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According to the population growth rate between 2010 to 2015, the Midwest is growing very slow compared to the rest of the country (lower than the national average at 4.1%).
Why is this happening even though some Midwestern states and cities have a low Cost of Living with good economy?
Ranking of Midwestern States in Population Growth
1) North Dakota, 12.54%
2) South Dakota, 5.44%
3) Nebraska, 3.82%
4) Minnesota, 3.5%
5) Iowa, 2.55%
6) Indiana, 2.1%
7) Kansas, 2.05%
8) Missouri, 1.58%
9) Wisconsin, 1.48%
10) Ohio, 0.67%
11) Michigan, 0.39%
12) Illinois, 0.23%
Only the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) and Columbus, Ohio have steady growth at 6.44% and 6.22% so are Lincoln, NE and Madison, WI at 5.66% and 5.35%.
Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago, and Milwaukee have suffered the most population loss while the rest of Midwestern cities are growing below the national average, especially Indianapolis (once the fastest growing city in the Midwest).
What I find very interesting is that cities in the top three states are the fastest growing in the region, such as Fargo (9.77%), Sioux Falls (9.55%), and Omaha (9.2%).
Why are people attracted to the Dakotas and Nebraska?
The trend is most likely to continue for years to come. Will the Midwest eventually lose its importance in American Politics?
Dakotas- Oil/ Natural Gas At least with one of the Dakotas also with Half a million to One million people in most of these states Inexpect any Job that is needed such as a Surgeon has little competition.
I am an ex Midwesterner, and in my opinion the slow growth has two major reasons behind it. One is the weather, some people just do not like the cold hard winters (especially the upper Midwest). The other reason is the economy. Offshoring of jobs affected the Midwest in an extreme way. Indiana, Ohio and Michigan were hardest hit. Even today Midwest cities like Detroit and more recently Flint Mi have been in the news for catastrophic economic and infrastructure failures. These things keep people from considering the Midwest as a place to live or do business. It is also a fact that the good things about Midwestern life are not really well known. Most Americans do not realize how beautiful the upper Mississippi valley is, or how beautiful the Great Lakes coastline is. Most don't know how low the cost of living is there, nor do they know how peaceful small town life is in that part of America. All they know is the news of murders in Chicago, bankruptcies in Detroit or poison water in Flint Michigan. They see the blizzards, 30 below zero weather but they do not see the good things. It is an image problem at its core. I know I said I was an "ex Midwesterner" so obviously I decided it was not for me anymore. However that does not mean its a bad place to live, on the contrary for the right type of person it can be a great place. It is so much more than the very troubled places that get so much press up there. There are some very underated places in the Midwest.
I am an ex Midwesterner, and in my opinion the slow growth has two major reasons behind it. One is the weather, some people just do not like the cold hard winters (especially the upper Midwest). The other reason is the economy. Offshoring of jobs affected the Midwest in an extreme way. Indiana, Ohio and Michigan were hardest hit. Even today Midwest cities like Detroit and more recently Flint Mi have been in the news for catastrophic economic and infrastructure failures. These things keep people from considering the Midwest as a place to live or do business. It is also a fact that the good things about Midwestern life are not really well known. Most Americans do not realize how beautiful the upper Mississippi valley is, or how beautiful the Great Lakes coastline is. Most don't know how low the cost of living is there, nor do they know how peaceful small town life is in that part of America. All they know is the news of murders in Chicago, bankruptcies in Detroit or poison water in Flint Michigan. They see the blizzards, 30 below zero weather but they do not see the good things. It is an image problem at its core. I know I said I was an "ex Midwesterner" so obviously I decided it was not for me anymore. However that does not mean its a bad place to live, on the contrary for the right type of person it can be a great place. It is so much more than the very troubled places that get so much press up there. There are some very underated places in the Midwest.
Very well said, especially regarding an image problem!
I have so many theories on this, as a current and lifelong Midwesterner. I'll just name one though: the infrastructure. The Midwest core cities peaked in population sometime between 1940 and 1960, and a lot of the infrastructure there is 50-70 years old, and crumbling. To the contrary, regions in the Sun Belt are experiencing their peak years now (give or take a decade), and the infrastructure for the most part is much newer. It costs money to maintain these things, and most cities put off rehabbing infrastructure until they can no longer ignore it. It's at that point in most Midwestern cities, but not places that are currently experiencing the most growth today. If/when enough time passes and these cities need to start replacing roads, bridges, and highways, the low-cost/low-tax advantages you see now will either disappear or the quality of living will diminish -- or both -- but something has to give. My theory is that all American cities will slowly but surely raise taxes until they're more on par with their European counterparts.
As someone who traveled from washington to nyc every week for years, I can tell you alot of the bos/wash- northeast corridor is depressing. Great article and video of what you see on the route http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/ma...anted=all&_r=1
The population growth in the mid atlantic and northeast has been pretty stagnant for a long time, the bos-wash/northeast corridor actually has alot of the highest numbers for outmigration
A few points... growth rates through 2015 are based on estimates, and the Census bases estimates on past performance, not current. Projections and estimates for this region tend to be too low in many cases and will likely be so again in 2020.
The Midwest as a whole has some of the highest quality of life in the nation (low unemployment, high pay, low cost of living, higher education levels, etc.) so just because the region does not grow fast does not mean that it is not worth living there. I'd pick just about any state in the Midwest over much of the rest of the country.
Besides Portland and Austin, the Bos-Wash Corridor might be the most overrated place Ive ever seen. I couldnt wait to get out. The entire place was a clusterfunk, people were rude, garbage and litter was everywhere, and the COL was hilariously overpriced.
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