North Carolina Counties with The Best and Worst Commute Times

Charlotte Stories
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North Carolina Counties with The Best and Worst Commute Times

How dramatically (and permanently) the pandemic will shape worker commutes remains to be seen, but initial research shows a decreased use of public transit, a higher reliance on bicycles, scooters, and e-bikes, and decreased travel overall as more people work from home. That could spell good news for the 50% of commuters who characterize their trip to work as stressful.

As Americans reevaluate their relationship with commuting, Red Ventures used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, released in December 2019, to analyze which states have the roughest rides to work. States along with Washington D.C. were ranked according to their average one-way commute time to work for workers age 16 and older who don’t work at home, with ties broken by the percentage of workers who commute 60 minutes or more.

North Carolina has the #23 shortest average one-way commute time compared to all other states and Washington D.C., with an average time of 24.5 minutes. Within North Carolina, Currituck County has the longest average commute among all counties (37.2 minutes) while Swain County has the shortest (18.1 minutes).

North Carolina statistics:

– Average one-way commute time to work: 24.5 minutes (7.9% lower than national average)
— Driving alone in car, truck, or van: 24.2 minutes
— Carpool: 26.7 minutes
— Public transportation: 41.4 minutes
– Counties with the longest average commutes:
— #1: Currituck County (37.2 minutes)
— #2: Gates County (37.1 minutes)
— #3: Franklin County, Camden County (32.8 minutes)
– Counties with the shortest average commutes:
— #1: Swain County (18.1 minutes)
— #2: Jackson County (19.9 minutes)
— #3: Buncombe County (20.1 minutes)
– Additional commute characteristics:
— Workers with commutes over 60 minutes: 6.1% (#29 among states)
— Workers with commutes over 90 minutes: 1.9% (#26 among states)
— Workers who commute outside their county of residence: 26.1%
— Workers who commute outside their state of residence: 2.6%

Nationally, there were 143,148,111 workers aged 16 and older who worked out of the home in 2018. Out of these workers, most drove alone to get to work (80.4%), but some chose to carpool (9.6%) or take public transportation (5.3%). The average one-way travel time to work for Americans is 26.6 minutes, but that number nearly doubles when looking at the average travel time for those who take public transportation, which is 50.1 minutes.

Some American workers (12.5%) are lucky enough to have a commute that only takes 10 minutes or under. Less fortunate are the 9.1% of workers that need at least 60 minutes to get to work, and the 2.8% of them who are super commuters—traveling 90 minutes or more to their jobs.

If you’re looking for a long commute time, you might want to check out Currituck County and Gates County. Currituck is ranked as having the longest commute time in North Carolina and the 44th longest in America at 37.2 minutes on average, and Gates is ranked as having the second longest in NC and the 46th in America at 37.1 minutes.

North Carolina by county heatmap:

U.S. by state heatmap

U.S. by county heatmap

U.S. by county table

10 tips to start a conversation on Tinder

Robert Tilman
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10 tips to start a conversation on Tinder

For starting a Tinder conversation, it’s essential to consider certain tips that will make a remarkable bond.

1. Don’t simply say “Heyyy” 

You have to catch the other individual’s eye. Anybody can text “Heyyy” or send a GIF and that’s where everything turns out to be quite plain. If you want to know how to get him to chase you over text you need to make yourself memorable to them. In case you’re sure, send something amusing or somewhat suggestive. Simply don’t be a common man that is simply going to vanish into a rundown of matches gone forever.

Besides, you can also consider good openers, jokes, gifs, Photos, pickup lines. Try not to be that person that sits stubbornly for the person to message you first. Drop your match a message that is snappy and precisely highlighting what you are encountering.

2. Be straightforward, and directly be forthright 

Keep it straightforward and directly forthright. The vast majority of the time they won’t rate messy gifs or peculiar talk up lines. Simply get straight into a smooth and beautiful convo. Ask how they spent the day or about their plans during the weekend – it’s truly not troublesome. At that point set up a touch of talk, the convo can get additionally intriguing. 

Just a text at 10 am from an arbitrary Tinder coordinate simply isn’t required. You must keep with the flow. Compliment at the start– select down one thing you need about their photos to show that you have a keen interest in them. Discussion about their profile or something that’s in their profile will also do great. Show your interest. 

