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11 Super Depressing Stats About Detroit

Sam RoJul 19, 2013, 05:45 IST

Kevin BaumanEarlier today, Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, the largest municipal bankruptcy in history.

Municipal bond experts Peter Hayes and James Schwartz of Blackrock published a brief analytical note earlier this month titled "Distress In Detroit." In it they offered some stats that would make anyone cringe.

Here are eleven of them:

Detroit's population has plunged 63% since 1950.
...and it's down 26% since 2000.
The unemployment rate hit a high of 27.8% in July 2009.
As of April 2013, the unemployment rate was at 16%.
Even though the population fell 63% since 1950, the municipal workforce fell by just 40%, adding to the strain on public finances.
Detroit has the highest violent crime rate of any large U.S. city
...it's five times higher than the national average.
40% of the city's street lights don't work.
78,000 structures and 66,000 lots are abandoned.
Arson accounts for 1,000 of 12,0000 fires per year.
...60% of those arson fires are in dilapidated or empty buildings.

Read Hayes & Schwartz note at BlackRock.com.