Once upon a time, we had ghost towns. Cities that boomed and went bust based on a single industry, leading to the community being abandoned. Now we have in America ‘Ghost Counties’, large areas of the United States facing high unemployment rates, high foreclosure rates and vacancy rates of 55% or more. 24/7 Wall Street has come up with a list of the top 10 American ghost counties, some of which had once been top U.S. tourist destinations. Now they face urban decay and uncertain, if not pessimistic, futures.
The list of the top 10 American ghost counties include some formerly high-flying spots. Las Vegas, Nevada is one as well as Palm Coast and Cape Coral, Florida. Like Nevada, Florida was hit hard when the housing bubble burst. Lee County and Osceola County have experienced sharp increases in vacancy rates. Arizona was also hit hard, especially in Yuma County and Mohave County.
The worst hit was Lake County, Michigan, which ranked Number One on the 24/7 Wall Street list. The population has declined to just over 11,000 people with nearly 15,000 homes, giving it a vacancy rate of 66%. Once a popular vacation spot known for its excellent freshwater fishing, the sagging economy has forced most of those who owned second homes in Lake County to abandon them. Vilas County, Wisconsin tells a similar story just under 22,000 people and more than 25,000 homes, giving it a vacancy rate of 62%. Again, Vilas County was a popular vacation spot and also once had lumber industry which has declined.
Number 3 on the list is Summit County, Colorado with a vacancy rate of 61%, followed by Worcester County, Maryland at 60%. Mono County, CA near Yosemite National Park is 5th with a 59% vacancy rate. Number 6 is Dare County, NC at 57%. Close behind it is Dukes County, Massachusetts, located on the island of Martha′s Vineyard with 57% vacancy as well. Bringing up the rear are Sawyer County, WI with 56% vacancy, Burnett County, WI with 55% and Aitkin County, MN, also with a 55% vacancy rate.
As we see from the list, nearly all of the top 10 American ′ghost counties′ were once top U.S.tourist and vacation destinations, which are generally seasonal. They also are mostly places where people from larger urban areas would buy a second home in for vacations. As the economy continues to sputter and gasoline prices remain high, we can see where more communities making the 24/7 Wall Street list of American Ghost Towns and Counties will appear in the 21st Century. The high unemployment and foreclosure rates and other signs in the United States of the failed economic agenda of the Barack Obama presidency.
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May 8th, 2011 at 5:58 am
THE AUTHOR ENDED HIS ARTICLE WITH AN UNTRUE STATEMENT, BLAIMING THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, FOR WHAT WAS OBVIOUSLY, GEORGE BUSH’S ADMINISTRATION, AND WALL STREETS’, FOLLY TO CLAIM. THEY SET UP , THE BAIL OUTS AND BUSH PAID OFF HIS HAVE AND HAVE MORES, AS HE TOLD, AMERICA, HE WAS GOING TO DO. AND, ALL YOU WHO VOTED BUSH & CRONIES INTO OFFICE ARE REAPING THE ‘JUST REWARDS’, THAT YOU DESERVE…QUIT YOUR BITCHIN’, AND DO SOMETHING GOOD, FOR YOUR COMMUNITY. ALSO, IF YOU THINK THE BLAME DOES NOT SET SQUARELY ON THE PEOPLE’S BACKS, THAT TRIED, AND DID, LIVING BEYOND THEIR MEANS TO IMPRESS THEIR NEIGHBORS; THINK AGAIN.
May 8th, 2011 at 6:10 am
BY MODERATION, DO YOU MEAN RIGHT WING CENSORSHIP? HOPE NOT…
May 8th, 2011 at 6:35 am
No John, say what you will, the first is there so we can see guys like you coming.
May 8th, 2011 at 10:17 am
Andrew: “The high unemployment and foreclosure rates and other signs in the United States of the failed economic agenda of the Barack Obama presidency.”
You should make a cross country trip sometime, you’ll pass through so many basically abandoned places where it’s obvious this mass exodus started taking place decades ago. In the North Carolina county I live in, there are so many closed textile mills and old storefronts that clearly shut down years and years ago. I’m glad there is finally attention being paid to the ghost areas of America, but if we try to assign blame to one president or the other, I think we will never get around to solving the crux of the challenge. Which is how to stay economically viable in the face of other countries around the world entering the competitive market. We just didn’t have this kind of competition for much of the industrial age. That has changed. And the change began decades ago.
It is unclear what any of our presidents in the last many years have done to remedy this situation. I do give Obama credit for his attention to new industries and renewable energies. I think Bush probably paid some attention to this, too. But we need a seriously vamped up effort, and we all need to face the fact that we’ve got some competition out there that isn’t going away.
May 8th, 2011 at 10:51 am
The way to get America turned around is to have World War III. After al-Qaida nukes an American city in retaliation for Osama’s death then maybe it will finally happen.
May 8th, 2011 at 11:29 am
I should have written a shorter post. My point is that much of the growth that happened for many decades in this country was a result of us being the first to have certain knowledge and technologies, and thus, capabilities in place, that other countries did not have. So we dominated the marketplace. That has changed.
