Moving to Matthews: Pros, Cons & What to Know
Moving to Matthews means choosing a small, historic-downtown suburb southeast of Charlotte over either the urban core or a newer-construction satellite -- Matthews is Mecklenburg County (like Charlotte and Huntersville), not one of the counties across the Catawba or up in Iredell, and it has kept a genuine walkable Main Street rather than becoming a pure retail corridor.
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Learn moreA small, historic-core suburb inside Mecklenburg County
Matthews is a town of roughly 31,000 residents (thelongleafgroup/Niche aggregation, retrieved 2026-08-22) sitting southeast of Charlotte, inside Mecklenburg County -- the same county as Charlotte proper and Huntersville, but a different county than Concord (Cabarrus), Gastonia (Gaston), or Mooresville (Iredell) elsewhere in this dataset. That matters for which county tax office, courts, and some services apply, even though Matthews sets its own municipal tax rate and schools still run through the countywide Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) district.
A preserved historic downtown, not a retrofitted one
The Matthews Commercial Historic District encompasses 10 contributing buildings in the central business district, including the 1939 U.S. Post Office, the 1888 Heath and Reid General Store, the 1890s Funderburk Brothers complex, and Renfrow Hardware (c. 1900) (Wikipedia, Matthews Commercial Historic District, retrieved 2026-08-22). Downtown Matthews today is walkable, with locally owned shops and restaurants and regular farmers markets and community festivals -- a genuine small-town core, not a manufactured "historic district" built for tourism.
Above-average household income shapes the market
Matthews' median household income exceeds $108,000, above both state and regional averages (Scout Cities/economic-development aggregation, retrieved 2026-08-22), and that affluence is visible in the town's housing stock and its relatively low crime-per-neighborhood variation (see healthcare-safety). Movers should expect Matthews to price and feel more like an established, comfortable suburb than a budget-focused entry point into the Charlotte metro.
Car-dependent, Piedmont-suburb layout
Like most of the Charlotte metro's satellite towns, Matthews is built for driving -- there is a walkable downtown core, but daily errands outside it generally require a car. Movers relocating from a dense urban market should plan around that.
Key takeaways
- Matthews is a roughly 31,000-resident town in Mecklenburg County southeast of Charlotte -- the same county as Charlotte and Huntersville, distinct from Concord (Cabarrus), Gastonia (Gaston), or Mooresville (Iredell).
- Its historic downtown is a real, documented commercial district (10 contributing buildings dating to the 1880s-1930s), not a manufactured tourist district -- walkable, with local shops, farmers markets, and festivals.
- Median household income exceeds $108,000, above state and regional averages -- Matthews reads as an established, comfortable suburb rather than a budget entry point.
- Like most Piedmont suburbs, Matthews is car-dependent outside its walkable downtown core.
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