Selma, Alabama
The city of Selma, Alabama, is best known for its role in the civil rights movement, which included several marches across the infamous Edmund Pettus Bridge. Long before the pandemic, however, the city was plagued by high unemployment. Even those who are employed in Selma are primarily low-wage workers; the city’s median household income is $24,820. According to a statement published in the Selma Times-Journal by its executive director, even though most businesses in town are now family-owned, the children of those families have expressed no interest in remaining in the city for the foreseeable future. Selma’s lack of entertainment options may have something to do with it. In the city, there is only one movie theater with only one screen.
Selma, Alabama
Manchester, New Hampshire
Even though New Hampshire is a wealthy state, a scarcity of affordable housing has made homelessness a serious issue in the state’s largest city. According to the Census Bureau, nearly 15% of the population in Manchester lives below the poverty line, making New Hampshire one of the states with the most significant increases in income inequality in the country. Despite this, the city’s median household income is $60,711, which is higher than the other cities on this list’s median household income. Residents with a high level of education have done well, whereas the decline of traditional industries like paper mills has left many working-class people unable to meet their basic needs.
Manchester, New Hampshire
