• The income gap between city and suburb is less significant in the South and West. The average median household income in the Southern and Western cities is about three-quarters that in the suburbs (.77 and .83 respectively), while in the Northeastern and Midwestern cities it is less than two-thirds that in the suburbs (.62 and .67 respectively).

• The poverty gap between city and suburb is more significant in the Northeast and Midwest. The percentage of residents living below the poverty line in suburbs of the Northeast is only .34 as high as in the cities. In the Midwest this ratio is .32, slightly worse. But in the South and West this disparity is far smaller: .54 in the South and .55 in the West. The same pattern holds true for unemployment rates.

• Suburbs in the West have more vacant housing than cities in this region. The housing vacancy rate is 1.10 times as high in the suburbs than in the cities in Western metro areas. In the rest of the country housing vacancy is higher in the cities.

• On every indicator, the national average for cities compared to suburbs got worse during the 1990’s. The same is true for most indicators in every region.

Table 1. City-Suburb Economic Disparity by Region