FIGURE 2-1 Percentage of total population living in central cities, suburbs, and nonmetropolitan areas, 1970–2000.

Source: Hobbs and Stoops 2002, 33, in Giuliano et al. 2008, 12.

to 113 million.¹ This growth occurred mainly at the expense of non-metropolitan areas. Population in central cities grew, but only by about 55 percent, from 44 million to 68.5 million, while nonmetropolitan population declined from 63 million to 55.4 million (Giuliano et al. 2008, 11) (see Figure 2-1 for percentage changes). In terms of relative share, the suburban population increased from 54.5 percent of the total metropolitan area population in 1970 to more than 62 percent in 2000.

Jobs have followed population to the suburbs, although with a lag. In 1970, for example, 55 percent of jobs were still located in central cities (Mieszkowski and Mills 1993, 135). By 1990, that share had fallen to 45 percent.