America's Dying Cities
From 2000 to 2010 the U.S. population increased by the smallest rate than at any time since the Great Depression, rising 9.7 percent to approximately 308 million people, according to new census data. It’s yet another sign of the tough times that many Americans faced during the second half of the 2000s due to an ailing economy, but it only begins to paint a picture of the country’s money woes.
Flint’s long and painful decline has been well documented by local filmmaker Michael Moore, who grew up there. Flint’s problems started well before the recession, when General Motors, the source of many jobs here, began closing factories and laying off workers. The full-scale collapse of the housing and auto markets in 2007 and 2008 only further exacerbated the problem, which has resulted in the population declining by a tenth.
Total Population (2009): 111,475
Proportion Under 18 (2009): 28.1%
Change in Total Population (2000-2009): -10.8%
Change in Residents Under 18 (2000-2009): -2.5 percentage points
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