Junction City, Kansas
A quick look around reveals Junction City to be very similar in appearance to the rest of Kansas. According to the most recent data, underemployment is higher, but not significantly so, and the poverty rate is 0.4 percentage points lower than the state average. The city, on the other hand, has been trying for years to get out of debt. Junction was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2012, prompting officials to devise a plan to raise property and sales taxes, increase fees, and cut payroll and operating expenses. The city is still trying to pay off its debts in the present day. Residents complain that services are suffering as a result and that living costs have grown out of proportion to wage levels. When it comes to wages, Kansas’ minimum wage remains at $7.25 per hour, while Junction City’s average household income is $53,932.
Junction City, Kansas
Lexington, North Carolina
Due to a plentiful supply of hardwood and low-cost labor, Davidson County’s county seat was once considered one of the United States’ furniture-making capitals. However, in the 1990s, even cheaper Asian imports decimated the city’s furniture industry. This area has a median household income of just under $30,000 and home prices that are significantly lower than the state average. A total of 35% of the population lives in poverty, and nearly a quarter of the working population is unemployed. Because there are few jobs in the area, residents of Lexington claim that most people use Lexington as a low-cost bedroom community from which they commute to one of North Carolina’s larger cities.
Lexington, North Carolina
