Charlotte, NC (population: 723,514) has eleven environmental engineering schools within a 100-mile radius of its city center. Elon University, the highest ranked school in this group with an environmental engineering program, has a total student population of 5,666. It is the 122nd highest ranked school in the USA and the 5th highest in the state of North Carolina (#1 is Duke University). To learn more about environmental engineering programs in Charlotte, ratemyprofessors.com has reviews of environmental engineering professors at Elon University such as Richard D'Amato, and Mike Garcia.
Environmental Engineering students from Charlotte schools who go on to become environmental engineers, environmental scientists, environmental specialists, environmental protection specialists, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 50,610 people working as environmental engineers alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $80,750. Also, Environmental scientists and specialists, including health make on average $67,360 per year and there are about 83,530 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord-SC area alone, there are 370 employed environmental scientists and specialists, including health earning an average salary of $59,550. Environmental engineers in this area earn $81,620/yr and there are 240 employed.
Charlotte lies in Mecklenburg county, which is one of the 64 counties in North Carolina. Overall, the Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord-SC area has 837,820 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 0.9% unemployment rate, $21.10/hr average worker wage, and a $43,890 average annual salary. Thus, about 0.282 out of every 1000 jobs in Charlotte are held by environmental engineers, and 0.443/1000 are held by environmental scientists and specialists, including health.
Of the 11 environmental engineering schools with a 100-mile radius of Charlotte, only 3 have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Elon University comes out as the most expensive ($26,867/yr) for environmental engineering students, with Western Piedmont Community College as the lowest, reported at only $3,437/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Charlotte |
| Belmont | NC | - | 2 | 36.2771 | 82 | 12.1 miles |
| Gastonia | NC | 75,340 | 1 | 28.6194 | 5 | 19.5 miles |
| Rock Hill | SC | 72,341 | 5 | 30.0256 | 144 | 21.3 miles |
| Kannapolis | NC | 44,672 | 0 | - | 0 | 23.3 miles |
| Mooresville | NC | - | 2 | 20.4244 | 6 | 26.6 miles |
| Misenheimer | NC | - | 1 | 21.9215 | 70 | 36.4 miles |
| Salisbury | NC | - | 6 | 27.3664 | 241 | 38.3 miles |
| Statesville | NC | - | 1 | 10.6088 | 63 | 40.4 miles |
| Hickory | NC | 42,082 | 2 | 18.4574 | 166 | 46.8 miles |
| Spartanburg | SC | 40,665 | 7 | 35.0859 | 216 | 64.8 miles |
| Winston Salem | NC | - | 7 | 32.3218 | 230 | 70.4 miles |
| High Point | NC | 105,064 | 3 | 31.8326 | 88 | 71.3 miles |
| Hartsville | SC | - | 2 | 23.3042 | 83 | 71.5 miles |
| Columbia | SC | 130,246 | 23 | 20.8948 | 698 | 80.3 miles |
| Greensboro | NC | 259,523 | 7 | 44.9987 | 387 | 82.9 miles |
| Laurinburg | NC | - | 1 | 18.8047 | 40 | 82.9 miles |
| Dobson | NC | - | 1 | 13.9158 | 60 | 82.9 miles |
| Tigerville | SC | - | 1 | 63.4383 | 50 | 87.5 miles |
| Banner Elk | NC | - | 1 | 22.4512 | 43 | 88.7 miles |
| Burlington | NC | 53,389 | 3 | 40.9051 | 223 | 98.6 miles |
| Pembroke | NC | - | 1 | 53.5737 | 73 | 99.4 miles |