3. Try not to remember their name for your first message 

“What’s up, Kylie?” sounds like something that is way too dreadful. The other idea we can give is that it’s decent that you’ve seen their name and tried to utilize it. However, it’s slightly a lot. Hold up until you’re somewhat further before you know her personally. Let the conversation go on by bringing out a type of feeling. 

In case you get some feeling during the convo, it’s the most ideal approach to make it noteworthy. Satisfy them with a commendation, energize with something brave. You can also consider points about their profiles and photographs, talk about them. 

4. Go ahead with sending a GIF

Based on the research, it is clear that sending the GIF on tinder proves to be 30% more likely for getting the response when compared to the other norms. Besides, it will also give the conversation the right touch. The gifs prove to become Funtime because it is inclusive of the things that can figure out what becomes a humorous point.

Sending the funny GIF of a dog that is dancing and remarking something like, “hello, I may look like a fool, I promise I will behave better in real life.” This becomes a great idea. However, it is preferred to say something right about the gif rather than just sending it. You should also try the gifs consisting of Hearts, roses, or something that will be causing the person hot enough.

5. Go thoroughly through the profile

This is something that becomes quite obvious while you are looking forward to dating someone on tinder. You should have a nice look at the profile. You must not just estimate. Rather, you must see the whereabouts of the person. Suppose you see the picture of a beach that looks lovely, you can start being a bit cheeky. 

You can also try initiating a conversation that is based on the interest that he or she has a mention of the profile. On the other hand, we can suggest the idea to keep everything quite simple. Sometimes, you can initiate a conversation that will talk about the love for nerdy films or more about it. 

6. Start with a question 

In case you are not finding any clue to initiate the conversation, you can start directly by developing a tinder conversation that involves a question. You can ask questions like, “What if you share thoughts about your favourite choices? Am I worth joining you for a movie date? Well, if that sounds boring to you, pop up questions regarding the truth, dare, or situation game. 

Some other questions are like-Tell me where you would like to see yourself after 20 years? Do you love cuddles in the bed or exploring the city? When you start conversations regarding this point, you may find that the atmosphere becomes a bit more interesting. You can go ahead with asking questions regarding Netflix shows or DoMyMathHomeworks.com as well.

  1. Head Start your Tinder discussion by inspiring feelings

In case the main message you send brings out feelings in your Tinder coordinate, you’ll be bound to grab her eye and get an answer. Tinder convo will flow smoothly without any problem by recreating feelings between both of you. You can be the reason to feel her energized by praising her on something unbelievably special that nobody else has ever praised her on (however evade physical commendations). 

After coming to know about the choices of the person, you can compliment according to that. Besides, you can also be a bit flirty by saying that you will be remembering the choice even on the day you are going to date your partner.

8. Satisfy her vibe by saying something entertaining

You can astound her by uncovering that you share something bizarre practically speaking. You can offend her a little by mentioning a genuine and lively objective fact about her dress sense. Or the other hand, it’s worth inspiring her with a total exhibit of feeling and she’ll be keen on you right away.

Then again, a dull first message to a Tinder discussion will leave you behind early… or ruin your odds. You can ask him or her any questions like what their personal favourite dishes are. So, the conversation should be like the real tinder date that will brighten the moment in the best way.

9. Audit your match’s bio and compare to yours before you start a Tinder discussion with her

Rapidly check your match’s Tinder profile pictures and bio to discover what sort of individual they are – it should just take 10 or 20 seconds. What you’re searching for is something a reference when you start your discussion with. A subject that you can put together in your initial message becomes a good idea. 

The other tip is to shock by sharing some mutual interests by taking a gander at their profile. You are not supposed to just read minds when you are dating someone on tinder. Always you should keep in mind to initiate the conversion in a fun way.

10.You must see how much interest your partner bears towards you

Something is amusing about her photographs. You must share something that you two share practically. Whatever it is, simply attempt and discover something most folks will forget to remark on. Once in a while, there will be nothing to reference from. 

You must look genuine and prove that it isn’t just a copy and glue work which you’ve conveyed to each match. However, in every case, it’s best to send your first Tinder message as soon as possible to your match. It’ll assist you with standing apart from the bunch of pointless messages.

Top 5 Things To Do Around Charlotte This Weekend

Charlotte Stories
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Top 5 Things To Do Around Charlotte This Weekend

Although the pandemic is still in full swing, event organizers around Charlotte have started to get creative about how to host music and food lovers in a socially distanced and responsible way.

This weekend, the Charlotte region will feature a myriad of events and festivals.

