Rust Belt

The Rust Belt is a phrase used in American media to describe what what formerly known as the Steel Belt, the region surrounding the Great Lakes which once dominated global industry and manufacturing.

The Rust Belt includes Western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, southeastern Wisconsin, small parts of Kentucky, Baltimore, and the St. Louis metropolitan area in Missouri.^[1][2] Cities in the Rust Belt include Allentown, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Gary, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Toledo, Trenton, and Youngstown.

The term "Rust Belt" is a dysphemism to describe industry that has "rusted out", usually referring to the impact of deindustrialization, economic decline, population loss, and urban decay on these regions attributable to the shrinking industrial sector especially including steelmaking, automobile manufacturing, and coal mining. The term gained popularity in the U.S. beginning in the 1980s^[3] when it was commonly contrasted with the Sun Belt, which was surging.

The Rust Belt experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s.^[4] The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been declining since. In the late 20th century, the Rust Belt began experiencing the elimination or outsourcing of manufacturing jobs, which in some cases continues in the 21st century. The region, which previously was the nation's industrial heartland, has experienced economic distress and a resulting decline in population.^[5]

New England was also hit hard by industrial decline during the same era, but cities closer to the East Coast, including the New York metropolitan area and Greater Boston adapted by diversifying or transforming their economies to shift focus towards services, advanced manufacturing, and high-tech industries.