Now, let’s build some high speed trains!
May 8th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
face it … it is a doggy dog world and obama has milkbone underwear …
obamka’s administration is failing badly
May 8th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
@ JOHN & Ginnie, maybe Klo, too…
I stand by my last sentence. The Obama economic agenda has failed. He has ballooned the National Debt in two years nearly as much as Bush in 8 years, more so if you discount the TARP money that was paid back by Wall Street but yet to be returned to the Fed by Obama.
Speaking of the Fed, they pumped an additional $3+ Trillion into the system with little to show for it. Obama’s first year in office was a joke. He basically let Pelosi and Reid do whatever they wanted. Some leadership, huh?
May 8th, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Andy: “Obama’s first year in office was a joke. He basically let Pelosi and Reid do whatever they wanted. Some leadership, huh?”
Hmmm. Not so sure how much of that wasn’t just optics. Could be Reid and Pelosi carried out Obama’s health care reform agenda.
May 8th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
But not to get sidetracked. Do you not think there’s some reality in my earlier posts? Fact is, we do have some competition in the industrial and manufacturing sectors we didn’t have for a long time.
Are we going to rise to the occasion?
May 8th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
JOHN;
“IF YOU THINK THE BLAME DOES NOT SET SQUARELY ON THE PEOPLE’S BACKS, THAT TRIED, AND DID, LIVING BEYOND THEIR MEANS TO IMPRESS THEIR NEIGHBORS; THINK AGAIN.”
You mean like that ghetto monster screaming for her “Obama bucks” ?
Or those who took advantage of Clintons CRA, Freddie&Fannie, etc, who bought more house(s) than they could afford ?
Or the ones who scammed medicaid,medicare, unemployment insurance ?
Or those who think its the governments job to get them a house and a job ?
Those neighbors..is that who you’re talkin about ?
The ones who voted for dickhead ?
May 8th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
“Are we going to rise to the occasion?”
Not as long as Barry keeps this level of un-certainty in play.
Get rid of the “Tax the rich bullsht”, the EPA, Obamacare and Fed regulations, reduce their influence and I can guarantee you we will soar to the occasion.
As it stands right now the prevailing mentality in manufacturing and investing is… “If everyone stands still, no one gets hurt.”
Aint no train gonna fix that
May 8th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
@ Ginnie,
What little progress we do have in manufacturing is due more to state governors luring companies from overseas in with low taxes and right-to-work laws. Despite this, it is still not enough to really change the game.
Much of the first year’s agenda came from Progressive groups like the Center for American Progress and the Apollo Alliance. Pelosi and Reid did most of the legislative work on getting the stimulus and health care passed. Obama hardly lifted a finger except to make a speech now and then and use a pen to write his name. The guy spends most of his time on the golf course or meeting with his union buddies.
May 8th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Plus he spends entirely TOO MUCH time talking. Just look at how many speeches Obama gave his first year. He just loves to hear himself read from a teleprompter.
May 8th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
BTW, Ginnie,
I see you are still on the bandwagon for the whole high-speed rail thing. We can’t even maintain low-speed rail!
I think you need to pick another, better boondoggle, like my idea for solar-powered zeppelins. Green jobs for all!
May 8th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
lisab !!!
I don’t mean to be picayune here but I believe
the expression is ‘Dog Eat Dog’.
May 8th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
Lisab is with PETA
May 8th, 2011 at 5:48 pm
Bush has screwed everything up. I can’t wait until obama gets into office and fixes everything.
May 8th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
There is some truth in what Ginnie says, this has been building for decades. The point she misses is that it is not due to competition. America can handle that but only if business and individual’s have a favorable environment in which to compete. That means getting govt. out of the way.
An example is the green energy movement. Windmills…Jeezus. Put the unions out of business, end govt.subsidies, stop the endless regulations, stop the spending and all the taxes it takes to fund all the handouts to virtually every segment of society especially to the moochers which include the corporations and education, big farms etc.
Put people back to work and then begin to tweak things, health care comes to mind.
May 8th, 2011 at 6:49 pm
“the expression is ‘Dog Eat Dog’.”
dog eat dog!!!!
what kind of barbaric site is this?!!!
and don’t give any crap about “killer bee killed” either
this has nothing to do with killer bees
May 8th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
unfortunately all who comment on this site are veritable morons and their comments are not worth the time. most have NO IDEA what it is they’re talking about, and this is why this country is so screwed up! Too bad you folks didn’t get an education giving you the ability to compete with the rest of the world,which by the way is eons ahead of US!
May 8th, 2011 at 7:13 pm
@21 OK Einstein let’s hear your solutions.
May 8th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
Yeah Jim..
dazzle us why dontcha ?
May 8th, 2011 at 7:36 pm
I never go around making comments I can’t back-up
May 8th, 2011 at 8:44 pm
“unfortunately all who comment on this site are veritable morons and their comments are not worth the time. ”
Hah !
Yet you read the first twenty.
Kind of a redundant idiocy on your part.
Wouldn’t you say ?