The Daily Beast recently compiled a list “America’s Brokest Cities” using “data points weighted equally: the most recently available unemployment rate (August 2011), median household income, and average debt. Data is from a recent report by Experian and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average credit score for each city is included in the gallery, though not taken into account to determine the final ranking. If this data is any indication, the cities struggling the most right now—the ones that may take the longest to recover—are clustered in the South and along the Pacific Coast.”
Note that this ranking does not deal with municipal finances, but with the economic well-being of citizens.
Savannah comes in at #25 on the list with our unemployment rate of 9.5%, median household income of $46,755, and average personal debt of $25,561. Macon is #14, August #10, and Columbus, Ga. tops the list at #1.
The mayor of Columbus is very unhappy.
Of the cities on the list, 21 are in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, or South Carolina. Charleston is #22.