Worcester Business Journal, September 28, In Worcester County, Some Neighborhoods Were Already Facing Decline
The majority of Worcester neighbourhoods are facing the opposite of gentrification, which is disinvestment.
While the economy was growing into the longest economic expansion in the nation’s history, most Worcester County neighborhoods missed out – not only failing to capture rising income and attracting new residents but even going backward in many cases.
Looking at four key economic indicators of population growth, rising home values, increasing household income and residents with college degrees, 55 of the 170 Census tracts in Worcester County had decreases in three or all four categories, according to a Worcester Business Journal analysis of data from 2010 to 2017 compiled by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a Washington, D.C. economic research and advocacy group.
Beyond those years in which the nation’s economy was in a small but steady incline, the poorer areas of Worcester County appear to suffer worse in the coronavirus-related economic recession started in February, with Census tracts in places like Fitchburg and the city of Worcester having unemployment rates above 30%.
