When you read up on U.S. political basics, you can’t help but come across the detail that many of the people in cities in the U.S. seem to lean left, yet what isn’t as clear is why and what influences their concentration in cities/urban areas.
Cities don’t exactly appear to be affordable, and left-leaning folks in the U.S. don’t seem to necessarily be much wealthier than right-leaning folks, so what’s contributed to this situation?
Cities add efficiency. By pulling together and sharing resources, you can suddenly have nice soccer fields, insider pools for winter, or a national sports team. Also, companies are more efficient doe to a larger pool of labor. It is easier to have rewarding careers when there are many companies to choose from.
People in cities tend to output far more per person than rural areas. That is why states like CA have much higher gdp per person than states with mostly rural people, or even TX that is about average with a big mix of both.
And this leads to higher potential wages for more people. That person living paycheck to paycheck in a high cost of living area is usually building wealth much faster than the same person in a low cost of living area. Just don’t try to live there if you cannot make enough to afford it.