Smaller areas outstripped big cities in '70s growth

America's smaller cities and towns grew far faster in the 1970s than did bigger cities, expanding by nearly a third over the decade, a major summary of the 1980 census showed.

The population of places between 10,000 and 50,000 people rose 30.1 percent over the decade, a sharp contrast to the 1.9 percent growth rate in places with populations of 100,000 or more.