Here are the top 5 that we know of happening over the next few days:

#1 4th Annual University City Wine Festival

The 4th Annual University City Wine Festival is returning this month, from Sept 16-20. The festival will include a unique wine-themed event each night starting on Wednesday and going through Sunday. It will take place at University City’s scenic lake and charming boardwalk at Shoppes at University Place. More than 100 wines from over 25 wineries will be available to sample while guests stroll the boardwalk and enjoy live music and interactive entertainment.
You can find out more information here – https://universitycitywinefest.org/

#2 3rd Annual Carolina Corn Fest

This coming Saturday, September 19th, the 3rd Annual Carolina Corn Fest will be taking place down in Monroe at the Awe Shucks Farm. They will feature three bands, great food, two car shows, and tons of Arts and Crafts.
Tickets are just $10 and now available at www.CarolinaCornFest.com
There will be limited tickets so please purchase ahead of time.

#3 Flicks at The Field 

Come out to Truist Field (formerly BB&T BallPark) and experience Remember the Titans, Friday Night Lights, Jurassic World and The Avengers on our giant video board.
They have three socially distanced seating options for you to choose from.
-Spread out and sit on the field for great views of the movie and Uptown Charlotte skyline.
-Stay cool inside our Budweiser Home Plate Club.
-Sit outside at a table on our concourse.
Tickets start at $10. Seating is extremely limited. Gates open at 6:00 pm. For more information or tickets click here.

#4 Jazz At The Vineyard ft. Gena Chambers

Join us for a socially distanced evening of Jazz! Mask and social distancing required. Wine and beer will be available for purchase. Bring your small picnic baskets or small coolers! Limited tables/seats will be available according to social distance guidelines. (limited tickets available) you may also bring your own lawn chairs if you choose to do so.
Admission is $20.00
Music will begin at 6 PM
*Advanced tickets only – for tickets or more info click here.

#5 OH Well: West Kept Secret Outdoor Pop-Up

On 9/19 at 9am, the owners of West Kept Secret, Marissa West and Heidi Hilman, will lead groups through their signature West Kept Secret class OUTSIDE at Optimist Hall. WKS is a high-intensity interval-based workout that fuses together different workout focuses into one dynamic format; cardio, strength training, and Pilates. Post-workout snacks will be provided by Village Juice Co. All fitness levels welcome! This is a free event, but make sure to reserve your spot below (space is limited).
They will be practicing all social distancing protocols:
Attendance has been limited to as to not exceed 50 people per the current Executive Order
This event is OUTSIDE – walk around the building behind El Thrifty’s patio and up the stairs to our event space’s outdoor patio.
RSVP: https://ohwellwestkeptsecret.eventbrite.com/
If you think other events should be on this list or future lists, let us know – Scott@CharlotteStories.com

Applications Open for $32 Million in North Carolina Grants For Internet Access In Rural Areas

Charlotte Stories
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Applications Open for $32 Million in North Carolina Grants For Internet Access In Rural Areas

Internet service providers and electric membership cooperatives can now apply for $32 million in pandemic relief grant funding to help bring high-speed internet access to rural North Carolina.

Governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 1105 into law, allocating more than $32 million for rural broadband expansion from the Coronavirus Relief Fund created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020. The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Broadband Infrastructure Office (BIO) will review applications and assign the funding through the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant program.

“Internet is no longer optional. The pandemic has highlighted the digital divide in our state, underscoring how critical it is for all North Carolinians to have reliable high-speed internet to work, learn and connect,” Acting NCDIT Secretary and State Chief Information Officer Thomas Parrish said. “These supplemental grants will help expand access to thousands of residents and businesses in rural areas that need it most.”

Applications for this 2020 Special Supplementary Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant round will open today and be accepted through October 14.

Projects in Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties as well as rural census tracts located in Tier 3 areas currently being served by less than 25 megabytes per second download and 3 megabytes per second upload speeds are eligible for this 2020 Special Supplementary GREAT Grant round.

“We want to ensure that North Carolinians are not put in this position again,” BIO Director Jeff Sural said.  “These projects will provide much-needed, long-term investments to expand broadband infrastructure and extend access high-speed service to residents in rural areas.”

This special supplementary funding round follows the recent announcements of the 2019-2020 GREAT grant awards and additional funding awards from the COVID-19 Recovery Act.

