So It Begins... Sterling Heights Sees Nation's Steepest Income Drop!

[MrSam]

Man... What happened? SMH @ how one of the pseudo greats has fallen.

....................
Census: Sterling Heights sees nation's steepest income drop
Mike Wilkinson The Detroit News
September 28, 2010 20:22 PM

Michigan families have been hit the hardest by the recession, with incomes plummeting and poverty rising at rates seen nowhere else in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau statistics released today.

Median household income for the state in 2009 was 21.3 percent below 2000 levels, the biggest drop in the nation and 6.5 percent lower than 2008. And the poverty rate, although not the highest in the nation at 16.2 percent, rose the fastest among all states since 2000, according to the U.S. Census.

With economists now saying the recession ended in 2009, it could be that the income drop seen last year will provide the bottom for the state. But a substantial bottom it is: The median household income was $42,255, more than $12,000 lower than the median was at in 2000 when adjusted for inflation.


Locally, Sterling Heights recorded the steepest income drop off all U.S.


cities with a population of 65,000 or more, shedding more than $25,000 in annual income. The city had a 2009 median household income of $51,545, more than third lower than its $77,873 median income in 2000.


http://m.detnews.com/detail.jsp?key=...&rc=top&full=1

[izzyindetroit]

...and this surprises you? As Detroit goes, so does the rest of the country starting right here at home.

[Lowell]

Oops, overlooked MrSam's post... Threads merged.

The destruction of the American middle class isn't just limited to Detroit and our poor inner cities.

Sterling Height has the dubious distinction of having the largest income decline in the country.

Locally, Sterling Heights recorded the steepest income drop off all U.S. cities with a population of 65,000 or more, shedding more than $25,000 in annual income. The city had a 2009 median household income of $51,545, more than third lower than its $77,873 median income in 2000. Similar drops were recorded in Kalamazoo and Detroit.

Nationwide, median household income is down just 2.9 percent from 2008 and 6.6 percent from 2000. Michigan's national ranking during that time went from 16th in 2000 to 35th in 2009.

Much of the decline is attributed to the loss of hundreds of thousands of high-paying, yet lower-skill manufacturing job that once were the backbone of the state economy. As many of those jobs vanished, workers were forced to find alternative work in lower-paying industries.

Detroit News Article

[MrNittany]

The "empty nest thing" certainly needs to be considered here, too.

I grew up in Sterling Heights through the 80s and 90s ..... my parents were both working and making a good wage in 2000 but have retired now [[still live in the same house).

That's occurred with a lot of households just on my old block.

[Mikeg]

Prior to the bursting of the housing bubble, the west side of Sterling Hts experienced a strong housing market and was popular with young and recent immigrants who purchased homes previously occupied by older folks who were at the peak of their career earnings. Add to that the decline in earnings caused by the automotive sector restructuring, and it's no wonder the income statistics fell like they did.

[fanniemae]

Would like to know what the crime rate is now in SH. Tons of B/E's.

[DTWflyer]

Another thing to consider, which someone else eluded to, is that since 2000 and during the housing bubble, some of the higher income folks left SH and moved up to the new McMansions and developments up in Shelby, Macomb Twp, etc. that have been built in the past 10 years.

SH and some of these communities are getting slammed for multiple reasons:
1) higher unemployment
2) auto industry restructuring
3) reduced wages / less overtime
4) aging population [[more retirees, either who reached retirement or took buyouts and early packages)
5) higher income families who upgraded and moved into all those shiny new homes during MI's mini-housing boom [[that quickly ended in 2008) that could arguably only afford them through the financial trickery seen over the past few years.
6) immigrants continuing to move into the area
7) out migration of Detroit residents [[generally lower income at this point)

All of the above reasons impact each of the communities to a varying degree over the past 10 years.

[Detroitnerd]

Another thing to consider, which someone else eluded to, is that since 2000 and during the housing bubble, some of the higher income folks left SH and moved up to the new McMansions and developments up in Shelby, Macomb Twp, etc. that have been built in the past 10 years.

SH and some of these communities are getting slammed for multiple reasons:
1) higher unemployment
2) auto industry restructuring
3) reduced wages / less overtime
4) aging population [[more retirees, either who reached retirement or took buyouts and early packages)
5) higher income families who upgraded and moved into all those shiny new homes during MI's mini-housing boom [[that quickly ended in 2008) that could arguably only afford them through the financial trickery seen over the past few years.
6) immigrants continuing to move into the area
7) out migration of Detroit residents [[generally lower income at this point)

All of the above reasons impact each of the communities to a varying degree over the past 10 years.

