Differences

I got to thinking about why Davenport has higher crime, problems getting new residents, and how things look in general for our city. The results of this are listed below, but I want to make a few statements first. I chose 4 cities to compare based mainly on size; square miles this time. Three of the cities are within 6 square miles of each other, and one is much smaller. They are: Cedar Rapids, Ia., Davenport, Ia., Iowa City, Ia., and Madison, Wi. Then for residents 25 years old and over; I checked the education level, unemployment rate, travel time to work, and new construction, local government, along with crime rate.

Here's what I found out- Davenport was the third largest city area wise; yet Cedar Rapids only has .3 square miles more than Davenport, and 24,274 more people. Davenport has the lowest education numbers (high school and college grads) of the cities listed. Davenport also has the highest unemployment figures the highest crime rate, the lowest number of people who live and work here, and the slowest growth rate. Our crime rate is double the next highest city, and almost 3 times higher than the lowest. We have the lowest number of new houses going up, at the next to the lowest price. Remember people, one city listed only has a population of 62,887. The travel times to work were within a few minutes time for all the cities.

I'm thinking this doesn't put our city in a very good light. People thinking of moving here have access to this site also; if you seen the differences in just these 4 cities, where would you move? Also remember, this is data from one website, using their numbers. I don't believe them to be wrong, but you're welcome to your opinion. We'd better get busy and figure out where the problem lies, and fix it! Now would be nice. Anyone have any ideas? Also over at davenportsnarkiness is a link at the end of the second paragraph under "making under $20,000/yr. It is a pdf file, over 1 MB but very interesting.


Cedar Rapids, Ia.
Land area: 63.1 square miles
population in July 2005: 123,119 (+2.0% change)
Population change in the 1990s: +11,647 (+10.7%).
Daytime population change due to commuting: +27,493 (+22.8%)
Workers who live and work in this city: 51,350 (80.6%)
For population 25 years and over in Cedar Rapids
High school or higher: 90.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 28.4%
Graduate or professional degree: 7.4%
Unemployed: 4.0%
Mean travel time to work: 16.6 minutes
Single-family new house construction building permits:
2005: 351 buildings, average cost: $108,500
Cedar Rapids is administered by a commission-mayor form of government. The City Council has executive, legislative and administrative authority. The five council members and the mayor, who is a member of the council, are elected to two-year, non-partisan terms.
city-data crime rate (2004) 340.5

Davenport, Ia.
Land area: 62.8 square miles
Estimated population in July 2005: 98,845 (+0.5% change)
Population change in the 1990s: +2,406 (+2.5%).
Daytime population change due to commuting: +10,887 (+11.1%)
Workers who live and work in this city: 30,505 (64.8%)
For population 25 years and over in Davenport
High school or higher: 83.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 21.5%
Graduate or professional degree: 7.1%
Unemployed: 6.1%
Mean travel time to work: 17.6 minutes
Single-family new house construction building permits:
2005: 255 buildings, average cost: $145,600
Davenport, the seat of Scott County, is administered by a council-mayor form of government. Ten aldermen—eight chosen by ward and elected at large—and the mayor serve two-year terms; the mayor appoints a city administrator. Davenport, once the only city in Iowa to hold partisan political elections, has elected its mayor on a non-partisan basis since 1997.
city-data crime rate (2004) 682.7

Iowa City, Ia.
Land area: 24.2 square miles
population in July 2005: 62,887 (+1.1% change)
Population change in the 1990s: +2,251 (+3.8%).
Daytime population change due to commuting: +17,074 (+27.4%)
Workers who live and work in this city: 28,067 (78.7%)
For population 25 years and over in Iowa City
High school or higher: 94.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 55.9%
Graduate or professional degree: 27.8%
Unemployed: 4.2%
Mean travel time to work: 15.8 minutes
Single-family new house construction building permits:
2005: 292 buildings, average cost: $180,100
The City Council consists of seven members, four represent the City at-large and three represent districts. At-Large Council candidates are nominated by eligible electors (a person 18 years of age and residing in Iowa City). District candidates are nominated by eligible electors within their respective districts.
city-data crime rate (2004) 229.5

Madison, Wis.
Land area: 68.7 square miles
population in July 2005: 221,551 (+6.5% change)
Population change in the 1990s: +16,504 (+8.6%).
Daytime population change due to commuting: +54,401 (+26.1%)
Workers who live and work in this city: 93,887 (78.4%)
For population 25 years and over in Madison
High school or higher: 92.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 48.2%
Graduate or professional degree: 20.9%
Unemployed: 4.8%
Mean travel time to work: 18.3 minutes
Single-family new house construction building permits:
2005: 628 buildings, average cost: $183,100
The city of Madison operates under a mayor-alderperson form of government; 20 alders, representing 20 city districts, are chosen for a two-year term in a nonpartisan election. The mayor, who is not a member of council, is chosen for a four-year term in a non-partisan election.
city-data crime rate (2004) 276.8