When USA Today released their list of the 50 worst U.S. Cities to Live In, two Michigan cities seemed like they had a good chance of being on the list, but the third might surprise you.

Detroit and Flint haven't had the best reputations in the last several decades.  Flint had the water crisis that lasted for what seemed like forever (officials say it's been fixed, but some residents still disagree.)  Plus Flint has the absolute highest poverty rate of any city in the country with 44.5% of the population living below the poverty line.  Flint ended up being ranked the 2nd worst city to live in.

Detroit isn't much better when it comes to residents living below the poverty line (about 36% of residents), and Detroit's unemployment rate is the worst in the country at 10.9%.  USA Today ranked Detroit the absolute worst city to live in, which many people might disagree with.  Probably the biggest factor in Detroit ranking so low is the violent crime in the city.  There were about 2,000 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents in 2016.

The one Michigan city that people probably least expect to be on the list is Kalamazoo.  The home to Western Michigan University ranks 37th on the list and the main reason Kalamazoo made the list is because the city has some of the worst air quality in the country.  According to USA Today, "the city's air is considered hazardous for about 15% of days in a given year, a far larger share than the 6% average nationwide."  In addition to the poor air quality, Kalamazoo also has a high poverty rate and violent crime rate.

So to recap, the Michigan cities on the list are...

  • Kalamazoo (37th worst city to live in)
  • Flint (2nd worst city to live in)
  • Detroit (Worst city to live in)

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