Since the GREAT grant program launched in 2018, the state has invested nearly $26 million in 26 Tier 1 counties, connecting more than 21,000 households, businesses and agricultural operations to high-speed internet. The state funding has been matched by more than $20 million in private investment.  The program will expand to include 98 counties for this upcoming grant cycle.

Information on how to apply can be found at https://www.ncbroadband.gov/grants/great-grant.

Flooding From Hurricane Sally Closing Charlotte-Area Schools

Charlotte Stories
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Flooding From Hurricane Sally Closing Charlotte-Area Schools

The remnant of Hurricane Sally has just arrived in the Carolinas and it is now causing flood warnings to light up across the Charlotte region.

This morning, The National Weather Service sent out the following alert:

Tropical Depression Sally will move slowly into central Georgia
today with the remnants then moving across the Carolinas tonight,
reaching the coast on Friday. With this track, tropical moisture
will continue to spread over the western Carolinas and northeast
Georgia through tonight, and will interact with a frontal zone to
produce widespread heavy rain showers and a few thunderstorms.
Rainfall totals of 3 to 5 inches, with locally higher amounts up
to 8 inches, are expected across much of Upstate South Carolina,
northeast Georgia, and the foothills and western Piedmont of North
Carolina.

In light of the incoming storm, Union County Schools have canceled all in-person activities and issued the following warning for today:

“Weather reports indicate that Tropical Storm Sally could bring heavy rainfall to our area, producing up to 6 to 8 inches of rain and flash floods. As of now, Union County is under a Flash Flood Watch through Friday morning.

Due to the potential for flooding and dangerous road conditions, UCPS will operate on a full remote learning schedule for Thursday, September 17. Although schools will be closed, instruction will continue virtually.

In addition, the curbside meal locations are closed and all athletic practices are cancelled.  Friday will remain a remote learning day for all students.”

Please stay safe out there! 

York County’s 16th Annual Blues & Jazz Festival is Going Virtual

Charlotte Stories
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York County’s 16th Annual Blues & Jazz Festival is Going Virtual
Celebrate the roots of modern music with infectious rhythms, soulful sounds, and high energy performances at the Arts Council of York County’s 16th Annual Blues & Jazz Festival. The 2020 festival takes place over three nights – October 1, 2, and 3 from 7 – 8 PM, and will feature two of the hottest regional blues and jazz acts each night. The events are all free, at-home, digital experiences, streaming online through the Arts Council’s webpage (yorkcountyarts.org/16thbluesandjazz), Facebook (facebook.com/yorkcountyarts/), and YouTube channel (youtube.com/c/YorkcountyartsOrgSC).
2020 Blues & Jazz artists include Plair, Mellogroove, Weekends, The Tim Hartis Group, Oneppo Brothers Duo, and the Winthrop University Jazz Guitar Ensembles.  Learn more about each band at https://www.yorkcountyarts.org/16thbluesandjazz
The 16th Annual Blues & Jazz Festival
October 1 – 3, 2020 | Virtual Concerts
7 – 8 PM, nightly
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2020 | 7 – 8 PM | FREE
Mellogroove with The Tim Hartis Group
FRIDAY OCTOBER 2, 2020 | 7 – 8 PM | FREE
Weekends with Oneppo Brothers Duo
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2020 | 7 – 8 PM | FREE
Plair with Winthrop University Jazz Guitar Ensemble
The 16th Annual Blues & Jazz Festival is produced by Bobby Plair, Jr, and is presented by the Arts Council of York County. Festival souvenirs are available online in the Arts Council’s ACYC Dry Goods shop, https://www.yorkcountyarts.org/drygoods.
Thanks to the sponsors of the 16th Annual Blues & Jazz Festival: Comporium, City of Rock Hill, Old Town Association, City of Clover/Gallery 120, Rock Hill Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and Duke Energy. Video produced by MBaker Photographic and B&K ProAudio and Lighting.
The Arts Council of York County connects people through art, culture, dance, drama, film & music with a vision to create and support a thriving, diverse, and vibrant community in York County, SC. Its mission is to create arts programming that encourages education, economic development and arts advocacy through unique art experiences that engage the community to make York County a regional arts destination. The vision is to create and support a thriving, diverse and vibrant arts community in York County. Please help the Arts Council continue to fulfill its mission by donating to becoming a member. Donations are accepted online at https://www.yorkcountyarts.org/individual-memberships.
The Arts Council is headquartered in downtown Rock Hill, a state-recognized cultural district. For more information on Arts Council events, contact the Arts Council of York County at 803-328-2787, by email at arts@yorkcountyarts.org, or visit our webpage at http://www.yorkcountyarts.org. For event updates, follow the Arts Council of York County on Facebook (@yorkcountyarts), Instagram (@yorkcountyarts).