Good points. I would also add that this is part of a national trend: Fewer people want to live in this sort of environment; many today consider it passé.

[MrSam]

Good points. I would also add that this is part of a national trend: Fewer people want to live in this sort of environment; many today consider it passé.

C/S your points and DTWflyer's Sterling Heights needs to do something thats not auto related or it will become like warren real soon. God help them if Sterling Heights Assembly ever closes.

[Meddle]

So It Begins...

Begins? What do you mean 'begins'? It's been happening for 7 or 8 years; maybe more.

[jt1]

I love it - a suburb is struggling and everyone comes up with reasons to justify it. If Detroit is struggling it's because it's just a place nobody wants to live.

Seems a little hypocritical to me.

[Detroitnerd]

I love it - a suburb is struggling and everyone comes up with reasons to justify it. If Detroit is struggling it's because it's just a place nobody wants to live.

Seems a little hypocritical to me.

Well, in fairness, the problem we have is the divide between city and suburb. I'm not surprised that suburbanites are well aware of the factors that are hitting them hard. I'm also not surprised that they're NOT well-informed about why the city is in the shape it's in. That's where the divide comes into play.

I actually have a harder time understanding why suburban metro Detroiters don't realize what's happening across the country when it comes to cities being the places driving economic activity and development. You'd hardly realize this talking to people in metro Detroit's suburbs. The discussion is stuck in the past somewhere. They're actually waiting for the "growth machine" to be switched back on and the Pultes to come back and keep on building more beautiful sprawl, as if that were what America needed more of at this point.

[Bearinabox]

C/S your points and DTWflyer's Sterling Heights needs to do something thats not auto related or it will become like warren real soon. God help them if Sterling Heights Assembly ever closes.

Are Sterling Heights and Warren really that different now?

[1KielsonDrive]

The title of this post shoud begin, "So it continues...."

[lincoln8740]

. I would also add that this is part of a national trend: Fewer people want to live in this sort of environment; many today consider it passé.

oh god

Yes good schools, streetlights on, police come when they are called and your kids can play in the street is so passé

I just long to live in a place where more than half the population is illiterate and has a 35% unemployment rate.

Oh and don't forget a two bedroom apartment in a high rise for a family of four--that is paradise!!!

you are onto something there

[wittness]

I also don't find this very surprising. I grew up in SH, and most of my classmates have moved out of the area or moved further north. Their retired parents remain in the homes they raised their kids in.

My old stomping grounds [[17/Ryan area) are now full of new immigrant families, beginning the American dream. This was starting around the time that I finished high school, and has really accelerated since then.

[JBMcB]

Household income? Use per capita income - household income is a nearly useless statistic for gauging economic activity.

Case in point - grandparents move in to a household of two adults with an income of $100,000. Their social security adds about $20,000 to the household income. The median household income just fell from $50,000 per person to $30,000, a 40% decrease. Is the family making less money? No. Are the grandparents eating into the household income? Probably not. In fact it's probably cheaper to have everyone living together. Nobody became poorer but that statistic sure looks darn scary.

There are dozens of factors that affect median household income that have nothing to do with earned wages or expenditures. If you don't separate out these factors, the statistic is pretty much useless.

[Detroitnerd]

Oh, so those statistics are useless? Hells yeah! The suburbs are doing just fine, then! Let the great freeway expansion begin! The prosperity is sure to follow!

[Goose]

Hall Rd. was the new 8 Mile Rd., get north of Hall Rd. while you could, now, it appears as if it's too late and anyone left will be stuck with decreasing home values, increased crime, deteriorating infrastructure, and poor quality schools....

it happens....

[Patrick]

Hall Rd. was the new 8 Mile Rd., get north of Hall Rd. while you could, now, it appears as if it's too late and anyone left will be stuck with decreasing home values, increased crime, deteriorating infrastructure, and poor quality schools....

it happens....

You aren't joking about that. Damn near everyone I know who lived north of Hall has that narrow-minded view.

[RickBeall]

Thanks for the tip Goose. :-)

[bmcb]

Goose-People living in North Shelby claim 23 Mile is the line between paradise and hell; those in Washington Twp say 26 Mile is the border and in Romeo, it's 28 Mile.... and they're all delusional

[DetroitPole]

oh god

Yes good schools, streetlights on, police come when they are called and your kids can play in the street is so passé

I just long to live in a place where more than half the population is illiterate and has a 35% unemployment rate.

