CONCENTRATION IN CITIES.

DISTRIBUTION BY CLASS OF PLACE OF RESIDENCE.

In 1900 the 10,341,276 foreign-born residing in continental United States were distributed by class of place of residence as indicated in the following table:

TABLE 13.-Distribution of foreign-born population of continental United States, by class of place of residence: 1900.

From the preceding table it will be seen that 38.8 per cent of the foreign-born population of continental United States in 1900 resided in cities having at least 100,000 inhabitants. The percentage in cities having a population of from 25,000 to 100,000 was 10.8, making the total percentage in cities having at least 25,000 inhabitants 49.6, or practically one-half. The percentage in smaller cities, having a population of from 2,500 to 25,000, was 16.7, or one-sixth, and in country districts 33.7, or one-third.

To gauge the degree of concentration in cities indicated by these percentages, it is necessary to introduce corresponding percentages for the native population, which is done in the following table:

TABLE 14.-Per cent distribution of native and foreign born population of continental United States, by class of place of residence: 1900.

The preceding table shows clearly that the foreign-born population of continental United States is concentrated in cities to a much greater degree than the native population. Of the total foreign-born population, 66.3 per cent reside in cities having a population of at

least 2,500, but only 36.1 per cent of the native population are so classed. The larger the cities, the greater the disparity between the percentages of foreign-born population and of native population residing in such cities.

The following table exhibits the concentration of foreign-born in cities from a somewhat different angle. There is shown the total population for each class of cities and for country districts in continental United States, the foreign-born population, and the ratio of foreign-born to total.

TABLE 15.-Total population and number and per cent of foreign-born, in continental United States, by class of place of residence: 1900.

The ratio of the foreign-born population to the total population of continental United States is shown by the preceding table to be 13.6 per cent. The percentage for cities having at least 2,500 inhabitants is 22.4 and that for country districts is 7.7. The percentage of foreign-born is thus three times as great in cities as in country districts. By class of city, the percentage of foreign-born decreases regularly with the size of city. In cities of at least 100,000 population the percentage of foreign-born is 28.2; in cities of 25,000 to 100,000 it is 20.4; in cities of 8,000 to 25,000, 18.1; in cities of 4,000 to 8,000, 14.2; and in cities of 2,500 to 4,000, 13.3.

The next table compares the native white of native parentage, native white of foreign parentage, and foreign-born white, as regards the number and percentage residing, in 1900, in cities having at least 25,000 inhabitants. Figures for foreign-born white are used in preference to those for all foreign-born, as furnishing a more accurate basis of comparison with native white population.

TABLE 16.--White population in cities of continental United States, by nativity: 1900.

The preceding table shows that the greater the remove of a class from native white stock the greater is the percentage of that class in large cities. The proportion of each class of white population in cities of the specified size in 1900 is as follows: Native white of native parentage, 16.2 per cent; native white of foreign parentage (i. e., first remove), 43.6 per cent; foreign-born white (i. e., second remove), 49.7 per cent. The percentage for the three classes combined is 27.7. The table next presented shows the increase in native and foreign born population, 1890 to 1900, and the extent to which this increase is found in cities and in country districts:

TABLE 17.-Number and per cent distribution of native and foreign born population, and number and per cent of increase, by class of place of residence: 1890 and 1900.

The preceding table shows that of a total of 10,341,276 foreignborn persons in continental United States in 1900, 6,859,078, or 66.3 per cent, resided in cities of 2,500 or over. The number residing in smaller cities and in country districts, 3,482,198, constituted 33.7 per cent, or slightly over one-third, of the total foreign-born. Almost exactly inverse proportions are found among the native population, however, 63.9 per cent of a total of 65,653,299 residing in the smaller cities and country districts, and 36.1 per cent in the larger cities.

Of the total native population 15.5 per cent were in cities of over 100,000; of the total foreign-born 38.8 per cent were in such cities. Comparing the figures for 1890 and 1900 it will be seen that in cities of 100,000 or over the native population shows an increase of 3,586,950, or a percentage increase of 54.2. This was sufficient to cause an advance in the proportion living in such cities from 12.3 per cent of the total native in 1890 to 15.5 per cent in 1900. The number of foreign-born living in cities of 100,000 increased 29.9 per cent between 1890 and 1900 and the proportion in cities of this size advanced from 33.4 per cent of the total foreign-born in 1890 to 38.8 per cent in 1900.

These figures indicate that there was a tendency toward concentration in the largest cities on the part of both native and foreign born. In the smaller cities and country districts, however, although the native-born show an absolute increase of 5,111,044, or 13.9 per cent, the foreign-born show a decrease of 2.5 per cent. The increase in native population in country districts was not sufficient to maintain its position relative to the large city population, however, the proportion in country districts declining from 68.6 per cent of the total in 1890 to 63.9 per cent in 1900. .

The increase in foreign-born is an increase in city population entirely, and mostly in large city population. The increase in nativeborn, however, was more equally proportioned between cities and country districts.

These figures for native-born include negroes, native whites of native parentage, and native whites of foreign parentage, and therefore do not throw any light upon the relative positions of native whites of native parentage and those of foreign parentage. The growth and distribution of these two classes of whites in comparison with foreign whites are shown in the table following.