Fascinating City Facts

  • Cities cover just 2% of Earth’s land — but create over 80% of global GDP.
  • Today 56% of people live in urban areas — by 2050 it will be 68%.
  • The 600 largest cities generate around 60% of world GDP with only 20% of the population.
  • Urban areas consume 70% of global energy while covering almost none of its land surface.
  • Cities produce over 90% of all private-sector jobs on Earth.
  • U.S. metro areas generate ~91% of national GDP and 88% of all employment.
  • The 25 largest U.S. metros account for half the entire U.S. economy.
  • In 37 states, cities contribute over 80% of state GDP.
  • Urban jobs pay about 25% more on average than rural ones.
  • Employment in metro regions has grown four times faster than in rural America.
  • Chicago’s metro output — $895 billion — rivals the economy of Switzerland.
  • Just 3% of Americans live in Chicago’s region, yet it produces ~4% of U.S. GDP.
  • Downtown Chicago packs 100 million square feet of office space into a single square mile.
  • Home to 35 Fortune 500 headquarters — more per capita than nearly any major metro.
  • Chicago’s economy drives more than three-quarters of Illinois’ GDP.
  • Life expectancy can differ by 30 years between Chicago ZIP codes.
  • Residents in Streeterville live to 90; just nine miles south in Englewood, the average is 60.
  • Chicago has the largest life-expectancy gap of any U.S. city.
  • In some neighborhoods poverty exceeds 40%; in others it’s below 5%.
  • More than a third of kids in some Chicago areas lack access to parks or healthy food.
  • Cities produce ~75% of global CO₂ emissions — and Chicago is still replacing lead water lines.
  • Every city has its flaws — but that’s also where its greatest opportunity lives.
  • Only 31% of CPS students in grades 3–8 meet reading standards; just 19% are at grade level in math.
  • Among Chicago high school juniors, only 22% read and 19% do math at grade level.
  • 41 out of 630 schools in Chicago Public Schools have ZERO students in the school testing to their grade level in math. ZERO!
  • 20 out of 630 schools in Chicago Public Schools have ZERO students in the school testing to their grade level in reading. ZERO!
  • One-third of all 630 CPS schools are less than half full with some extreme cases having 64 kids enrolled in a school facility built for 1300 kids.
  • Uplift High School (in CPS) has recorded a near 1-to-1 ratio of staff to students (54 employees for 55 students) yet only 3% of those students could read at grade level.