Source: American Community Survey, 2006

If you accept the notion that moving to the suburbs is what people do when they get wealthier, you would expect metropolitan areas to be richer than the urban centers they surround. On the other hand, if you accept the argument that America’s economy is driven by a “creative class” that prefers living in vibrant cities over same-ish suburbs, you might expect higher incomes in the cities. So, you might ask, does the urban center of Indianapolis or the suburban area surrounding it have a higher income?

Median incomes are much higher for the suburban counties around Indianapolis than for the urban center. The difference in 2006 was $8,894 per household. That amounts to a 21.2 percent income difference. Most similar cities have a similar pattern of higher incomes throughout the metro area than in the urban core, but the difference is seldom as great as it is here.

Among the 11 cities in the comparison, Indianapolis has one of the highest gaps between urban and metro incomes. Indianapolis ranks eighth among the 11 cities for urban incomes and second for metro incomes. Only in Detroit and Milwaukee is the gap wider between city and suburb. In eight cities, the metro bonus is smaller and, in three cities, the city has higher incomes than its suburbs.

Milwaukee long has had a reputation for high taxes. Reforms in the past 20 years have changed the facts, but the reputation may still influence people away from the city. Detroit has lost ground because of high crime and the vagaries of its dominant local industry – the big three domestic automakers.