37 Secret Sister Cities To Find Your Rural Homestead

Find Your Rural Or Urban Homestead Wealth In The City!

Few Americans are aware of the steady build-up of innovative sister cities for building community wealth for urban and rural homesteads.

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RuralMoney.com is proud to share 37 secret community wealth sister cities that provide information about a broad range of community wealth building activities, to help you find your rural or urban homestead and wealth.

Some of the cities on the list may surprise you.

Also, check out important HUD housing and other related affordable housing articles below.

The State Of Community Wealth Sister Cities Is Great For Building A Homestead

1. Atlanta, Georgia

The City of Atlanta has reclaimed its spot as the dominant economy in the Southeast, according to Mayor Kasim Reed during his 2016 State of the City address.

Although part of a metropolitan area of more than five million inhabitants, the city of Atlanta is much smaller, with a population of just over 430,000.

While the overall region gained 80,000 people a year in the 1990s, the city of Atlanta added only 22,000 residents.

However, the pace of growth within the city has since increased greatly.

In part, this is simply a product of overall metropolitan growth, as the Atlanta area has been the nation’s fastest growing region since 2000. Read more about Atlanta, Georgia…

Important Read >>> 30 Rural Counties In Metro Atlanta For A Better Lifestyle

2. Richmond, Virginia

The 32nd in our continuing series of Community Wealth Cities is Richmond, Virginia.

Richmond has a complex history; once the capital of the Confederacy, it was also the first city to host a bank chartered by African-Americans.

Its unique legacy as a site of both racial tension and progress creates interesting challenges and opportunities for community wealth building.

Last fall, Richmond gained national attention for Mayor Dwight Jones’ anti-poverty plan, which calls for broad expansion of community wealth building and social enterprise activity. Read more about Richmond, Virginia…

3. Baltimore, Maryland

In the 2010 census, Baltimore had a population of 620,961 residents, a decline of 4.7% from 10 years before.

The city’s racial composition is 63.7% African American, 29.6 % White, and 2.3% Asian.

Additionally 4.1% of Baltimore’s population identifies as Hispanic or Latino.

Baltimore used to be an industrial town, with an economic base driven by steel processing, shipping, and manufacturing and the city’s largest employer was Bethlehem Steel.

Now the leading employer is Johns Hopkins, which operates the city’s largest university and hospital. Read more about Baltimore, Maryland..

4. Cincinnati, Ohio

Incorporated as a city in 1819, Cincinnati grew steadily through the mid-1900s due to its prime location on the Ohio River.

In fact, the Queen City—so dubbed by Longfellow, who referred to it as “the Queen of the West”—weathered the Great Depression better than most cities of comparable size, because of the resurgence in river trade, which was less expensive than rail.

By 1950, Cincinnati had grown to its peak of nearly 504,000 residents, making it the 18th largest city in the country. Read more about Cincinnati, Ohio…

5. Columbus, Ohio

The largest city in Ohio, Columbus is also the capital of the state.

According to the 2010 Census, Columbus is comprised of 787,000 people with a median age of 31.2 years old, seven years younger than the nation’s median.

The city’s demographics are of 61.5 percent white, 28 percent African American, 4.1 percent Asian American, and 5.6 percent having a Latino/Hispanic background. Read more about Columbus, Ohio…

6. Detroit, Michigan

In the 2000 census, Detroit had a population of 951,270 residents, marking the first time since 1920 that the city’s population had dipped below one million.

By 2011, the city had 706,585 residents, whose racial composition was 82.7% African American, 10.6% White, 6.8% Hispanic, and 1.1% Asian.

Detroit’s population has fallen by more than 60 percent from the city’s population of 1.85 million in 1950. Read more about Detroit, Michigan…

7. Greensboro, North Carolina

The 31st in our continuing series of Community Wealth Cities is Greensboro, North Carolina.

Situated in central North Carolina and a leading site of the civil rights movement (birthplace of the lunch counter sit-ins that led to the integration of restaurants and hotels), Greensboro today is the state’s third largest city.

Organizations across the city are actively creating and implementing innovative community wealth building programs and strategies to help foster a healthier, vibrant local economy. Read more about Greensboro, North Carolina…

8. Indianapolis, Indiana

The largest city in Indiana, and the 12th largest in the nation, Indianapolis has a population of nearly 843,400, according to 2013 U.S. Census estimates.

