Which states are in the Rust Belt?

[pikachu]

Inspired by a recent discussion on the 2020 board.

[Sol]

Rust Belt is a state of mind, not a region per se IMO. Milwaukee is rust belt, Madison isn't. Birmingham is rust belt, Mobile isn't.

[TML]

If the definition of "Rust Belt" includes any state with regions containing significant numbers of abandoned former factories/manufacturing buildings, etc., then there is a case to be made for just about every state listed here. For example, I made a number of visits to Bridgeport, CT over the past 2-3 years, and while there I noticed at least one building which appears to be an abandoned former manufacturing building.

[VPH]

Parts of each of these might qualify. As others mention, I could make a case for Fall River, MA; Birmingham, AL; Wheeling, WV; Kansas City, Kansas; Elmira, NY, etc.

[RINO Tom]

The Rust Belt, like the Corn Belt, is traditionally not defined with entire states.  For example, Illinois is a state associated with the production of corn, but Southern Illinois is not at all a part of the Corn Belt.  It's forested (Shawnee National Forest), hilly, not good for agriculture and generally looks more like areas of Kentucky and Tennessee.  In the same fashion, there are very few states that would be "entirely Rust Belt."

There are a couple of interesting maps if you do a Google Images search.  I guess I will answer which states I think of when people say "Rust Belt," and that would be Ohio, Michigan and (strictly Western and Central) Pennsylvania.  I have never really associated Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, etc. with the "Rust Belt," even if they had significant manufacturing.  I associate the term with areas that were much more heavily invested in the manufacturing sector and hurt by its decline more significantly (think Detroit going from the "richest city in America" in the 1950s to its current state of trying to rebound).  The other states I mentioned have much of their economy tied to agriculture and other sectors.

[Hope For A New Era]

Rust Belt is more a culture than a region. If I had to go regional, I would say it occupies parts of NY, PA, WV, OH, MI, IN, IL, and WI, and you can find those parts by finding the areas where rural and/or very white counties swung heavily R in 2016.

[Sol]

Rust Belt is more a culture than a region. If I had to go regional, I would say it occupies parts of NY, PA, WV, OH, MI, IN, IL, and WI, and you can find those parts by finding the areas where rural and/or very white counties swung heavily R in 2016.

What an odd definition--why not include obviously rust belt cities like Detroit, Cleveland, etc.

[Hope For A New Era]

Rust Belt is more a culture than a region. If I had to go regional, I would say it occupies parts of NY, PA, WV, OH, MI, IN, IL, and WI, and you can find those parts by finding the areas where rural and/or very white counties swung heavily R in 2016.

What an odd definition--why not include obviously rust belt cities like Detroit, Cleveland, etc.

You've misinterpreted my definition. "Areas where rural and/or very white counties swung R" includes cities that are surrounded by such counties (as Cleveland and Detroit are).

If I was trying to exclude cities for some reason, I would have said "rural and/or very white counties that swung R."

[Bismarck]

Parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin, plus the city of St Louis.

[clever but short]

Rust Belt is a state of mind, not a region per se IMO. Milwaukee is rust belt, Madison isn't. Birmingham is rust belt, Mobile isn't.

Yes this. Similarly, Duluth is Rust Belt, Twin Cities not so much. NE Ohio definitely is, Columbus not so much. Rust Belt is definitely a Northern thing though, and more specifically the heart of it is the Great Lakes. I see the very heart of the Rust Belt being a broad crescent around Lake Erie, broad enough to reach down to West Virginia.