Cornelius is a lakeside town located along Lake Norman in northern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 24,866 at the 2010 census.

Potts Plantation was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Cornelius is located along Lake Norman in northern Mecklenburg County. The town is approximately located at 35°28′44″N 80°53′04″W / 35.478954°N 80.884532°W / 35.478954; -80.884532 (35.478954, -80.884532).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 12.1 square miles (31 km²), of which, 11.8 square miles (31 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²) of it (3.20%) is water. Cornelius is one of three towns in Mecklenburg county north of Charlotte. Along with its sister towns - Davidson and Huntersville - Cornelius serves as a suburb to Charlotte, NC.

As of 2011^[update], there were 23,000 households, and 3,374 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,415.5 people per square mile (546.2/km²). There were 5,716 housing units at an average density of 676.0 per square mile (260.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 91.65% White, 5.62% African American, 0.21% Native American, 1.24% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.79% of the population.

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