Its main commercial area is along Rathdowne Street, which has numerous cafés, restaurants, small fashion boutiques, bookshops and other businesses.

Today, Carlton North, like other inner-northern suburbs of Melbourne, contains a mixture of white-collar professionals, bureaucrats and academics.

The area has become more gentrified than Fitzroy North, Brunswick or Collingwood, resulting in significantly higher median property prices.

Subdivision into residential blocks began in 1869, with the emerging brick terrace houses standing in contrast to Carlton's timber cottages.

The most notable businesses in the area include the original La Porchetta pizza restaurant (which has since become an Australia and New Zealand-wide franchise) and the Natural Tucker Bakery.

[3][4][5] Dancehouse, a centre for independent contemporary dance, is located on Princes Street in the former Carlton Hall.

Carlton North has a large amount of Victorian and Edwardian era attached and semi-detached terrace houses.

Following the placement of a Black Ban on the site by a number of trade unions (including the Builders Labourers Federation) and a strong public relations and lobbying campaign by the resident action group, the Carlton Association were successful in seeing the site saved by 1973, with a number of the properties heritage listed by the National Trust.

Carlton North also has significant segregated bicycle facilities, including the Capital City Trail.