The Vacationer recently published a report titled “Major U.S. Cities Americans Avoid Traveling to at All Costs Survey 2023.” It was based on the 1,020 people served on August 8. Each of those surveyed was over 18. Fifty-three percent were male. Among the questions asked were: which city would you avoid when traveling? The top of the list was Detroit at 22.5%.
Oddly, most other cities in the worst place to travel were relatively affluent. San Francisco made worst ten at 15.62%. Anaheim had a low score of 17.19%. Austin, among the most affluent cities in the country, was also in the ten least desirable cities with a score of 15.42%.
MSN recently named Detroit among “Once-Powerful Cities That Now Struggle to Survive.” The report noted, “Some vanish abruptly, but others see their initial break-neck momentum peter out into a long, slow decline.” Detroit falls into the second category.
A great deal of Detroit remains blighted. A report from the University of Michigan found that 90,000 Detroit residents live in inadequate housing. According to CBS Detroit, Detroit’s Demolition Department has razed 3,000 homes, with a target of 8,000. Parts of Detroit are virtual wastelands.
The car industry’s downsizing started to hit Detroit in the 1950s. From 1948 to 1967, Detroit lost 130,000 manufacturing jobs. Detroit’s population peaked at 1,849,568, according to the 1950 census. By 2022, that figure dropped to 620,376.
According to the Census Bureau, the number of people living in poverty in Detroit is 31.8%. The median household income is $34,762, about half the national average.
According to U.S. News and World Report, the violent crime rate in Detroit was higher than the national average in 2020. The violent crime rate per 100,000 people was 566.2 per 100,000 in 2020. It compares to 252.8 in Chicago.
While none of these reasons in and of itself might keep people out of Detroit, in sum, they represent a powerful argument.
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