mart, charlotte
- b and k gas & more, charlotte
- bm food mart, pineville
- beatties corner mart, charlotte
- briarcreek market, charlotte
- byrum's food mart, charlotte
- central food mart, charlotte
- charlotte fast mart, charlotte
- circle k store 4747, charlotte
- circle k store 8403, charlotte
- circle k stores inc. 2705108, charlotte
- catawba village bp no, charlotte
- caton's grocery, charlotte
- cherry market 1, charlotte
- chill and fill, charlotte
- circle k 1935, charlotte
- circle k 2720828, charlotte
- circle k 2721553, charlotte
- circle k 2723922, charlotte
- circle k 2723923, charlotte
- circle k 2723924, charlotte
- circle k 2723927, charlotte
- circle k 2723928, charlotte
Showing 250 of 693 authorized retailers, largest categories first.
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in North Carolina
Compare Mecklenburg County vs Alamance County → · All North Carolina counties →
Food access nationally, North Carolina in context
Mecklenburg County sits inside North Carolina (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Mecklenburg County has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Mecklenburg County? ▼
What is the poverty rate in Mecklenburg County? ▼
Is Mecklenburg County a food desert? ▼
What share of Mecklenburg County households lack a vehicle? ▼
Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.