The dying of small town America

Bensenville leads our list of America's dying small towns. Other manufacturing hubs hit hard by declines in the auto industry appear on the list. They include places like Kokomo, Ind., Austintown, Ohio, and Middletown, Ohio.

As late as 2000, times were pretty good. Poverty was a minuscule 6.5%, incomes were growing and folks were relocating to Bensenville from outside the state at a steady rate.

But Bensenville's fortunes have since changed. Incomes have dropped by 11.4% (without accounting for inflation), poverty has more than doubled and domestic in-migration has grou... See more

The challenges of many small towns in the US have been well documented, in some cases being nothing less than a fight for survival. Leckey commonly hears that the need for affordable housing, broadband internet, day care, and economic development, as well as the toll of the opioid crisis, are among the key struggles facing small communities. But he... See more