What if Detroit, Chicago (and other Northern cities) never fell?

[DCReid]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

i don't know how many F500 HQs st. louis has lost over the decades, but it still has a respectable number, as do several other midwest metros.

chicago: 34
twin cities: 16
detroit: 10
st. louis: 9
cincinnati: 8
milwaukee: 7

to put those numbers into perspective, here are some of the sunbelt F500 heavy hitters:

dallas: 23
houston: 22
atlanta: 16
south florida: 8
charlotte: 6
phoenix: 6



additionally, the midwest also seems to have more one-off F500 HQs in random smaller cities than other regions, like kellogg in battle creek, MI, whirlpool in benton harbor, MI, state farm in bloomington, IL, john deere in moline, IL, marathon oil in findlay, OH, cummins in columbus, IN, hormel in austin, MN, and many others without name-brand recognition sprinkled across the region.

that harkens back to an earlier era when economic activity was more evenly distributed between the alpha/beta cities and smaller places.

HQ count does not make that much of an impact. I believe that NYC had more than 100 of the largest F500 HQs in the late 60s/early 70s (I think it may have had as many as 150); it certainly does not haver that many now. The cities that most shrunk in stature, like Detroit and Cleveland, were heavily manufacturing cities that also were not 'alpha' cities. Chicago is still an alpha city. Also, while heavy manufacturing Midwest/East coast cities (including Baltimore) shrank in stature, other smaller Midwest/East cities have done quite well. Columbus, Indianapolis, Minneapolis. Even Milwaukee has held its own, even though it has not grown much.