Demographically, the population is roughly 62 percent white, 27 percent African American, 9 percent Latino, and 2 percent Asian. Read more about Indianapolis, Indiana…

9. Kansas City, Missouri

Bordering and sharing a name with its suburban neighbor in adjacent Kansas, Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the state with a population of more than 460,000 in 2011.

Known for its substantial musical contributions to jazz and blues starting in the 1930s, Kansas City is also informally referred to as the “Heart of America” by Kansas City residents since it is situated very near the geographic center of the nation. Read more about Kansas City, Missouri…

10. Memphis, Tennessee

Capitol of the “Mid-South,” Memphis had over 652,000 residents in 2011, almost half of the region’s population.

The Mid-South is the metropolitan hub of a five-state area, which includes Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. With a worldwide reputation for culture and art (especially the blues), Memphis was also an important city during the Civil Rights movement, and the place where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Read more about Memphis, Tennessee…

11. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Milwaukee was incorporated in 1846.

German immigrants, who came to Wisconsin in search of inexpensive farmland, fueled the city’s early growth.

Over the following decades, Milwaukee attracted large groups of other immigrants, including Poles, Lithuanians, Italian, Irish, French, Russian, Bohemian, and Swedish.

By 1910, Milwaukee ranked first in the nation, alongside New York City, for having the largest percentage of foreign-born residents. Read more about Milwaukee, Wisconsin…

12. New York, New York

As the nation’s most populous city since 1790, New York City is home to about 8.4 million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 estimate.

Throughout its history, the city has been a leading entry point for immigrants, helping create an incredibly diverse city.

Demographically, the city is 33 percent white (of which one third is Jewish), 29 percent Latino, 25 percent African American, and 13 percent Asian.

The city is home to the largest Latino and African American communities in the country and the largest Jewish population of any city in the world. Read more about New York, New York…

13. Oakland, California

Incorporated in 1852, Oakland experienced a wave of growth in the late 1860s after it was selected as the western terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Its growth continued over the next several decades as it became a thriving transport hub, with a port, shipyards, and booming automobile manufacturing industry.

The city’s population doubled to over 150,000 after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, when many San Franciscans who lost their homes moved to Oakland. Read more about Oakland, California…

14. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Many people, when they think of Pittsburgh, tend to think of its past as the historic center of the U.S. steel industry.

Not surprisingly, the demise of that industry has taken its toll on the city. At its peak in 1943, U.S. Steel alone employed 50,000 workers in the metro Pittsburgh area.

Today, it employs less than 5,000. As a result, the “Steel City” has seen a steady population decline. In 1950, the population of Pittsburgh was 677,000.

By 2000, it had fallen to less than half that level or 335,000, similar to the city’s population level of a century before. Read more about Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania…

15. Providence, Rhode Island

In recent years, Providence has seen aesthetic and economic changes, uncovering its natural rivers and starting to stabilize neighborhoods across the city. Aiding this revival are a number of community wealth building initiatives, including multiple anchor institutions, numerous community development corporations seeking to increase affordable housing options for low-income residents, and policies to foster local job creation, such as the Job Now Providence program. Read more about Providence, Rhode Island…

16. San Francisco, California

With nearly 852,500 residents in just 47 square miles, San Francisco is the most densely populated large city in the state of California and second in the United States.

It is also the fourth largest county in California and its population has experienced more than a three and a half percent increase since 2000.

According to the 2010 Census, San Francisco is 49 percent white, 33 percent Asian, 15 percent Hispanic or Latino, and six percent African-American. Read more about San Francisco, California…

17. Seattle, Washington

With an estimated population of 570,000, Seattle is a major economic, cultural and educational center of the Pacific Northwest.

According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, Seattle is 71-percent white, 13-percent Asian American, 8-percent African American, and 6-percent Latino.

Having ranked as first or second for the last four years as the most literate city in the nation, it also holds the title as the most educated large city in the country – with more than 53 percent of the population having a college degree or higher. Read more about Seattle, Washington…

18. The Twin Cities – Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota

Minneapolis, with its wide boulevards, organized grid layout, and modern downtown stands in striking contrast to the city of St. Paul across the river, with its late-Victorian architecture, narrower streets, and irregularly shaped neighborhoods. While the Twin Cities have a long history of rivalry and differ in appearances, together they both are home to many community wealth building initiatives and organizations. Read more about The Twin Cities – Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota…

19. Albuquerque, New Mexico

The largest city in New Mexico and one of the country’s most culturally diverse, Albuquerque is a rapidly growing metropolis in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley.

