Midland Among American Cities Climbing Out of Poverty the Fastest

Over the past decade, Midland, Michigan has slowly lowered their poverty rate and is now one of the 10 cities climbing out of the red the fastest.

Michigan has not had a great record when it comes to well-to-do metro areas lately. As readers of this website know well -- Flint, Saginaw, and Detroit often find themselves among American "worst of" lists, especially for poverty/economy issues. It's not a problem that is unique to the mitten, but the auto industry and their gradual exodus over the past few decades have certainly exacerbated the situation here. However, one Mid-Michigan city is bucking that trend on such a scale that they're among the top 10 in the country. That city is Midland.

According to data pulled from the U.S. Census Bureau, Midland has seen the ascension of 15% of people that lived in poverty over the last decade. There are now less than 10,000 people living below the poverty line in Midland, which gives them a poverty rate of 11.7% -- almost 5% below the national rate of 16.3%. This is likely a result of a good economic foundation fueled by the approximated 5,000 people employed by The Dow Chemical Company, whose headquarters are located in the city along with hundreds of buildings, plants, and facilities.

Midland's thriving economy landed them at the #8 spot on the list of the cities climbing out of poverty the fastest. They were joined by Monroe, Michigan at #13 and their brother from the south -- Midland, Texas at #2.

The rest of the list can be seen here.