A new report has named Gastonia, NC one of the worst cities in the United States.
The financial analyst website 24/7 Wall St. just released their listing of the “50 worst cities to live in.” They used crime rate, employment, amenity, education, and housing affordability data on the 551 U.S. cities with a population of 65,000 or more to determine the ranking.
According to the report, Gastonia was ranked as the 45th worst city, and the only city in North Carolina to be ranked among the bottom 50.
The report lists a number of quality-of-life issues that Gastonia’s population continues to struggle with.
In describing the city, the article states:
“A suburb of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area, Gastonia’s population has more than tripled in size since 1950. Despite the steady growth, Gastonia lags behind most U.S. cities in a number of quality of life measures. The city’s poverty rate of 19.7% is well above the nationwide rate of 14.7%. Also, there were 716 violent crimes reported per 100,000 Gastonia residents in 2015, one of the highest violent crime rates of any U.S. city.
While over the past few decades Charlotte economy has developed into a major banking and financial center, Gastonia has remained relatively dependent on manufacturing. U.S. manufacturing activity has declined in recent years, and a number of plant closings in Gastonia have contributed to job losses throughout the city. Gastonia’s annual unemployment rate of 6.2% is higher than the 5.3% national rate.”
While Gastonia certainly has its issues, it was far from the bottom of the list. Flint, MI (#3), Birmingham, AL (#2), and Detroit MI (#1) were ranked by the website as the worst three cities to live in.
Do you agree with the list?
What are your thoughts on Gastonia?