Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 21, 1991 TAG: 9102210424
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
And while those urban centers grew rapidly in the 1980s, more people preferred the suburbs to the core cities.
"It's not flight" from the cities, said William Frey, a research scientist at the University of Michigan Population Studies Center. "It's a natural evolutionary process."
America's migration to the metropolis has gathered speed over a century. Still, in 1950, fewer than 30 percent of Americans lived in urban areas of 1 million or more.
By 1980, that figure had grown to 45.9 percent. And in 1990, the census found 124.8 million people living in metro areas. That's 50.2 percent of the total population of 248.7 million. The bureau will report later in the year on the breakdown of the rest of the populace - those in smaller cities and on farms.
The big urban areas expanded in part because service industries - businesses that don't manufacture anything - played a bigger role in the economy, said Tom Kingsley of the Urban Institute.
Service industries "have always been more concentrated in larger cities, so when the structure of the economy expands, it's not surprising the larger cities would grow more," he said.
Charlotte, N.C.; Salt Lake City; Orlando, Fla., and Rochester, N.Y.; were new additions to the list of metro areas topping 1 million in population. That brings the number of 1 million-plus regions to 39, up from only 14 in 1950.
\ U.S. POPULATION
LARGEST AREAS
The 39 U.S. metropolitan areas with 1 million people or more, according to 1990 Census Bureau figures released Wednesday.
\ Metro Area 1980 Pop. 1990 Pop. Chg.
\ New York 17,539,532 18,087,251 3.1
Los Angeles 11,497,549 14,531,529 26.4
Chicago 7,937,290 8,065,633 1.6
San Francisco 5,367,900 6,253,311 16.5
Philadelphia 5,680,509 5,899,345 3.9
Detroit 4,752,764 4,665,236 -1.8
Boston 3,971,792 4,171,643 5.0
Washington 3,250,921 3,923,574 20.7
Dallas 2,930,568 3,885,415 32.6
Houston 3,099,942 3,711,043 19.7
Miami 2,643,766 3,192,582 20.8
Atlanta 2,138,136 2,833,511 32.5
Cleveland 2,834,062 2,759,823 -2.6
Seattle 2,093,285 2,559,164 22.3
San Diego 1,861,846 2,498,016 34.2
Minneapolis 2,137,133 2,464,124 15.3
St. Louis 2,376,968 2,444,099 2.8
Baltimore 2,199,497 2,382,172 8.3
Pittsburgh 2,423,311 2,242,798 -7.4
Phoenix 1,509,175 2,122,101 40.6
Tampa 1,613,600 2,067,959 28.2
Denver 1,618,461 1,848,319 14.2
Cincinnati 1,660,257 1,744,124 5.1
Milwaukee 1,570,152 1,607,183 2.4
Kansas City 1,433,464 1,566,280 9.3
Sacramento 1,099,814 1,481,102 34.7
Portland, Ore. 1,297,977 1,477,895 13.9
NORFOLK 1,160,311 1,396,107 20.3
Columbus 1,243,827 1,377,419 10.7
San Antonio 1,072,125 1,302,099 21.5
Indianapolis 1,166,575 1,249,822 7.1
New Orleans 1,256,668 1,238,816 -1.4
Buffalo, N.Y. 1,242,826 1,189,288 -4.3
Charlotte 971,447 1,162,093 19.6
Providence 1,083,139 1,141,510 5.4
Hartford 1,013,508 1,085,837 7.1
Orlando, Fla. 699,904 1,072,748 53.3
Salt Lake City 910,222 1,072,227 17.8
Rochester 971,230 1,002,410 3.2
by CNB