Quote:
Originally Posted by dc_denizen
Indeed, Oakland and Macomb counties (1/2 of Detroit, 2 MM people) are relatively wealthy with median incomes above that of the Toronto urban area ($80k and $62k, Toronto $68k). Even Wayne county had a median family income of $50k, despite being the home of Detroit.
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Despite the obviously bad rep. because of Detroit, the Michigan side of the border feels much wealthier, to me, than the Ontario side. That portion of far southern Ontario (Windsor area) does not feel very prosperous.
On the other side you have mostly prosperous Detroit suburbia and very healthy Ann Arbor area. Detroit (city proper) and postindustrial downriver suburbs, are obviously not healthy, at all, nor is Toledo, over the Ohio border, but most of Southeast Michigan looks as healthy as any typical metro area in the U.S. Heading north, though, Flint area looks awful.
Oakland County, in terms of wealth, probably compares favorably with anyplace in Canada, including Toronto, and Oakland isn't a small county.
And, on the other end, I doubt Western NY is less prosperous than adjacent areas of Canada. I would be really surprised if Niagara Falls-St. Catherines area had higher median income than across the border. Buffalo's economy, while slow-growing, is ok these days, and it isn't very blighted, even if there's been comparatively little built for decades.
Now if you're comparing the Toronto area to Buffalo, yeah, obviously Buffalo is going to look bad. But Buffalo is like 1/7 the size.