Talent Maps / Charlotte / Architects

Charlotte Architect Talent Map (2026)

What architects earn in Charlotte, which firms employ them and the stadium, airport, hospital and school projects shaping the market.

Hiring architects in Charlotte?

A talent map shows where a group of professionals works, what they are paid and who else is trying to hire them. This one covers architects in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and firm and market data from 2024 to 2026. Our Charlotte architectural recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Charlotte CAD designer, structural engineer and civil engineer talent maps.

$98,620Median architect pay in CharlotteBLS, May 2025

$83,900Median landscape architect pay in CharlotteBLS, May 2025

$1.3BBank of America Stadium renovation designed by HOK, due by 2030K104.7, 2026

$2.5BCharlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bond covering 30 school projectsNC Department of State Treasurer

1.1M sq ftAtrium Health’s new Carolinas Medical Center tower, designed by NBBJ, due in 2027Atrium Health

2032Next NAAB visit for UNC Charlotte’s M.Arch programs, after a 2024 reviewUNC Charlotte

Architect salaries in Charlotte

The median architect in metro Charlotte earns $98,620 a year, $2,920 above the North Carolina median of $95,700 and $660 below the national median of $99,280. Charlotte pays more than Raleigh, where the median is $91,570. The middle half earn between $79,430 and $126,680, and the top 10% earn $165,210 or more.

Annual pay percentile	Charlotte metro	North Carolina	United States
10th percentile	$65,690	$64,730	$62,300
25th percentile	$79,430	$79,010	$77,960
Median	$98,620	$95,700	$99,280
75th percentile	$126,680	$122,960	$126,550
90th percentile	$165,210	$164,270	$161,420

Architects, except landscape and naval (SOC 17-1011). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine.

Related roles in Charlotte: landscape architects earn a median of $83,900, interior designers $64,370 and architectural and civil drafters $63,940.

Where Charlotte’s architects work

Founded in Charlotte

Little was founded in Charlotte by Bill Little in 1964 and has more than 440 employees in six locations. Its Charlotte work includes the Lowe’s tech hub and the Ally Charlotte Center.

LandDesign, founded in Charlotte in 1978, received ASLA’s 2024 Landscape Architecture Firm Award. Neighboring Concepts was co-architect of the Spectrum Center renovation.

National firms with Charlotte studios

Perkins&Will’s Charlotte studio on South Tryon Street designed the Spectrum Center renovation, the first phase of the airport’s Concourse A expansion and Atrium Health Union West.

Gensler’s Charlotte office designed The Line in South End. Gresham Smith’s Charlotte office led design of the airport’s terminal lobby expansion.

Out-of-town designers on big jobs

NBBJ designed Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center tower, with a goal of prefabricating 60% of the building’s components. HOK is designing the Bank of America Stadium renovation.

Owners

Atrium Health, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the City of Charlotte, which owns Spectrum Center and the airport, and Tepper Sports & Entertainment hire architects and manage design contracts.

Where the talent sits: Charlotte submarkets

Uptown

SportsDesign studios

Bank of America Stadium, Spectrum Center and the Charlotte studios of Perkins&Will and Gensler.

South End

Mixed useWorkplace

Gensler designed The Line at 2151 Hawkins Street, a mixed-use development that opens onto South End.

Midtown and Dilworth

Healthcare

Atrium Health’s 12-story tower at Carolinas Medical Center, with nearly 450 patient rooms and more than 50 operating and procedure rooms.

The airport

Aviation

The terminal lobby expansion opened in fall 2025. Concourse B and C extensions, estimated at about $463 million each, are next.

North and south Mecklenburg

K-12

CMS will rebuild North Mecklenburg and South Mecklenburg high schools with new academic buildings and athletic facilities by 2029.

What’s shaping the Charlotte architecture market

Bank of America Stadium. The original $800 million plan, with $650 million from the city and $150 million from Tepper Sports & Entertainment, grew to $1.3 billion in July 2026 when the team’s owner added $500 million. HOK is reworking the 1996 stadium, groundbreaking is planned for 2027 and work should finish by 2030. Plans also include a 4,400-seat music venue.
Spectrum Center. The city-funded, $245 million renovation by Perkins&Will and Neighboring Concepts finished in mid-October 2025.
Airport. The terminal lobby expansion, which added 175,000 square feet and renovated 191,000, opened in fall 2025. Next are Concourse B and C extensions that could add up to 22 gates.
Hospitals. Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center tower topped out in December 2024 and is due in 2027. Its $116 million Union West tower, with 88 new patient rooms, is expected to open in fall 2028.
Schools. Mecklenburg voters approved the $2.5 billion CMS bond with 63% of the vote in November 2023, the largest tax-exempt financing the state’s Local Government Commission has handled. It covers three new schools, 16 replaced on site and two replaced off site.
Landscape work. LandDesign received ASLA’s 2024 Landscape Architecture Firm Award. Its Charlotte office splits its work about evenly between landscape architecture and civil engineering.

The talent pipeline

UNC Charlotte. The David R. Ravin School of Architecture offers NAAB-accredited M.Arch programs. Its last NAAB visit was in 2024, and the next is in spring 2032.
Licensing. Architects in North Carolina are licensed by the North Carolina Board of Architecture and Registered Interior Designers.

What this means if you’re hiring

Sports and healthcare run through 2030. The stadium, the new hospital towers and the airport concourses keep architects with those portfolios busy.
Raleigh candidates may expect a raise. Charlotte’s median is $7,050 above Raleigh’s.
K-12 work runs through 2029. The 2023 CMS bond is still funding new and replacement schools.
Recruit from UNC Charlotte. Its M.Arch is the metro’s main source of new architects.

Need architects in Charlotte?

Apollo Technical has recruited for architecture and engineering firms since 2010. Our recruiting teams place architects, project architects and designers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 919.710.8098 or see our Charlotte engineering recruiters page.

Hire architects in Charlotte

Frequently asked questions

How much do architects make in Charlotte?

The median architect salary in metro Charlotte is $98,620 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $79,430 and $126,680, and the top 10% earn $165,210 or more.

Do architects earn more in Charlotte or Raleigh?

Charlotte. The median architect in metro Charlotte earns $98,620, against $91,570 in metro Raleigh. Both are below the national median of $99,280. See our Raleigh architect talent map.

Who is designing the Bank of America Stadium renovation?

HOK. The stadium opened in 1996 and was first designed by Wagner Murray Architects and Populous, then called HOK Sport. The new 4,400-seat music venue is not part of HOK’s scope.

Sources (20)