Detroit is Worst City to Live in America, Report Finds; Flint Third Worst

Max White
10:59 AM, Jun 19, 2017

(WXYZ) - The state of Michigan has two of the worst cities to live in in America, according to a report from 24/7 Wall St.

According to the report, Detroit is the worst city to live in in the United States and Flint is the third worst city to live in.

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"There were 1,760 violent crimes reported per 100,000 Detroit residents in 2015, the second highest violent crime rate of any U.S. city," they wrote. "Crime and overall urban decay have depressed real estate prices in the city to a fraction of their former value."

As for Flint, they said the city's "downward spiral" is tied to the decline of the manufacturing industry.

"A lack of reliable municipal services and the gutting of the city's economic backbone has had major consequences," the group said. "The typical Flint household earns only $25,342 a year, less than half the nationwide median income and the second lowest in the Great Lakes region."

They give the Detroit statistics as:

Population - 677,124
Median home value - $42,600
Poverty rate: 39.8 percent
Percent with at least a bachelor's degree - 14.2 percent

Flint statistics are:

Population - 98,297
Median home value - $25,900
Poverty rate - 40.8 percent
Percent with at least a bachelor's degree - 11.8 percent

According to 24/7 Wall St., the worst cities to live in tend to have higher poverty rates and lower incomes.

To determine the worst cities, they collected data in nine major categories: crime, demography, economy, education, environment, health, housing, infrastructure and leisure.