City lights beckon to business - providing goods and services for people who live in the cities; includes related article on What We Love and Hate About Cities

American Demographics, Oct, 1997 by Christy Fisher

The couple lives in the city because it is convenient to their jobs--Jose is a window-washing supervisor and his wife is a cook. Their home is also close to the manly Spanish-language support services they use. He is taking English classes nearby to improve his reading, writing, and speaking skills. She is learning to sew from another Spanish-language assistance group and plans to take English classes soon. The neighborhood also hosts bodegas, stores, and restaurants run by Hispanics. "Right now, it is easier for us to be here because the city has so many organizations that help the Spanish people," says Rivas.

Larger cities contain greater diversity. Twenty-four percent of city adults who live in large metropolitan areas of 1 million or more people are non-Hispanic black, compared with 18 percent of those in cities of smaller metros and 8 percent of those outside cities. Eighteen percent of city adults in large metros are Hispanic, versus 8 percent of those in cities of smaller metros and 7 percent of those outside cities.

Children who live in cities are even more ethnically diverse than their adult counterparts. Thirty-one percent of city kids are non-Hispanic black, 24 percent are Hispanic, and 8 percent are Asian and other races.

The skews toward youth and nonwhite help explain the lower income of city households. Median central-city household income in 1995 was $30,900,58 percent lower than the $48,900 median outside central cities. Adults in cities of larger metros had incomes 3 percent higher than those in cities of smaller metros, $31,100 versus $30,200. City children tend to live in lower-income households; their median household income was $28,700.

Lower-than-average income doesn't necessarily mean poor, though. While it's true that a large share of city households have low incomes, nearly three in ten had incomes of $50,000 or more in 1995; 12 percent had incomes of $75,000 or more. Furthermore, many city singles may have greater per-capita spending power than noncity households with more money, but more people to spend it on.

Adults in central cities earn less than noncity adults in wages and salary, but they earn more in self-employment income. They also collect more in survivor benefits; interest, rent, and dividends; and alimony, child support, educational assistance, and other sources of financial assistance outside of the household. They have lower-than-noncity average income from the federal Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, and welfare programs. City and noncity adults have about the same average levels of income from unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, and disability payments; veteran's benefits; and pension and retirement income.

Despite some income disparities, city and noncity adults are equally likely to have college educations. Although minorities tend to have less education, young adults have more, which may balance the scales between city and noncity populations. On the other hand, some disadvantage shows up in the ratio of high-school graduates to dropouts. Twenty-four percent of adults in central cities of large metros do not have high-school diplomas, compared with 19 percent in central cities of small metros and 18 percent outside of central cities. As a result, the share of adults in cities of large metros who are high school graduates is 29 percent, compared with 31 percent in cities of smaller metros and 34 percent of adults outside cities.