Here’s some news you may find surprising: the Charlotte region added more jobs than any other metro area in the country except New York City in 2025. That’s according to newly-released Labor Department statistics. For more, Tony Mecia of the Charlotte Ledger Business Newsletter joined WFAE’s Marshall Terry for our segment BizWorthy.
Marshall Terry: Just what did the numbers say?
Tony Mecia: The Charlotte region created 37,600 jobs in 2025. As you mentioned, that's behind only New York City, which created more than 48,000 jobs. Charlotte created more jobs in 2025 than all of its peer cities: Austin, Dallas, Atlanta — Atlanta actually lost jobs in 2025 — Nashville, Tampa.
So all these cities that we're competing with for new companies moving here, Charlotte seems to really be outpacing them as far as job creation. I talked to economist Mark Vitner about it. He told me that Charlotte seems to be “having a moment right now where we are the hot thing.”
Terry: I said people may find this surprising. But is it surprising with Charlotte growing so rapidly?
Mecia: There are a lot of cities that are growing rapidly in population, but Charlotte is really outpacing them in terms of job creation — at least in 2025. Charlotte is the 21st-largest metro area in the country, but we had the second-highest total of jobs created. The New York City metro region is seven times the size of Charlotte, so it's not all about population growth. It's certainly very helpful, I think, to creating jobs, but it's not the only thing. Charlotte seems to be doing pretty well.
Terry: Over to a story The Ledger has covered in depth for a while now. The state has ended its close supervision of the well-known Charlotte retirement community Aldersgate. Remind us what led to the supervision in the first place and why it’s ending now.
Mecia: You might recall that two or three years ago, the state Department of Insurance stepped in — and had never done this before — but they took very close supervision of Aldersgate's finances because Aldersgate — a well-known, long-established retirement community in east Charlotte — was having trouble paying its vendors, repaying residents the refunds that they were due.
So they stepped in, started supervising the finances, and that lasted a couple of years. Just this last fall, Aldersgate joined forces with Givens Communities. So Aldersgate is now being run by Givens. It's known as Givens Aldersgate now. The state told me last month they've stopped that very specific scrutiny of Aldersgate's finances. It’s apparently because they believe that the finances are back on track and that the future is looking brighter at Aldersgate.
Terry: Finally, with Valentine’s Day just a few days away, let’s end on the price of a dozen roses. It’s up. How much is it going to cost this year?
Mecia: Well, I want to apologize to my wife that I have not personally priced a dozen roses lately. From what I read and from what our reporters have dug up in talking with Midwood Flower Shop in Plaza Midwood, they are telling us that the price of a dozen roses at a florist that used to be around $90 to $95 — it is now more like $130.
I think there are places you can find roses for cheaper. Midwood Flower Shop did tell us that they are seeing a trend toward people spending more money on bouquets. They're saying that bouquets in the $150-plus range are outselling lower-priced items. It sounds like a lot of that is being driven by people in their 20s and 30s — it's their first Valentine's Day with a significant other, and they want to make a good impression.
Support for BizWorthy comes from the law office of Robertson & Associates.
