Discover Our City

You’ll know you’ve arrived when you see our gleaming steel and glass tower on West Trade Street. Our welcoming, intimate campus is right in the heart of the Queen City — which offers a combination of urban living and Southern charm.

Charlotte Academic Center with sunrise in background

Explore Charlotte’s Many Neighborhoods

Charlotte is a sprawling metropolitan city with more than 199 neighborhoods that radiate out from Uptown, the central business hub. These include:

  • North Davidson (NoDa), a former mill village that is now an emerging arts and entertainment district
  • Plaza-Midwood, a redevelopment success story and one of the region’s most diverse neighborhoods
  • Little Sugar Creek Greenway, a linear park connecting Uptown Charlotte with points South

Financial Center of the South

Charlotte is a major financial center — Forbes ranks the city among the best places for business and Global Trade ranks Charlotte the No. 1 Most Entrepreneurial City.

The city has 8 Fortune 500 companies in its metropolitan area, including:

  • Bank of America
  • Lowe’s
  • Duke Energy

In addition, Charlotte is a base for the US motorsports industry, including NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Charlotte Motor Speedway — spelling career opportunity for JWU grads interested in careers in sports/event management.

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art

Art, Music and Culture in the Queen City

The city’s cultural organizations, neighborhood festivals and arts education programs produce more than 65,000 performances and events annually, so you’ll always have something to check out.

Take in the eclectic arts scene on Gallery Crawls in the hip North Davidson Street (NoDa) arts district. Catch a new-age bluegrass band at the funky Neighborhood Theatre or listen to live bands at the PNC Music Pavilion.

Within walking distance of campus:

  • Truist Field, home to the MILB Charlotte Knights
  • Bank of America Stadium, home to the NFL Carolina Panthers
  • Spectrum Arena, home to the NBA Charlotte Hornets
  • 7th Street Public Market
  • Q-City Charlotte BBQ Championship
  • EpiCenter Entertainment Complex

Parks & Recreation

A national sports hub, Charlotte is home to the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Hornets, Charlotte Checkers and Charlotte Knights, and serves as home base for the Charlotte Motor Speedway, which hosts NASCAR Nextel Cup events.

Charlotte’s recreational offerings are wide-ranging, including:

  • Internationally renowned golf courses
  • Carowinds, the region’s favorite amusement park
  • Inner Peaks Climbing Center
  • 1,300-acre US National Whitewater Center, an official US Olympic training site
  • Cane Creek Park for canoeing

Weather

Charlotte has a humid subtropical climate, with roughly 214 days of sunshine per year and 4 distinct seasons.

  • Average summer temps: 90°F
  • Average winter temps: 50°F

Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte