Originally Posted by
pbarnette
While there is some truth to the notion that greater Detroit is more than Detroit, it is still a relatively low income area compared to ATL or MSP, not to mention places like SF or NYC. And Michigan, as a whole, is among the slowest growing states, hampering economic growth. None of that means that DTW is a bad hub, but it does speak to the practical limits for growth there.
There's no granularity in your broad-based assertions and quite to the contrary, the U.S. Census figures show that in terms of metropolitan statistical areas median incomes, Minneapolis is #4 at $54,304, Atlanta is #8 at $51,948, and Detroit is #17 at $49,160.
While not equally wealthy, all of the above are in the top 20th wealthiest metropolitan areas and therefore quite wealthy. Detroit and Atlanta (the cities) both are marked by pronounced inequality and wealthy and higher income flight to the suburbs. The effect is much less pronounced in Minneapolis IMO.