The stereotype that divides America neatly into poor rural dwellers and smug urban elites does not align with the demographic data from American Community Survey’s five-year data estimates, writes Elizabeth Currid-Halkett for The Wall Street Journal.

This shows that, in everything but education, average small-town households are doing at least as well as their urban counterparts. In fact, Philadelphia’s income distribution is astonishingly similar to that of small-town Pennsylvania.

Three percent of Philadelphia residents earn more than $200,000, but so do 2.1 percent of other Pennsylvanians. At the same time, 14 percent of Philadelphians make less than $10,000, compared to 8.1 percent of small-town dwellers.

Small-town Pennsylvanians outnumber Philadelphia residents in the $100,000 to $150,000 income range. The proportion making $150,000 to $200,000 is also similar, with 2.9 percent of small-town residents versus 3.4 percent of Philadelphia residents, in this range.

Homeownership is also higher in small towns nationwide at 73 percent versus 52 percent in Philadelphia.

The data indicates that, while extreme poverty and unemployment exist in rural America, they are also present in cities. This clearly shows that the geographic and demographic divide is not as wide as the stereotype would suggest.

Read more in The Wall Street Journal here.

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