Charlotte Metro Area

The Charlotte metropolitan region is among the largest contiguous urban areas in the southeastern United States, and it claims the top spot between the two Carolinas. Its population, 2.5 million strong, includes ten counties in total: three in South Carolina and seven in North Carolina. These include Cabarrus, Iredell, Rowan, Gaston, Lincoln, Union, and Mecklenburg in the north; and Chester, Lancaster, and York in the south. In addition to Charlotte, one of the largest cities in the South, the area encompasses Rock Hill, Gastonia, Concord, and Huntersville.

The Charlotte metro is a major economic hub for the region and plays host to some of the largest businesses based in the South along with a diverse local economy. Among the businesses based in and around Charlotte are Bank of America, Food Lion, Lowe’s Home Improvement, and the state’s primary utility, Duke Energy. The result of this bustling activity is a very active job market.

For employers on both sides of the state line, this can be both a boon and a burden. It allows an enhanced opportunity to find candidates with extraordinary qualifications, but it also requires greater scrutiny when it comes to vetting those candidates. 

Instead of simply looking to see if an applicant possesses a criminal record in your county, it is necessary to look further: your candidate may have previously resided elsewhere in the region. Using only a narrow search can lead to an incomplete snapshot of a candidate’s suitability. A policy of conducting metro-wide background checks is your solution.

While implementing such a policy, adhere to the rules established for fair hiring in North or South Carolina (depending on your business location). Neither state nor any county in the Charlotte metro uses “ban the box” or otherwise defines when in the hiring process criminal histories can be considered by employers. Both states prohibit employers from making inquiries about expunged charges, and South Carolina also prohibits the consideration of crimes committed when an applicant was a juvenile. 

While employers must take care to make their hiring practices fair and equitable, neither state places heavy restrictions on how employers vet potential new hires. Adopting metro-wide background checks is a positive step for your business. With greater confidence in your ability to identify safe, qualified candidates, you can continue expanding your hiring options to take advantage of regional talent. 

backgroundchecks.com provides options for criminal background reports that allow Charlotte Metro employers to access important data promptly. Instant record searches through our US OneSEARCH package are available for York, Chester, and Lancaster counties in South Carolina. This search also polls databases from all other states, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Records for Cabarrus, Iredell, Rowan, Gaston, Lincoln, Union, and Mecklenburg counties in North Carolina are available through a direct courthouse search. 

Other packages that may be useful for metro-wide vetting policies include the regional OneSEARCH, which can accommodate customizations for up to five states, and state-specific background checks for North Carolina and South Carolina. 

The detailed instant reports offered for the South Carolina counties within the region include information from a variety of state sources, among them the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardons, the state sex offender registry, county-level court sources (going back to 1999), and the Dept. of Corrections. Correctional department records are statewide and include information on individuals convicted of gross misdemeanors and felonies within the state. Reported information may include an applicant’s:

• Name, age, race, and sex
• Offense data and description
• Sentencing data
• Disposition and disposition date

With a broad set of tools and robust access to criminal history information for all the applicants your business interacts with, you will have what you need to choose the right candidate.

Learn more about our county background check options

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