Helena-West Helena, Arkansas
Helena-West Helena could be the county seat of Phillips County, but it is also a city that has been in a state of decline for quite some time. Over the course of 65 years, the county’s population has decreased by half. Manufacturers such as Mohawk Rubber Co. went out of business, farmers suffered as a result of drought and industrialization, and other businesses that provided services to these communities were unable to compete. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, by 2016, the local school district in Helena-West Helena School District had half the number of students and half the amount of funding that it had in 2007. Other public services are also being put under pressure. Mr. Bruce Hudson, a former alderman who ran for mayor under the slogan “Who Cares About Helena?” blamed a lack of job opportunities and an abundance of shabby, unoccupied housing in the city for the city’s problems. It is only $22,400 per year that the average household earns in this area.
Helena-West Helena, Arkansas
Lansdowne, Maryland
The small census-designated spot of Lansdowne in Baltimore County, which is often considered one of the poorest large cities in the country, has even more serious problems than the city of Baltimore. The median household income in Maryland is only $45,500, despite the fact that the state has one of the highest costs of living in the United States. The normal Lansdowne resident is significantly more likely than the average Maryland resident to be unemployed, and he or she is three times as likely as the average Maryland resident to live in poverty. Despite the fact that the FBI does not collect data on Lansdowne specifically, residents claim that the suburb has not been spared the city’s infamous crime rates. According to local police, more than 4,700 acts of violent crime were reported in the surrounding county in 2019, making it one of the most dangerous in the United States.
Lansdowne, Maryland