State of the Cities |
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Lancaster, PA MSA |
The economic conditions of metropolitan regions
are continuously shifting, making some places around the country
more desirable than others for businesses and residents.
The following chart shows the relative ranking in economic
well being of this region compared to all 331 metropolitan regions in the
country for 1990 and 2000. The most prosperous metro area will be ranked 1,
and the least prosperous will have a rank of 331.
Economic Well Being Rankings
| 1990 | 2000* | |
| Metro Region | 57 | 91 |
Central City |
280 |
298 |
Suburb |
85 |
134 |
In the short term it is possible for one part of the metropolis the suburbs to prosper while another part the central city declines. But a large disparity between cities and suburbs is likely in the long run to damage the region as a whole. The following chart shows the relative ranking in city-suburban disparity of this region compared to other metropolitan regions, as well as how it changed between 1990 and 2000. The metro area where the central city is doing best, compared to its suburban ring, will be ranked 1, and the one where the central city is most depressed relative to its suburbs will have a rank of 326 (because 1 metro area is entirely central city and 4 metro areas are entirely suburban).
City-Suburban Disparity Ranking
1990 |
2000* |
305 |
303 |
The following chart shows a series of indicators representing the socioeconomic status of the region. In the last two columns are measures of the city-suburban disparity on each indicator. Their calculation depends on the indicator. On indicators like median income, where a higher value reflects more prosperity, the measure is the city value divided by the suburban value. On indicators like percent unemployed, the measure is the suburban value divided by the city value. This way, for every indicator a value of the disparity measure greater than 1.0 means that the city is doing better than the suburbs; a value less than 1.0 means the city is doing worse. If the value rises over time, it means the city's relative position is improving; if it declines, that represents a relative deterioration.
Median household income has been reported by the Census Bureau for metro areas and individual cities. For suburbs, for cities where there is more than one central city in the metropolis, and for metro areas that cross state lines, we provide estimates of the median income. These are based on either linear or Pareto curve interpolation from grouped data. For 1990, where income has been reported in 25 categories, the estimates are quite precise. For 2000, because only 9 categories of income have been reported, the estimates are subject to some error. Click here for more details on the procedure.
The last row shows index values that combine all the indicators. Some metro areas have improved on some indicators but declined on others. To evaluate the net change, we calculate a standardized score on every indicator (based on the 1990 mean and standard deviation) and use the average of these scores as an overall index value, where a higher value indicates more prosperity. This index is similar to the one on which we have ranked metro areas, cities, and suburbs above. The overall index of city-suburb disparity (last two columns of the last row) is the city index value minus the suburb index value -- a positive value means that the city is doing better than the suburbs.
Socioeconomic Indicators.
Metro Region |
Central City |
Suburb |
Central City-Suburb Disparity |
|||||
1990 |
2000 |
1990 |
2000 |
1990 |
2000 |
1990 |
2000 |
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Median HH income |
43,160 |
45,507 |
28,840 |
29,770 |
45,530 |
47,471 |
0.63 |
0.63 |
Per capita income |
18,479 |
20,398 |
13,867 |
13,955 |
19,173 |
21,274 |
0.72 |
0.66 |
% Below poverty |
8 |
7.8 |
21 |
21.2 |
6.1 |
6 |
0.29 |
0.29 |
% College |
16.7 |
20.5 |
13.4 |
14 |
17.1 |
21.3 |
0.78 |
0.66 |
% Professional |
26.7 |
28.1 |
22.6 |
21.4 |
27.3 |
28.9 |
0.83 |
0.74 |
% Unemployed |
3.1 |
3 |
6.5 |
7.8 |
2.7 |
2.4 |
0.41 |
0.31 |
% Homeowners |
69.4 |
70.8 |
47 |
46.6 |
73 |
74.2 |
0.64 |
0.63 |
%Vacant housing |
3.5 |
4.1 |
5.7 |
9.1 |
3.2 |
3.4 |
0.55 |
0.37 |
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City Index - Suburban Index |
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Index Score |
0.51 |
0.9 |
-1.11 |
-1.16 |
0.75 |
1.17 |
-1.86 |
-2.33 |
