GEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA 237 



RURAL AND URBAN POPULATION 



The percentage of the total population living in incorporated 

 places with over 2,500 inhabitants (the arbitrary limit for urban 

 population used by the U. S. Census Bureau) was 11.2 in 1890, 

 19.4 in 1895. 13.7 in 1900, 23.9 in 1905, 33.6 in 1910, 37.1 in 

 191 5, and 40.5 in 1920. These figures are rather high, being above 

 the average for the whole State (and in recent years for the whole' 

 South). In 1915, by the State census, 51% of the inhabitants of 

 central Florida, and 44.2% of those in the whole State, were living 

 in incorporated places (some of which had much fewer than 2,500 

 people). The percentage of urban population is a rough measure 

 of civilization, for where there is a low state of civilization there 

 are few or no cities ; but of course it does not necessarily follow 

 that a city is a better place to live than the country. 



Some interesting comparisons between our urban and rural 

 population in 19 10 are given in Table 22. In this there are sep- 

 arate columns for Tampa (including West Tampa, which is in- 

 corporated separately, but for geographical purposes is as much a 

 part of Tampa as is Ybor City on the east side), for the eight 

 cities next in rank (listed farther on), and for the remainder of 

 the population, w^hich is classed as rural by the census ; also for the 

 rural and urban population of the whole State. 



One who studies this table carefully can gather from it many 

 significant facts, especially about the amount and kind of immi- 

 gration to this part of the State, but it would take several pages 

 to discuss it in detail. It will be observed however that in many 

 respects the smaller cities resemble the rural districts more than 

 they do Tampa, that central Florida has a larger proportion of 

 men than the rest of the State, and that the foreigners in the 

 smaller cities and rural districts are of a superior type to those in 

 Tampa, where they partly take the place of negroes. 



Although the foreigners constitute less than a third of the total 

 population of Tampa proper (which includes Ybor City), they 

 outnumber native whites and negroes combined in West Tampa 

 (which would hardly be possible in an isolated city, but West 

 Tampa is a mere suburb). Worse still, among the adult males the 

 foreigners outnumber the native whites in Tampa proper, and in 

 West Tampa they are over three times as numerous as all native 



