Located near the center of Cabarrus County in the Piedmont region, it is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Uptown Charlotte.

Concord, located in today's rapidly growing northeast quadrant of the Charlotte metropolitan area, was first settled about 1750 by German and Scots-Irish immigrants.

[12] This name was chosen after a lengthy dispute between the German Lutherans and Scotch-Irish Presbyterians over where the county seat should be located.

As county seat, Concord became a center of trade and retail for the cotton-producing region, especially on court days.

During the antebellum era, wealth was built by planters through the cultivation of cotton as a commodity crop; the work was done by enslaved African Americans.

Based on wealth from cotton as a commodity crop and through textile manufacturing, Concord's white planters and business owners built some significant homes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; they range along North and South Union Street and Edgewood Avenue.

Located in the Piedmont, Concord became a site of industrialization with cotton mills in the late 19th century.

Among the owners of the new mills in the area were men of the rising black middle-class in Wilmington, North Carolina, such as Warren Clay Coleman, John C. Dancy (appointed as collector of customs at the port), and others, who organized Coleman Manufacturing Company in 1897.

[16] The mill operated under black ownership through 1904, hitting difficult times after Coleman died.

Several other smaller cities and towns are located close to Concord, including Kannapolis,[18] China Grove,[19] Landis, Mount Pleasant, Harrisburg, Midland, and Locust.

The city is located in the Piedmont area of North Carolina, which is characterized by rolling hills and forest.

The area receives a generous amount of rainfall at 43.8 inches (1,110 mm) per year, with February and April being the two driest months.

Adolphus Nussmann was chosen by the Consistory of Hanover and became the first Lutheran preacher in North Carolina.

Concord has a diverse economy comprising shipping and transportation, banking, manufacturing, motorsports, and various service sectors.

[29][30] Concord has many small businesses and several large employers such as Atrium Health, Cabarrus County Schools, Shoe Show, Inc., Celgard LLC, Connextions, Roush Fenway Racing, Sysco Foods, S&D Coffee, and Motor Racing Network, as well as CT Communications (also known as Concord Telephone), before being acquired by Windstream in 2007.

[34] The speedway opened in 1959 by owner Bruton Smith, who is a native of Oakboro, North Carolina.

The company also owns and operates a dragstrip and dirt track facility adjacent to the speedway.

This includes two malls, a museum, a family resort, a NASCAR track, and an arena and events center that can be used for multiple purposes for the entire county.

This program is designed to enhance the lives of residents in the neighborhoods in the city, increasing the quality of both life and events for those calling Concord home.

There are currently 45 neighborhoods participating in the program, which contributes to making Concord one of the most sought-after communities for homebuyers in the regional real estate market.

The City of Concord provides its neighborhoods with three recreational centers, eight parks, four sport complexes, an aquatics center featuring open swimming and swim lessons, Lake Fisher, with 3 miles (4.8 km) of lakefront and 534 acres (2.16 km2) providing boating, fishing, greenways and bike paths.

There is also the championship 18-hole Rocky River Golf Club (a Dan Maples design) owned and operated by the City and managed by a contracted company.

For example, they have the power to pass ordinances, make resolutions, adopt plans, and establish the budget for the city.

In addition to leadership roles, the mayor represents the city at special events and public appearances.

Six are required by North Carolina General Statute - fire, police,[41] solid waste, street maintenance, water, and wastewater.

Additional services that the city offers are electrical distribution, parks and recreation, stormwater system, transportation (streets maintenance and planning), economic development, planning and zoning, community development programs, environmental protection, a transit system, and operation of a regional airport.

Interstate 85 links Concord directly to Greensboro and Durham to the northeast and Charlotte, Greenville, South Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia to the southwest.

Interstate 485 is located southwest of Concord and parallels the Cabarrus - Mecklenburg County line for several miles, providing access to the Charlotte area.