In January 2026 Matthews was awarded $17,425,200 in federal safety money to rebuild 1.4 miles of John Street as a complete street. That grant is a better explanation of why people keep moving to this town of about 32,769 than any list of amenities: Matthews is an 1879 railroad town that is spending real money to stay walkable while its neighbors stay car-only by design.
Quick answer
People move to Matthews for a genuine pre-car downtown, a position inside I-485, and a town government actively building sidewalks and greenways. The complication is that a Matthews mailing address does not reliably tell you which county, town or school district you are in.
- Population about 32,769 as of the July 1, 2025 Census Bureau estimate, up from a 2020 base of 29,427
- Incorporated in 1879, on 17.112 square miles in Mecklenburg County (2025 Census Gazetteer)
- Median household income $108,611 (American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimate)
- $17,425,200 federal grant awarded January 9, 2026 for the John Street safety and mobility project, tied to a goal of zero traffic deaths by 2034
- ZIP 28105 is about 98.6 percent Mecklenburg; ZIP 28104 carries a Matthews mailing name but is about 96.9 percent Union County
The town is spending real money on walking
Most Charlotte suburbs talk about walkability. Matthews has funded line items. The largest is the John Street safety and mobility enhancement project, awarded $17,425,200 in federal Safe Streets and Roads for All money on January 9, 2026, to convert 1.4 miles of East and West John Street into a complete street in partnership with NCDOT and CATS. The town ties it to a stated goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2034.
Around it sits a stack of smaller work. The town completed a two-way cycle track on Northeast Parkway in June 2026. It opened its Walk Matthews pedestrian plan to public comment in May 2026. In the state’s 2026-2035 transportation program, a Four Mile Creek Greenway crossing under South Trade Street is listed as under construction, sidewalk and pedestrian improvements at the Squirrel Lake Park entrance are set for 2026, and a multi-use path along NC 51 from Trade Street to Independence Point Parkway is programmed for 2027.
The pattern is that these connect things that already exist. That is the difference between a town retrofitting itself and a developer adding a path around a pond.
What is actually downtown
Matthews was incorporated in 1879, five years after the railroad arrived, and had 191 residents at the 1880 census. That history is the thing you cannot build later: Trade Street and John Street meet in a small core with storefronts facing the sidewalk rather than a parking lot. Renfrow Hardware has been on Trade Street for about 120 years.
A few specifics worth correcting, because they circulate wrong. The Matthews Community Farmers Market is at 188 North Trade Street next to Renfrow’s, not in Stumptown Park. It runs Saturdays year round, with a main season from April to November 2026, and it is producer-only: everything except fish is grown, raised or made within 60 miles of Matthews. Seaboard Brewing is open and describes itself as the only brewery in Matthews. Carolina Beer Temple is still in town but has moved off Trade Street to 215 North Ames Street, so older directions will send you to the wrong block.
Stumptown Park carries the town event calendar, including Summerfest and the Beats and Bites concert and food truck series. Matthews Alive, the town’s Labor Day weekend festival, ran September 4 to 7 in 2026 with the parade on Saturday, September 5.
The parks, and who actually runs them
People conflate town parks with county parks here constantly, which matters when you are trying to work out what your town taxes buy.
| Place | Operator | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Squirrel Lake Park | Town of Matthews | 36 acres on Pleasant Plains Road: pond and fishing pier, playground, 12-hole disc golf, trails, greenway access |
| Stumptown Park | Town of Matthews | Downtown green, anchors the town event calendar |
| Four Mile Creek Greenway | Joint Town of Matthews and Mecklenburg County | About two miles paved, linking the community center, Fountain Rock Park, Squirrel Lake Park and the Sportsplex |
| Colonel Francis Beatty Park | Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation | County park, not a town park, despite being widely listed as a Matthews amenity |
| Matthews Sportsplex | Town of Matthews | Town athletic facility; hosted the town’s July 3, 2026 fireworks |
| Matthews Community Farmers Market | Independent nonprofit market | 188 North Trade Street, Saturdays year round, producer-only within 60 miles |
Sources: Town of Matthews parks and facilities listings, Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation, and the Matthews Community Farmers Market, all pulled September 6, 2026. Squirrel Lake Park acreage follows the town’s current facility page; an older town document lists 29 acres. The town does not publish a trail length for the park, so none is given here.
The county line runs through the mailing address
This catches more Matthews buyers than anything else, and it is worth getting exactly right rather than roughly right.
