In Jackson, almost 29% of the population lives in poverty. Unfortunately, the city cares very little about the struggle of its residents. Despite the high poverty rate, the city threatened to cut water for 20,000 people who hadn’t paid their bills. The struggling residents hadn’t paid roughly $45 million worth of bills.
Because of the poor living conditions and treatment of citizens, many residents want to get out of Jackson. The city’s population has decreased by 5% since 2010.
West New York, New Jersey
West New York isn’t exactly a convenient place to live. The average commute in this city is 37 minutes, which means most residents spend a large chunk of their days on the road.
In addition to this, the city is plagued by issues with trash and parking. The streets themselves are dirty and difficult to navigate. On top of that, 22% of the population lives in poverty.
Saginaw, Michigan
The closure of GM factories has had a severe impact on Saginaw. The factories used to employ 25,000 people, but all of them lost their jobs when the factory shut down. Since 2010, the population in Saginaw has decreased by 6%.
In addition to this, Saginaw is plagued with gun violence. Thirty shootings were reported in 2018, lending even more reason for residents to escape this town.
Anderson, Indiana
At one point, Anderson was home to 24 active GM factories. Unsurprisingly, these factories employed a large chunk of Anderson’s population. But the factories eventually shut down, and 23,000 people lost their jobs. Since then, the town has been on a steady decline.
Rather than living in poverty, most people have chosen to abandon Anderson altogether. In 2015, the city used $2.8 million to tear down 100 abandoned homes.
Macon-Bibb County, Georgia
In Macon-Bibb County, only 56% of the population is working. With so many people unemployed, 26% are also living in poverty. In the past eight years, 2% of the population has left the city.
Macon-Bibb County is home to 3,700 unoccupied buildings, which contributes to the overall run-down look of the town. Although it’s visually unappealing, the city doesn’t have a way to fill the abandoned properties.