How to Know You Are Financially Ready to Retire

Cindy Merrill
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How to Know You Are Financially Ready to Retire

Retirement: it’s what many people dream of for most of their working lives. Whether it’s because they’re looking forward to traveling the world, spending more time with grandkids, or just not having to commute anymore, there’s a lot of reasons why people are anxious to retire. 

However, it can be hard to know for sure whether you’re ready to retire. A lot of financial preparation has to be made in order to ensure that you retire comfortably, happily, and with enough savings to ensure you maintain the quality of life you deserve. Let’s review a few of the ways you can figure out whether you’re ready to retire. 

Assess your age and retirement accounts

Some people seek to retire early – for instance, the FIRE movement (financial independence and retire early) consists of young people who strategize the ways they can leave the working world and enjoy their retirement early, often as early as their late 30’s or early 40’s.

Or, you might be in your late 50’s and thinking about leaving your career a little early in order to spend more time with family, or travel to far off and exotic destinations before you’re too old to thoroughly enjoy them. Whatever the case may be, it’s important to assess your retirement account savings to make sure that you have enough to take the plunge. 

Pro tip: Some retirement accounts, like the common IRA or 401k, may issue penalties for early withdrawals. If you are using one of these savings vehicles for your retirement investing, be sure that you’re eligible to withdraw without penalties at the age you hope to. Additionally, some companies offer plans that match your retirement contributions, like the Chevron esip, so be sure to look into all saving options available to you so that you can maximize your retirement funds.

Calculate your monthly expenses, then multiply by twenty years

How can you figure out how much you’ll need to retire? First, calculate your average monthly expenses. This includes everything from rent and groceries to clothing purchases and car payments. 

Add together everything you regularly spend on in a month, then add a little cushion for those just-in-case emergencies. Then, once you have that number, multiply it by 12 for a year, then multiply that by about 20 years to account for the rest of your retirement. 

This is the amount you’ll need to have access to on a monthly basis once you retire. And, without that paycheck from work, it might be hard to make ends meet. Especially when you factor in the fact that, as you age, it’s more and more likely that you’ll have to spend a larger proportion of your income on medical expenses. 

The good news is that many retirement planning apps allow you to factor in the amount you’ll need each month when setting your goals. Some will actively tell you whether you’re likely to hit your goals given how much you’re currently saving. It’s smart to make use of a retirement planning tool to ensure that you’ll have enough once you leave your career behind you. 

Think about other assets

Some people might not have the full amount they hope to by the time they aim to retire. While, for many, this means continuing on in their jobs, there are also options to look into to help fund your retirement so that you can leave your job when you want to. 

For instance, reverse mortgage loans allow retirees to access their home equity as cash or a line of credit. This is especially useful for those who own a home but are low on savings – you can use a free reverse mortgage calculator online to find out whether one of these financial products suits your situation. 

Other retirees have other kinds of assets that they can use to help fund their golden years. Many continue working in a part-time capacity, offering advisory and consulting services in the industries they retired from. Others turn a side-hobby, like woodworking or sewing, into a full-time career. 

However you plan for retirement, the most important thing is to ensure that you have the assets and funding at your disposal that you’ll need. Far too many Americans face retirement without enough stashed away, leading to serious struggles once they leave their jobs. With the right plans and funding strategies, you can be ready to retire when you want to.

2 Panthers Players Just Listed Their Charlotte Homes In The Same Week For Over $6 Million

Steve
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2 Panthers Players Just Listed Their Charlotte Homes In The Same Week For Over $6 Million

With the Charlotte real estate market now at one of its hottest points in decades, two beloved Carolina Panthers players have just decided to list their home in the same week with the same firm – The David Hoffman Group.

Probowl Fullback Mike Tolbert and QB Josh McCown (aka the “Covid Quarterback”) have just listed their Charlotte home for $2.4 million and $3.95 million respectively.

