American Cities Booming After Nearly Going Bust

How 10 economically blighted urban areas bounced back

Battered by the decline of traditional manufacturing and almost finished off by the Great Recession of the late 2000s, a slew of cities across America's beleaguered industrial heartland have defied the odds and turned their fortunes around. In fact, not even the small matter of a global pandemic has managed to thwart their return to the limelight...

Read on to find out how these 10 once-flagging Rust Belt cities have got their shine back.

Albany, New York

Albany was a mass-production powerhouse throughout the 19th and early 20thcentury, famed, among other things, for making some of the best stoves in the world.

However, the sector began to decline in the 1940s, and by the late 1990s factories were thin on the ground in the New York capital. Unemployment pre-COVID peaked in 2012, and by 2014 only 5.8% of people living in the metro area were employed in manufacturing.

Albany, New York

Since then, Albany has really come into its own as a tech manufacturing hub.

The city's reinvention can be traced back to the late 1990s when a group of stakeholders, led by New York's then-governor George Pataki, came up with a proposal to revive the sleepy town and its lethargic economy by turning it into a hotbed of innovation. 

Albany, New York

Now at the center of the state's Tech Valley, Albany is a nanotech and chip-making triumph.

The city is home to the most advanced nanotech research facility in existence, as well as the world's second-largest semiconductor plant (pictured). On top of that, the city has landed multibillion-dollar investments from IBM and Intel too.

This boom has resulted in a sharp uptick in hi-tech manufacturing jobs and falling unemployment, which stands at just 3.4%, down from around 5% in the early 1990s and around 7.5% in 2012.

Detroit, Michigan

The quintessential Rust Belt city, Detroit was a booming, bustling metropolis in the 1950s and early 1960s.

The locus of American's buoyant auto industry, Motor City boasted the country's highest per capita income thanks to an abundance of well-paid jobs, and its residents enjoyed equally high living standards. But these glory days weren't too last...

Detroit, Michigan

Assembly plants began closing in the late 1960s. Paired with the spike in oil prices the following decade and competition from foreign carmakers from the 1980s onwards, the auto industry was almost finished off in the city.

Meanwhile, skyrocketing crime levels prompted an exodus of more affluent residents and businesses to the suburbs, leaving behind a dangerous inner city that was blighted by decay.

In 2009, unemployment peaked at a massive 17%. In 2013, the city, starved of tax revenue, filed for bankruptcy.

Detroit, Michigan

The bankruptcy actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it forced the authorities to collaborate with the private and philanthropic sectors to secure investment.

Now regarded as a model for urban renewal, Detroit is awash with gleaming regeneration projects, including Ford's refurb of the emblematic Michigan Central Station. Jobs have become plentiful, with the unemployment rate down to 5.8%.

Charleston, West Virginia

Like the rest of West Virginia, Charleston has seen most of its coal mines and chemical plants, once the drivers of its economy, go out of business. Since the 1960s, the population of the city has almost halved.

Unemployment climbed above 10% in the early 1990s and spiked again in 2010 at 8.8% as job opportunities fell back in the ailing Rust Belt city. The coronavirus pandemic hit it hard in 2020, with the unemployment rate soaring to 17.3% in April 2020.

Charleston, West Virginia

Charleston's population continues to grow smaller, but it's not all doom and gloom for the West Virginia capital.

Far from it, in fact, since the city is quietly repositioning itself as a haven for hi-tech companies. This has been buoyed along by the West Virginia Regional Technology Park, which bills itself as a "global leader in research and innovation." On-site scientists oversee everything from chemical research to "next-generation 3D printing." 

Charleston, West Virginia

Charleston has also been working to expand its healthcare institutions and boost tourism by promoting the city's rapidly gentrifying heritage districts, cultural and music festivals, and wealth of leisure amenities.

Despite the population decrease, these efforts to overhaul the city for the 21st century are clearly bearing fruit, with unemployment at 3.5%.

Cleveland, Ohio

The journey to deindustrialization is never an easy ride, but Cleveland is navigating its economic transition with aplomb.

Among the factors that have cushioned the blow for the Forest City is its prioritizing of "anchor institutions," such as hospitals and universities, as well as its development of knowledge industries.

The healthcare sector has been especially beneficial for its economy, with the prestigious Cleveland Clinic one of the city's major employers.

Cleveland, Ohio

Judging by the numbers, Cleveland is one of the fastest-growing US cities in terms of GDP per capita.

Unemployment has been trending down in the city since 2010 (bar, of course, the pandemic spike, which saw it reach 21.8%), and finding a decent job these days is a piece of cake compared to the 1980s and 1990s.

Cleveland, Ohio

At the same time, the city's cultural scene has boomed and this, coupled with the exploding restaurant scene, have put Cleveland back on the map.

Its revival has been so successful, in fact, that the city has become a blueprint of model renewal for other former industrial hubs around the world, including Preston in the north of England.

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Wayne is estimated to have lost around 30,000 industrial jobs in the 1980s, with 10,000 cut in 1982 alone. However, unlike other Rust Belt cities, the city's population has been rising steadily for decades, despite the decline of its traditional manufacturing industries.

This may have something to do with the shrewd authorities, who acted quickly to avert the Midwestern city's economic collapse.

Fort Wayne, Indiana

During the 1990s, investment poured into Fort Wayne's neglected downtown area, with renovations and expansions of the city's art museum, public library, and more. As the neighborhood revitalized, crime numbers fell away, which attracted even more investment.

