Detroit hasn't had a good reputation in years, and if the new list by Forbes magazine is an indicator of reality, the Motor City might be stuck in the doldrums for some time to come.
Detroit was named America's most miserable city in 2013. The city was number two on Forbes "America's Most Miserable Cities" list in 2012.
That's a sobering change for a city that back in 2011 had its mayor, Dave Bing, on the cover of Forbes under the optimistic headline "City of Hope." The cover story detailed how the city was poised to turn around after hitting rock bottom.
"Right now, it's all about survival," Bing told Forbes after the publication of the 2013 list.
The Forbes article went on to state that Motor City's problems contine to grow.
"It is still dealing with high levels of violent crime and unemployment. Home prices, already at historic lows, plummeted a further 35% during the past three years to a median of $40,000 as net migration out of the city continued," the article said. "The latest blow was Tuesday's announcement that the city is on the verge of being taken over by the state. Detroit is in a financial emergency and cannot pay its bills. The city has been issuing debt to fund day-to-day operations. The continuing problems propelled Detroit to the top spot in our 2013 ranking of America's Most Miserable Cities."
Detroit is home to America's "Big Three" automakers, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.
"There is no question that Detroit has many challenges. With all due respect to the data in this report, Detroit is in the midst of a transformation," said Mayor Bing in response to the Forbes article. "That transformation is being driven by my restructuring plan, which is focused on four key areas: public safety; public lighting; public transportation; and neighborhood blight removal."
To rank the misery in America cities, Forbes factored numerous variables, including serious issues like violent crime, unemployment, income and property taxes, home price and quality-of-life issues like commute times and weather.
Last year's "most miserable" city was Miami, which ranked outside of the top 20 this year because of the new addition of net migration as a scoring metric.
Behind Detroit, Forbes' other most miserable cities in 2013 are:
2. Flint, Mich.
3. Rockford, Ill.
4. Chicago, Ill.
5. Modesto, Calif.
6. Vallejo, Calif.
7. Warren, Mich.
8. Stockton, Calif.
9. Lake County, Ill.
10. New York, N.Y.
11. Toledo, Ohio
12. St. Louis, Mo.
13. Camden, N.J.
14. Milwaukee, Wis.
15. Atlantic City, N.J.
16. Atlanta, Ga.
17. Cleveland, Ohio
18. Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
19. Gary, Ind.
20. Youngstown, Ohio
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