Huntersville NC won the Number Two slot on Forbes.com's 2009 Best Places to Move in America. it also placed 46th among Fastest Growing American Suburbs in the USA. Further, Money Magazine awarded Huntersville a spot among their Best Places to Retire.

One of the biggest attractions in Huntersville, a suburb of Charlotte just 14 miles south, is Lowes' Motor Speedway and the successful Joe Gibbs Racing organization.

With about 67% of its total population having moved into Huntersville from either out of state or out of the country, the city joins Cornelius and Davidson in an area of North Carolina north of Charlotte that is called North Meck (Mecklenburg County). Businesses and people are both relocating to Huntersville and North Meck (Mecklenburg County). From 1900 to 2006, the population grew from just over 3,000 to over 40,000 residents.

The increasing population created a market for continued economic expansion and construction on the North Mecklenburg Industrial Park was was begun during 4th Qtr 2008. Huntersville. Cornelius, and Davidson all share the expenses and benefits of this project, with new businesses setting up shop as construction continues. The Lake Norman Region Economic Development Corporation reports that Prairie Packaging Company constructed its plastic manufacturing facility covering 250,000 square feet on 40 acres of ground in the industrial park. The facility employs over 200 people already in 2009. Additional manufacturing businesses are expected to follow, given a number of business relocation and/or start up incentives.

Infrastructure improvements are underway to service this major industrial park and include completion of the nearby I-485 highway, additional roads, and sewers.

This will create additional employment as well. Waste water recovery projects in Mecklenburg County under the ARRA Stimulus funding will also be useful in developing new business attraction. Sustainability and green projects are a focus form 2009 - 2012 and onward for North Meck.

Joe Gibbs gained success and fame as head coach for Washington Redkins Football from 1981 - 1992, scoring four Super Bowl games and winning three of them. He founded Joe Gibbs Racing 1991 to begin racing in 1992 with 18 staff. By 2009, the organization had increased its total crew to about 450 people. Mr. Gibbs is majority owner and ascribes his success to the four elements of continuing hard work, determination, perseverance, and constant team building.

Auto Racing Careers Start Young 

Mr. Gibbs hand picks young talent and has introduced several teen drivers to career possibilities in NASCAR auto racing. These include Joey Logano when he was just 15, and the 2009 develpment focus on Matt DiBenedetto (17) and Darrell Wallace, Jr (16).

Actual employment openings listed and gathered by Indeed.com for the Huntersville/North Meck area include the largest numbers in the following list of job titles. Occupations in bold type indicate a match with labor projections from the state and federal government for this are to 2016.

1. Registered Nurses (RNs)
2. Business Analysts
3. FEA Researchers - Engineering.
4. Sales Representatives
5. Assistant Managers
6. Sales Managers
7. Sales Associates/Salespersons
8. Project Managers
9. General Clerical jobs
10. Physical Therapists
11. Small Business Bankers
12. Restaurant General Managers
13. Assistant General Managers
14. Nursing Assistants
15. Restaurant / Food Service Shift Supervisors

(These positions were open at the end of July 2009.)

The following occupations were projected by state and federal labor departments to most likely produce the greatest numebrs of jobs to 2016:

1. Registered Nurses (RNs) - at the top of the actual job listings.
2. Accountants & Auditors - Including Forensic Accounting
3. Business Operations Specialists
4. Computer Systems Analysts
5. Construction Managers
6. Loan Officers
7. Mainstream Elementary School Teachers
8. Personal Financial Advisors
9. Computer Systems Software Engineers
10. Securities, Commodities & Financial Services Sales Agent
11. Computer Support Specialists
12. Insurance Agents
13. Network Systems & Data Communications Analysts
14. Financial Analysts
15. Mainstream Preschool Teachers

The top job listings in neaby Davidson NC include:

• Hyperion HFM and FDM Resources - Engineering
• Sr. Managers for College of Leadership, College of Business, Learning & Development for Ingersoll Rand & Ingersoll Rand University
• Project Managers
• Contract Engineers, Aerodynamics Engineers, Mechanical Engineers
• Audit Managers
• Training Administrators
• Sr. Manager, Learning and Development - Sales & Marketings
• Precision Assemblers
• Manual Machinists

.

Demand for workers in Cornelius includes:

• Accounts Payable Clerks, Franchise Owners (business opportunities), VPs of Construction, Leasing Agents, Hospital Pharmacists, Business Lenders.

Named for a cotton grower, Huntersville was incorporated after the Civil War, in 1873, and excelled in bringing cotton and food crops & livestock to market via a local railroad. Additional settlers traveled to Huntersville by railroad and other means, began families, and the churches that they began helped to found the local school system.

Cotton mills proliferated this area and a brickyard and other businesses followed, adding economic growth to the longer-term farming industries. The Latta Plantation, Rural Hill Farm, and other historical landmarks preserve a sense of this earlier culture and add revenues trhough the tourism and travel business.

Local colleges in the Huntersville area include Central Piedmont Community College and Strayer University in Huntersville and Davidson College north of Huntersville by about 8 miles.