The Town of Matthews is entirely within Mecklenburg County. Its in-town ZIP is 28105, which by land area is about 98.6 percent Mecklenburg. But ZIP 28104 also prints “Matthews, NC” on envelopes, and 28104 is about 96.9 percent Union County. So a Matthews address can be in Union County, and it can be inside a different town entirely: an address on Chestnut Lane in 28104 geocodes to the Town of Stallings in Union County, while another 28104 address nearby is unincorporated Union County with no town at all.
It cuts the other way too, which is why the percentages matter. A small slice of 28104 is in Mecklenburg County and inside Matthews town limits. And some addresses written as Matthews normalize to 28105 and sit inside the City of Charlotte. The mailing address settles nothing on its own.
The practical consequences: a 28105 in-town address means Mecklenburg County taxes plus a Matthews town rate, Charlotte Water, the Matthews Police Department, town-contracted curbside trash, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. An unincorporated 28104 address means Union County taxes with no municipal rate, Union County Water, the Union County Sheriff’s Office, no county curbside collection at all, and Union County Public Schools. Those are different products. Confirm the parcel, not the envelope.
The tradeoff, said plainly
What you give up in Matthews is lot size and tax rate. Being in town means paying both the Mecklenburg County rate and the Matthews town rate, which together came to 77.22 cents per $100 in the most recent published state figures. An unincorporated Union County address a few miles south pays 43.42 cents and no municipal rate. You are buying proximity, services and a downtown, and you pay for them every year.
The second cost is traffic on US 74 and at the I-485 interchanges, plus a light rail line that is no longer planned to reach Matthews. Those are real enough to deserve their own page, which is why we put them in what Matthews costs you rather than burying them here.
For more of what we have written nearby, see Matthews and Weddington. For the town-level guide covering schools, home prices and cost of living, there is a fuller Matthews guide over at The Longleaf Group.
Frequently asked questions
Is Matthews NC in Mecklenburg or Union County?
The Town of Matthews is entirely in Mecklenburg County. The confusion is postal: ZIP 28105 is the in-town ZIP and is about 98.6 percent Mecklenburg by land area, while ZIP 28104 also carries a Matthews mailing name and is about 96.9 percent Union County. Neither is 100 percent, so confirm the specific parcel rather than the ZIP. Checked September 6, 2026 against the Census Bureau ZCTA to county relationship file and geocoder.
How many people live in Matthews?
About 32,769 as of the Census Bureau’s July 1, 2025 population estimate, up from a 2020 base of 29,427. The town covers 17.112 square miles and was incorporated in 1879. Median household income is $108,611 in the 2020-2024 American Community Survey five-year estimate.
Which school district serves Matthews?
It depends which side of the county line the address falls on. In-town Mecklenburg addresses are served by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, which publishes an address lookup through the Mecklenburg County GeoPortal. Union County addresses in 28104 are served by Union County Public Schools, which as of September 2026 publishes PDF attendance maps rather than an address tool. Confirm with the correct district for the exact address, not with a listing site and not with this page.
Is the Matthews farmers market in Stumptown Park?
No. The Matthews Community Farmers Market is at 188 North Trade Street, beside Renfrow Hardware. It runs Saturdays year round and is producer-only, meaning everything other than fish is grown, raised or made within 60 miles of Matthews. Stumptown Park is a separate downtown green that hosts town events.
How far is Matthews from Uptown Charlotte?
Matthews sits southeast of Uptown, inside I-485. A straight-line measurement from Matthews Town Hall to Trade and Tryon is about 10.4 miles, and the driving distance is longer. The commonly repeated “11 miles” does not appear on any town source I could find, and I could not source a reliable drive time, so I am not publishing one.
What does a house in Matthews cost?
There is no government or MLS source I can cite directly for a town median. Redfin reported a median sale price of $480,259 for Matthews as of August 2026, down about 9 percent year over year, with 43 days on market. Treat that as one company’s figure, and note its Matthews geography may sweep in 28104 addresses outside the town. The old figure of $365,000 that circulated on this page was badly out of date.
Updated September 2026. Population and land area from Census Bureau vintage 2025 population estimates and the 2025 Census Gazetteer. Income from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey five-year estimate. ZIP to county land splits from the Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA to county relationship file; addresses tested against the Census Bureau geocoder. John Street grant, Walk Matthews plan, Northeast Parkway cycle track and park listings from the Town of Matthews. Greenway, path and sidewalk projects from the NCDOT 2026-2035 State Transportation Improvement Program. Tax rates from the NC Department of Revenue county and municipal tax rate file. Market figures from Redfin as of August 2026. All pulled September 6, 2026. Source video published June 2024; figures quoted in it were not re-verified here.