Known as a hub for scientific and technological innovation — particularly in the energy sector — Albuquerque is also a center of Southwestern culture, with deep ties to its Native American heritage.

Community wealth building organizations are working to protect this heritage and ensure that all residents equitably benefit in the face of rapid economic growth. Read more about Albuquerque, New Mexico….

20. Austin, Texas

Known as “The Live Music Capital of the World,” Austin is reported to have more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city.

Besides being a cultural center, it’s also the state capital, a center for education, and the economic hub for a metropolitan area of over 1.7 million people.

With a population of nearly 912,800 according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 estimates, Austin is the fourth largest city in Texas.

It has experienced a population boom over the past several years—with a growth rate of nearly 16 percent between 2010 and 2014—and was ranked by Forbes as the second fastest growing city in 2015. Read more about Austin, Texas…

21. Boston, Massachusetts

As the largest city in New England, and one of its oldest, Boston has long been the region’s economic and cultural hub.

According to the 2007 American Community Survey, the city’s population is 50% white, 25% African American, 16% Hispanic, and 9% Asian.

People of Irish and Italian ancestry comprise about one quarter of the city (16% and 8% respectively), while people of West Indian ancestry are the third largest group with 6.4% of the city’s population. Read more about Boston, Massachusetts…

22. Chicago, Illinois

The third largest city in the United States, Chicago had a population of nearly 2.7 million residents at the time of the 2010 census, and covers 237 square miles of land.

The city’s population is 32.9% African American, 28% Hispanic, 5% Asian, and the remainder mostly non-Hispanic white. Read more about Chicago, Illinois…

23. Cleveland, Ohio

Now the 45th largest city in the United States, the City of Cleveland’s prime location on the Great Lakes made it one of our country’s key transportation hubs and commercial and manufacturing centers by the late 19th century.

In fact, due primarily to its strong economy, Cleveland became the fifth largest city in the United States in 1920, and reached a population high of 914,808 in 1949. Read more about Cleveland, Ohio…

24. Denver, Colorado

With its population rebounding in the 1990s due to an influx of young Americans from across the country and a surge of Mexican immigrants, Denver recovered from large population losses it experienced in the 1980s.

According to the 2010 Census, Denver’s population was just over 600,000.

As of 2010, the city was 68 percent white, 10 percent African American, and 3 percent Asian.

Approximately 31 percent of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino. Read more about Denver, Colorado…

25. Durham, North Carolina

Durham was once best known for its textile mills and its tobacco factories, including the “Bull Durham Tobacco and Company” and “Duke & Sons.”

However, in the late 1980s Durham hit hard times, marked by the closure of Erwin Mills (Burlington Industries) in 1986 and, just one year later, of the American Tobacco factory. Read more about Durham, North Carolina…

26. Houston, Texas

Spurred on by industry from its bustling port and railroad connections, a 20th century oil boom, and later from diversification into aerospace (the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center) and healthcare and biotechnology (the MD Anderson Cancer Center), the City of Houston has grown rapidly in population and economic output.

Today, Houston is the fourth largest city in nation with a population of 2.1 million people and one of the youngest cities in the country. Read more about Houston, Texas…

27. Jacksonville, Florida

The eleventh most populous city in the nation and the largest in Florida, Jacksonville is home to community wealth building initiatives at every level – from the city-and region-wide to the most grassroots of efforts.

Both the city-owned port and city-owned electric utility serve as important economic engines.

Community-led efforts are striving to revitalize the city’s especially hard-hit northwest neighborhoods. Read more about Jacksonville, Florida…

28. Los Angeles, California

Spanning across 500 square miles of Southern California, Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the United States with a 2010 census population of just under 3.8 million people.

According to the 2010 census, the city’s population is 50% white, 10% black, and 15% Asian.

Just under 50% of Los Angeles’ population is Hispanic or Latino.

Spurred in part by rampant urban sprawl and gentrification in some neighborhoods, Los Angeles has spawned a wide range of community wealth building initiatives that are seeking to counter these trends. Read more about Los Angeles, California…

29. Miami, Florida

In the 2010 census, Miami had a population of approximately 399,500 residents.

While judging by its population, Miami might be regarded as a mid-sized city, it forms the center of a much larger metropolitan region of more than 2.25-million, known as Miami-Dade County.