Tolbert’s home is a sprawling 10,000 custom-built estate on 1.5 acres in Weddington (south east of Charlotte). It features 6 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, 5 fireplaces, a 4-car garage, and a massive saltwater pool and spa for just $2.4 million:

“What I love most about this house is the huge entertainer’s dream basement and the hidden movie theater. We love to bike and walk around the neighborhood and use the wooded trails and it’s convenience to waverly, blakeney, southpark, and uptown Charlotte. Close to the interstate,” said Tolbert. “David Hoffman Group came highly recommended from a great friend who I trust like a brother.”

In David Hoffman Group’s first week of business as an independent firm, they also listed Josh McCown’s home – an equally impressive estate much closer to the Panther’s stadium.

McCown’s 7,420 square foot house features 6 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, 2 kitchen islands, 2 rec rooms, a fitness center, a pool house, and an epic pool in the heart of Southpark – all for just $3.95 million:

“With demand for homes that have enough space to both work and live; while enjoying a pool and outdoor living space being at an all-time high, and with both homes being in exceptional shape, we felt that there was no reason to wait another day,” said David Hoffman.

You can check out both of the David Hoffman Group’s new listings here on their website.

What do you think about the homes? 

Active Case of West Nile Virus Just Detected in Rock Hill

Charlotte Stories
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Active Case of West Nile Virus Just Detected in Rock Hill

The SC Department of Health and Environmental Control have just announced that an active case of West Nile Virus has just been detected in a resident of Rock Hill.

As a result, York County Emergency Management announced that they will be spraying a mosquito-killing aerosol over a 1-mile radius surrounding Marshall Street and East Black Street in Rock Hill later today.

vis City of Rock Hill

There are currently no known vaccines or treatments for the West Nile Virus.

The South Carolina Department of Health recommends dumping any standing water on your property, including flowerpots, gutters, buckets, pool covers, birdbaths and pet bowls. The EPA recommends using natural BTI on standing water to quickly kill mosquito larvae.

They also encourage people wear insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, essential oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR 3535 before going outside on humid days.

Several Charlotte-Area Counties Among Highest COVID Test Positivity Rates in America

Charlotte Stories
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Several Charlotte-Area Counties Among Highest COVID Test Positivity Rates in America

For the first time since America’s COVID-19 outbreak started, a federal public health agency released county-level testing data. On Sept. 3, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a dataset showing COVID-19 test positivity rates broken out by U.S. county.

North Carolina has a 6.2% test positivity rate, the 28th highest in the nation, and South Carolina has a 13.3% test positivity rate, the 12th highest in the nation. In the Charlotte region, Mecklenburg County has a 6.9% rate, the 38th highest in the state, but several South Carolina counties are considerably higher, some are even among the highest in the nation. York County has a 16.3% rate, Chester County has a 24.7% rate, and Cherokee County has a 26.4% rate.

A test positivity rate describes the percentage of tests conducted in a particular area that return a positive result. For example, if 1,000 people in a New York county are tested for  COVID-19 in a particular week and 10 of those people test positive, the county would have a positivity rate of 1%. Meanwhile, if 25 people in an Oklahoma county are tested and 5 test positive, the test positivity rate for that county is 20%.

These positivity rates are typically reported for a short period of time, either one day or one week, and are used to reflect a region’s testing capacity over time. If a region has a higher positivity rate, that likely means either many people there have COVID-19, the region does not have enough testing available to accurately measure its outbreak or both. If a region has a lower positivity rate, on the other hand, that likely means a large share of the population has access to testing, and the region is diagnosing a more accurate share of its infected residents.

Test positivity rates are often used as a key indicator of how well a particular region is controlling its COVID-19 outbreak. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a test positivity rate of 5% or lower. This figure, and a more lenient benchmark of 10%, have been adopted by school districts looking to reopen and states looking to restrict out-of-state visitors as a key threshold that must be met.

Stacker has visualized the positivity rates reported by the CMS. These figures reflect average weekly test positivity for the week of Aug. 27 to Sept. 2. CMS has categorized counties according to their positivity rates:

  • Green: test positivity under 5% in the past week (or with fewer than 10 tests in the past week)
  • Yellow: test positivity between 5% and 10% in the past week
  • Red: test positivity greater than 10% in the past week

The visualizations also include state-level positivity rates for the same time period, sourced from the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic, and county-level case and death counts from the most recent week of data available (Sept. 3 to Sept. 9), sourced from the New York Times COVID-19 data repository.

Visualizations

CMS classifications (Green, Yellow, Red) by U.S. county

Stacker

Heatmap of positivity severity by U.S. county

Stacker

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