Between 1979 and 1999, “middle-class households remained

Between 1979 and 1999, “middle-class households remained a significant, even growing presence in a number of mostly middle-sized cities such as Grand Rapids, Tacoma, and St. Petersburg,” says a Brookings Institution analysis of census data by Alan Berube and Thacher Tiffany. “The Shape of the Curve” finds that most cities lost high-income households. However, it notes, “Middle-class households did not abandon all cities over the past 20 years. ... Overall, the number of middle-class cities grew from just 13 [in 1979] to 29 in 1999.” The authors argue that “cities should aim to attract and retain the particular types of households that would contribute to greater income diversity.” The report is on the Brookings website at www.brookings.edu/. u