Youngstown, OH Career Training and Education--Find Courses and Degree Programs

ARTICLE: Youngstown In-Depth

Known as the "Steel City" or "Y Town," Youngstown, Ohio and its close neighbor Warren form a greater metropolitan area that houses a population of roughly 600,000 residents. As the seat of Mahoning County, Youngstown's share of residents was about 77,000 in 2004, a number that has dropped over the years as the local economy shifted away from its traditional steel and iron manufacturing base. The continued presence of the auto industry helped maintain Youngstown's economy as the other industries disappeared, and per capita income today is about $27,000 per year.

Along with neighboring cities (including Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland) Youngstown and Ohio in general enjoyed great prosperity during the Second World War and the subsequent arms race, but profit declined along with those industries. Although Youngstown was hit hard by the 1977 closure of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Plant, the city has recently initiated a business incubator program which helps fund start-up companies by offering discounted utilities, furnishings, and office space. If this trend continues, it's quite possible that this once predominantly blue-collar region will manage to attract substantial numbers of white-collar engineers, researchers, and scientists.

Currently, the largest employer in the region is Youngstown State University, which serves about 1,300 students on its urban campus. The largest corporate employers in the area include:

• General Motors' Lordstown auto assembly plant
• Delphi
• Packard Electric Systems
• WCI Steel Plant
• V&M Star Steel Company
• Exal Corporation

Sources:

• City Data
• US Census Bureau, American Fact Finder

Back to top↑