Gastonia is a small city in the Piedmont of North Carolina, about west of the major United States city of Charlotte. In 2016, Gastonia had a population of 75,535, making it the third largest city of the Charlotte Metro.
Gastonia is the principal city and county seat of Gaston County, a large county comprising of several small towns. The population of Gaston County was 213,445 in 2015.
Gastonia is located 15 minutes west of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Gastonia has a municipal airport for small jets and prop driven aircraft.
Interstate 85 and U.S. Highways 321 and 29/74 provide highway access.
While rather inconvenient, it is possible to travel to Gastonia by train. Amtrak serves the town via its Crescent train between New York City and New Orleans, however trains arrive in the middle of the night. The unmanned Gastonia station 📍 is located at 350 Hancock St.
A Greyhound station is located just east of downtown.
Although there is a city bus system and taxis are available, a car is practically necessary for effectively visiting Gastonia.
There are two prominent shopping areas located in Gaston County (both in the city of Gastonia along Franklin Boulevard), but most visitors and residents of the greater Gaston County area travel to Carolina Place Mall in nearby Pineville.
Below are the two shopping areas of Gaston County.
Gastonia and greater Gaston County is home to numerous local and chain restaurants. Of special note is Milano's for Italian, Tequilas in downtown for Mexican, Rodi for continental, and Shrimp Boat for southern-fried-food.
Local specialties of Gaston County include:
Fish Camps - Fish Camps are a fried seafood lover's dream. The decor and service are simple, but the food is great.
Livermush - Livermush is similar to sausage and often served with breakfast or on sandwiches. Livermush is available in many local 'dive' style eateries.
Barbeque - BBQ in Gastonia is predominantly 'Western NC' style. R.O.'s has become nationally known due to its unique spicy slaw that is the dominant ingredient in R.O.'s style of BBQ.
| Tony's Ice Cream - Consistently voted the best ice cream in the Charlotte Metro, Tony's makes their own ice cream in a variety of flavors on-site and distributes to numerous retailers across the region.
Gastonia has liquor by the drink, as to most surrounding towns, and numerous restaurants and bars serve liquor, beer, and wine. Outside those establishments, beer and wine are available in grocery stores, gas stations, and other stores, but liquor is only available in state-licensed ABC stores.
SunDrop, a highly caffeinated citrus flavored soft drink, originates in St. Louis, Missouri, but is bottled in Gastonia and is a hometown favorite. Sweetened iced tea ("Sweet tea") is another local favorite.
There are a variety of comfortable chain hotels located between the New Hope and Cox Road exits on Interstate 85 and at the intersection with U.S. 321 including a Courtyard by Marriot, Fairfield Inn, Comfort Inn and Suites, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Ramada Limited, Motel 6, Days Inn, and Micotel Suites.
Numerous additional hotels are located 15-20 minutes away in nearby Charlotte.
The city adjoins and is often considered a larger part of several smaller towns on its periphery. These towns are not a part of Gastonia and are their own municipalities in greater Gaston County. They are listed below.
2nd-order administrative division
Primary administrative division