Charlotte, NC (population: 723,514) has four landscape design schools within a 100-mile radius of its city center. Bob Jones University, the highest ranked school in this group with a landscape design program, has a total student population of 3,956. It is the 2593rd highest ranked school in the USA and the 30th highest in the state of South Carolina (#1 is Clemson University).
Landscape Design students from Charlotte schools who go on to become landscape designers, landscape architects, landscapers, landscape supervisors, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 10,510 people working as designers alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $50,420. Also, Landscaping and groundskeeping workers make on average $25,340 per year and there are about 859,960 of them employed in the US today.
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.
Of the 4 landscape design schools with a 100-mile radius of Charlotte, none have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Bob Jones University comes out as the most expensive ($13,970/yr) for landscape design students, with Sandhills Community College as the lowest, reported at only $7,212/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 |