Although Fort Wayne had lost its factories, the city was fast-becoming an attractive place for service-industry businesses, filling the void.

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Bolstering the economy even further is tourism, with a series of recently completed developments drawing visitors from far and wide.

These include The Landing, a hip revamp of Fort Wayne's historic city center, as well the riverside-set Promenade Park. As might be expected, the job market is hotter than ever and unemployment rates have never been lower. 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Mimicking other Rust Belt cities, Milwaukee began shedding manufacturing jobs in large numbers during the 1980s and 1990s.

Consequently, the city's once-vibrant downtown went into a serious decline, with crime and poverty surging as businesses shut and wealthier residents fled to the suburbs. 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Pre-COVID, unemployment in Milwaukee peaked at 11% in 2010. Bar the pandemic spike of 16.5% in April 2020, the city's unemployment rate has fallen steadily over the past decade or so and is currently at a record low.

The secret to Milwaukee's new-found success? The revitalization of its downtown area, which has been experiencing a construction boom that has generated job after job.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Billions of dollars have been flowing into myriad economy-boosting construction projects.

The most notable of these include the 18,000-seat Fiserv Forum, which is now the home of the Milwaukee Bucks, as well as two major skyscrapers and a swish mall conversion.

Also of note is the introduction of The Hop, the city's free-to-ride streetcar system that travels across 2.1 miles of "Milwaukee's busiest neighborhoods."

Rochester, New York

Back in the day, Rochester's economy was fueled by the Eastman Kodak, Xerox, and various other big-name factories.

However, the number of traditional manufacturing jobs in the Upstate New York city has plummeted since the 1980s as production facilities have shuttered. Rochester could easily have stagnated but the powers that be had other ideas.

Rochester, New York

Officials turned their attention to developing hi-tech manufacturing opportunities and wooing innovative businesses to the city, both of which helped repurpose Rochester as a center for emerging industries.

These days, the types of businesses that operate there range from solar energy providers to cybersecurity firms and agritech companies.

Rochester, New York

The rebirth of Rochester as a magnet for businesses of the future has worked wonders on the city's economy and job figures.

Back in 2009, the unemployment rate stood at a high of 9.3%. Bar the spike in joblessness caused by the pandemic, the rate has steadily fallen since then and currently stands at a very respectable 3.3%.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh got rich off the back of steel manufacturing, so when its primary industry floundered in the 1980s the city's economy soured.

Jobs disappeared and the population, which had already been trending down since the early 1970s, fell even more dramatically. Things weren't looking good at all for the once-mighty industrial juggernaut.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

To reverse the city's decline, those in charge decided to remarket it as a tech hub, supporting Pittsburgh's higher education establishments to nurture talent and foster innovation.

For instance, the Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute has earned Pittsburgh the nickname Robot City and helped make it the hub of America's self-driving vehicle industry.

In fact, the industry is so strong in the city and its surrounding area that the Pittsburgh Robotics Network was launched in 2016, with the goal of "growing local investment, attracting new talent to the region, and support[ing] local suppliers and companies." 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

With more in the way of better-paid jobs – COVID spike aside, unemployment has been falling in Pittsburgh since 2010 – professionals have made a beeline for the city, leading to the gentrification of several downtown neighborhoods.

The population is projected to increase considerably over the coming years, and by 2034 the city's metropolitan area will have surpassed its 1970 peak of 1.85 million residents.

Columbus, Ohio

Bouncing back after the demise of its traditional manufacturing industries, Columbus now has a thriving and heavily diversified economy.

This was helped along by the city's higher education system, and today this sector is key, along with healthcare and hi-tech manufacturing.

Columbus, Ohio

Providing a great example to the Rust Belt cities that have struggled to adapt to change and make themselves over, Columbus has embraced everything from solar energy to semiconductor manufacturing, helping to open up its economy and shield it from shocks.

As a result, the city was less impacted than many by the Great Recession and other downturns. Its future is looking bright, with tech giant Intel building two chip-making plants in the suburb of New Albany.

Columbus, Ohio

Due for the completion in 2025 at a cost of $20 billion, Intel's state-of-the-art facilities are a boon for the city, and should help further reduce unemployment. The city's unemployment rate currently stands at just 3.4%, down from a high of 9.7% in 2010.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids has made a spectacular comeback since 2011, when it was described by Newsweek as one of America's "dying" cities.

During the 2000s, a hefty 12.1% of jobs were lost as traditional manufacturing, which had once been the city's bread and butter, slumped. At the beginning of the last decade, the future of Grand Rapids seemed very bleak indeed.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Yet unlike other reinvented Rust Belt cities, Grand Rapids didn't have to abandon traditional manufacturing to get back on its feet.

The city's mainstay industry, furniture, has been remarkably resilient and is thriving again, ditto the plethora of niche manufacturers, which include Howard Miller, the world's largest grandfather clock maker, as well as footwear brand Hush Puppies.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Businesses have been flocking to the city along with growing numbers of tourists, enticed by the ever-improving cultural and leisure amenities. Dubbed "Beer City USA," its 80+ breweries and microbreweries are a particular selling point.

Needless to say, lots of jobs have been created over the past decade, with unemployment currently at 4.8% and the population rising fast.

Now take a look at America's top boomtowns