Firstly, it was not unionization that produced the high wages seen in Detroit circa 1950. Wages had rapidly grown over the preceding the decades, in an era that was mostly non-unionized.

Wages grew rapidly in the Carolinas since the 1960s, unlike in Detroit. The workers flocked to new rapidly growing industries like finance, technology and biotech.

North Carolina's population has grown by 60% since 1990, while Detroit's has shrunk.