Rust Belt

The Rust Belt, formerly the Steel Belt, is an area of industrial decline in the United States. From the late 19th century to late 20th century, the region formed the industrial heartland of the country, with its economies largely based on automobile and steel production, coal mining, and processing of raw materials. The term "Rust Belt" is a dysphemism to describe an industry that has "rusted out", referring to the impact of deindustrialization, economic decline, population loss, and urban decay which is attributable to an area's shrinking industrial sector. The term gained popularity in the U.S. beginning in the 1980s^[1] when it was commonly contrasted with the Sun Belt, which was then surging. Common definitions of the region stretch from Upstate New York and western Pennsylvania to southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, including large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Some definitions of the Rust Belt also include parts of Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey and West Virginia. Much of the Rust Belt is synonymous with the Great Lakes region of the United States.

The Rust Belt experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s and 1960s,^[2] with manufacturing peaking as a percentage of the U.S. GDP in 1953 and declining ever since. Demand for coal declined as industry turned to oil and natural gas, and American steel was undercut by German and Japanese firms. High labor costs encouraged companies to move production to the Sun Belt or overseas. The American automotive industry declined as consumers turned to fuel-efficient, imported vehicles after the 1973 oil crisis raised the cost of gasoline, and when foreign manufacturers opened factories in the United States, they largely avoided the strongly unionized Rust Belt. Families moved away, leaving cities with falling tax revenues, declining infrastructure, and abandoned buildings. Notable cities in the Rust Belt include Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Rochester, and St. Louis.^[3]

New England was also hit hard by industrial decline, but cities closer to the East Coast, including in the Boston, New York, and Washington metropolitan areas, adapted by diversifying or transforming their economies to shift focus towards services, advanced manufacturing, and high-tech industries.^[4]

Since the 1980s, presidential candidates have devoted much of their time to the economic concerns of the Rust Belt region, which includes several populous swing states, including Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. These states were crucial to Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 and 2024 presidential elections, as well as his defeat by Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.^[5]