Oh and don't forget a two bedroom apartment in a high rise for a family of four--that is paradise!!!

you are onto something there

The great part is is that you can enjoy that in a lot of places - including some neighborhoods in Detroit, and virtually all of the suburbs - in addition to the rest of the country. Well, now people realize that. The seemingly endless, mindless phenomenon of "move further out to nowhere" has now ended, and our state has imploded economically, and people are left wondering what to do. That all goes without saying that a tremendous number of people under 30 have no desire to live in a mindless place like Sterling Heights or Shelby Township, and our major city has been neglected and destroyed for too long, so they seek a better life in other places rather than the paradise you describe as Sterling Heights. Frankly, you couldn't pay me to live there, but that is just me. I guess I'm not alone either.

Mind you the literacy rate for Michigan as a whole is not much better than Detroit. As the suburbs face insolvency police, fire, and schools will suffer. Not to mention the weird Michigan fantasy that education is somehow based on what school district you live in. I guess that explains the literacy rates. There is no magic formula: parents have to foster a love of learning, not just a hatred of Detroit and a feeling of superiority over XXXX district. A truly frightening thought is raising my children in a place like Troy, with no libraries or museums. Despite your Leave it to Beaver wet dreams, I think most Americans would be leery to let their children "play in the streets" let alone run around the corner out of sight, because you never know when some gun nut, BDK killer, or mall shooter is going to blow them away. I'm not going to leave my doors unlocked or children running wild anywhere, Detroit or otherwise. Even if my drivers license said Sterling Heights, God, I know, I should be so lucky.

So maybe you're right...the city is in truly in shambles...but the suburbs are worthless pieces of shit. Not a lot going for us. Guess you win that argument. But we all lose.

I'm going to have a cigarette on my front porch and bask in the glow of the streetlight, ironically. Maybe I'll play in the street.

[fryar]

Household income? Use per capita income - household income is a nearly useless statistic for gauging economic activity.

Case in point - grandparents move in to a household of two adults with an income of $100,000. Their social security adds about $20,000 to the household income. The median household income just fell from $50,000 per person to $30,000, a 40% decrease. Is the family making less money? No. Are the grandparents eating into the household income? Probably not. In fact it's probably cheaper to have everyone living together. Nobody became poorer but that statistic sure looks darn scary.

There are dozens of factors that affect median household income that have nothing to do with earned wages or expenditures. If you don't separate out these factors, the statistic is pretty much useless.

It seems to me you demonstrate that per capita income is the more useless statistic here. The per capita income decreases in your example, and yet the household as a whole is not worse off. In fact, household income has increased.

How do you propose to account for the decrease in household incomes in a way that does not bode ill for SH? Even a rash of successfully prosecuted divorces, with higher per-capita income though lower household income than prior to the divorce, which would be a trend unrelated to broader economic issues, would bode ill for SH's tax base since household income went down. By 20% on average.

oh god

Yes good schools, streetlights on, police come when they are called and your kids can play in the street is so passé

I just long to live in a place where more than half the population is illiterate and has a 35% unemployment rate.

Oh and don't forget a two bedroom apartment in a high rise for a family of four--that is paradise!!!

you are onto something there

This is all SE Mich bubblespeak. Detroitnerd was bemoaning a condition that is directly responsible for the poor state of Detroit [[sic) city services and the Detroit [[sic) unemployment and literacy rates you reference: The continued faith in being able to hack it without a unifying and dynamic central city. Brooklyn, to give an example of a cityscape inhabited by families that is not all slummy, wasn't always hot to trot either, but now parts of it are posh and have kids who attend good schools - in part, private, I'm sure. Not a betting man to begin with, I wouldn't necessarily bet on it, but conceivably families could be living in some select pieces of Detroit real estate in 20 years or so, and sending their kids to private school. Not a two-bedroom, but maybe a duplex or triplex that was snatched up and modified on the cheap, back in the day. You already have an influx of better-to-do suburbanites now because of the fashion for cities Detroitnerd mentioned.

[fryar]

Did they ever resettle those thousands of Iraqis in SH like they planned to at one point like 3 years ago? That's talking perhaps thousands of dudes with PHD's trying to land jobs as janitors in a depressed economy. That could negatively affect the average household income sufficiently to markedly increase what might otherwise be the standard reflection of an overall regional trend [[I made that last part up, but it fits with what I have been reading).