It's official: Detroit named the most MISERABLE American city by Forbes Magazine
Detroit has earned yet another dubious honor this week, topping Forbes’ list of the most miserable cities in the U.S.
With its violent crimes, high unemployment, dwindling population and financial crisis, on Thursday Motor City dethroned Miami, which held the unflattering title last year.
Michigan was on a roll this year, going one-two on the list with Flint proclaimed the second most miserable city, followed by Rockford and Chicago in Illinois and Modesto, California, which rounded out the five most unhappy urban areas.
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‘Detroit's problems are hardly news. It has been in a four-decade decline paralleling the slide in the U.S. auto industry,’ according to Forbes.com, which compiles the yearly ranking.
Earlier this week, a panel of experts said the automotive city was facing a fiscal emergency and potential bankruptcy, as well as a possible financial takeover by the state.
TOP 20 MOST MISERABLE AMERICAN CITIES:
- Detroit
- Flint, Mich.
- Rockford, Ill.
- Chicago, Ill.
- Modesto, Calif.
- Vallejo, Calif.
- Warren, Mich.
- Stockton, Calif.
- Lake County, Ill.
- New York, NY
- Toledo, Ohio
- St. Louis, Mo.
- Camden, NJ
- Milwaukee, Wisc.
- Atlantic City, NJ
- Atlanta, Ga.
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Poughkeepsie, NY
- Gary, Ind.
- Youngstown, Ohio
Once hailed as one of the nation’s most industrious cities, Detroit has been ravaged by a perfect storm of plummeting home prices, astronomically high crime rates and a mass exodus of residents.
Violent crime in the Detroit metro division was down 5 per cent in 2011, but it remains the highest in the country with 1,052 violent crimes per 100,000 people, according to the FBI.
Mayor Dave Bing responded to Forbes in a statement: ‘There is no question that Detroit has many challenges. With all due respect to the data in this report, Detroit is in the midst of a transformation.
‘That transformation is being driven by my restructuring plan, which is focused on four key areas: public safety; public lighting; public transportation; and neighborhood blight removal.’
Flint, which is being run by an emergency manager appointed by the state governor more than a year ago, faces similar problems and has some of the worst crime rates in the country and a jobless rate of 11.3 per cent, according to Forbes.com.
Warren became the third Michigan city to end up on the list this year, taking up the seventh spot behind Vallejo, California.
On Friday, Warren Mayor Jim Fouts lashed out at Forbes, claiming in an interview with CBS Detroit that the magazine used data from Motor City to present his town in an unflattering light.
‘The only thing miserable is Forbes magazine because they don’t know how to analyze data,’ the mayor fumed.
To compile the list, Forbes looked at 200 of the country's largest urban areas and ranked them on factors including crime rates, foreclosures, taxes, home prices, commute times, weather and decreasing populations.
Urban decay: Flint has some of the worst crime rates in the country and a jobless rate of 11.3 per cent
Chicago’s fourth-place finish on the list may surprise some, but the Windy City has been losing residents at a high rate, and those who chose to stay have to endure long brutal winters and long commutes averaging 31 minutes.
The Second City’s housing market also has been bleak, with homes prices plummeting 37 per cent over the past five years, couple with high rates of violent crime.
New York, which came in at No. 10, was also cited for its high cost of living. The Big Apple has one of the country's highest income tax rates (10.5 per cent for those earning $100,000) and longest average commuting time at 36 minutes.
Last year's most miserable city, Miami, fell outside the top 20 this year thanks to an increase in migration and rising home prices.
Windy City: Chicago snagged the No. 4 spot on the list thanks to bitterly cold winters, long commutes and high crime rate
Big Apple: New York City was the 10th on the list thanks to one of the highest tax rates in the U.S. and the longest average commuting time
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