The city’s racial composition is 72.4% white, 19% African American, and the remainder Asian.

Nearly 70% of Miami residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. Read more about Miami, Florida…

30. New Orleans, Louisiana

A decade after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, more than halving the city’s population from 455,000 to 210,000 residents, the Big Easy is coming back.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, New Orleans’ population has climbed past 378,000.

Demographically, the population is roughly 60 percent African American, 33 percent white, 5 percent Latino, and 3 percent Asian. Read more about New Orleans, Louisiana…

31. Newark, New Jersey

Located less than 10 miles from New York City, Newark, New Jersey is a major commercial center in the northeast.

With nearly 278,500 residents, Newark is the state’s largest city and functions as a major transportation hub, home to one of the nation’s busiest airports, Newark Liberty International Airport, as well as Port Newark, the largest container shipping terminal on the East Coast. Read more about Newark, New Jersey…

32. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is a diverse city spread across many ethnic neighborhoods.

According to the 2010 Census, Philadelphia’s population is about 40% white, 43% African American, and 6% Asian.

About 12% of Philadelphia’s population identify as Hispanic or Latino.

The city is home to the nation’s second largest Irish and Italian communities and the nation’s fourth largest African American and Polish communities. Read more about Philadelphia, Pennsylvania…

33. Portland, Oregon

The city of Portland, Oregon has enjoyed an economic boom that was largely supported by growth in high technology industries.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, its population as of 2010 exceeded 583,000. The city’s population is predominately white, but does have significant minority populations. Portland’s population includes 9.4% who are Hispanic or Latino, 7.1% who are Asian American, 6.2% who are African-American and 1% who are American Indian. Read more about Portland, Oregon…

34. Rochester, New York

Chartered in 1834, Rochester grew in the mid-19th century as the flour mill industry developed along the Genesee River.

As America’s wheat processing industry moved west, the city’s moniker changed from “Flour City” to “Flower City” thanks to its growing nursery businesses.

Rochester’s industrial base diversified after the Civil War, when immigrants launched enterprises including Eastman Kodak and Bausch & Lomb, helping the city to reach its peak population of nearly 332,500 by 1950. Read more about Rochester, New York…

35. San Jose, California

Located just south of San Francisco Bay in the heart of Silicon Valley, San Jose has grown to become northern California’s largest city.

The city’s population in 2010 was 945,000, exceeding San Francisco’s population by about 140,000.

Like most large California cities, San Jose has a diverse population: 43% are white, 32% are Asian, and 3% are African-American.

33% of San Jose’s residents identify as Hispanic or Latino.

As would be expected for the central city of the Silicon Valley, San Jose enjoys considerable wealth, but it also has a large low-income population. Read more about San Jose, California…

36. St. Louis, Missouri

At the turn of the 20th century, St. Louis, Missouri was the fourth largest city in the nation.

Although a combination of suburbanization, industrial restructuring, and job loss have created a smaller St. Louis today relative to other U.S. cities, in 2008, the “Gateway to the West” marked its first net population gain during a decade since 1950.

Today, the city is home to more than 310,000 residents.

Demographically, St. Louis is 49 percent African American, 46 percent white, 3 percent Latino and 2 percent Asian. Read more about St. Louis, Missouri…

37. Washington, D.C.

When most people think of Washington, D.C., they think of a city of iconic monuments, the Smithsonian museums, and the three branches of the Federal government.

But Washington is also a thriving community of more than half a million residents.

The District’s population, which lost over 200,000 residents between 1950 and 2000, has rapidly rebounded in recent years.

As recently as 2007, the District was home to only 574,000 residents.

By 2014, population had climbed back to 659,000 due to an influx of young, largely white residents. Read more about Washington, D.C….

Resource: Community Wealth Building Map

There are many rural areas outside the perimeter of major cities where you can find your rural or urban homestead.

Happy homestead hunting! 😉

Important Homestead Resources:

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My USDA-RD Housing Success Story|Rural Money Homestead

Housing Support For Struggling Families: Guide For Rural America

How To Buy The Best Homestead Inexpensively

What To Know Before You Start Rural Homesteading

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How To Get Free Land In Alaska To Build A Homestead

USDA-RD Multifamily Housing Rental Assistance: OPEN

USDA-RD Applicant Income Requirements For Rural Americans

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USDA-RD Rental Assistance Program For Disabled And Elderly

USDA-RD Direct Home Loan Program: Everything You Don’t Know

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