Among the most dramatic changes in the location of gang cities during the latter part of the 20th century were those affecting the regions of the United States. Figure 15 displays these regions as defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. The figure designates four major regions (Midwest, Northeast, South, West) and nine subregions, called divisions (East North Central, East South Central, Middle Atlantic, Mountain, New England, Pacific, South Atlantic, West North Central, West South Central).

Gang Cities by Region: 1995 Standings

Table 14 displays the cumulative number of gang cities in each of the four major regions as of 1995. In descending order of the number of gang cities, the four regions rank as follows: West, Midwest, South, and Northeast. The West, Midwest, and South reported similar numbers of gang cities, ranging from 411 (South) to 445 (West), with only 34 cities separating them.

The lowest ranking region, the Northeast, had approximately half as many gang cities as each of the other regions. Because the populations of the four regions varied substantially—from 51 million (Northeast) to 88 million (South)—the table also displays population-adjusted rates, obtained by dividing the number of gang cities by the total regional population in each region, per 1 million persons. Comparing the rate-based with the number-based rankings shows that the population-adjusted ranking is the same as the numerical ranking.

Figure 16 displays data from table 14 in graphic form to show the similarity in the number of gang cities in the West, Midwest, and South.

Note: The gang cities per region are ranked by rate of gang cities per 1 million regional population. The rate equals the number of gang cities in each region, divided by the total population of each region, per 1 million persons. Source: From Statistical Abstract of the United States, table 31, "Resident Population—States: 1970 to 1992," U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1993, p. 28.

Gang Cities by Region: Trends, 1970's Through 1995

Prior to the 1970's, youth gang problems were associated primarily with the large cities of the rust belt regions of the Northeast and Midwest, including, from east to west, New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Chicago, IL; and neighboring cities. By the 1970's, the West had become the region with the most gang cities, due almost entirely to a marked increase in one western State. Of the 137 gang cities in the 13 western States in the 1970's, 131 (96 percent of all gang cities in the region) were found in California.

Between the 1970's and middle 1990's, a radical shift occurred in the regional location of gang-problem cities. Prior to this period, one of the few conclusions accepted without dispute by most students of youth gangs was that the Old South was essentially free of gang problems. Among the explanations for this situation were the strict policies and procedures of law enforcement agencies. By 1995, however, the gang situation in the South had undergone major changes.

Table 15 displays 25-year trends in the four major regions and ranks the regions by the magnitude of increase in the number of gang cities between the 1970's and 1995. For all four regions combined, the number of gang cities increased by about 7.4 times during the 25-year period.

* The regions are ranked by the magnitude of increase, which is the number of gang cities in all States in 1995 divided by the number of new gang cities in the 1970's.
Includes the District of Columbia.

The largest magnitude of increase occurred in the South, where the number of gang cities rose 31.6 times, followed by the Midwest, with an increase of nearly 26 times. The Northeast and West showed smaller increases of 5.7 and 3.2 times, respectively.

The character of changes in the regional locations of gang cities can be illustrated by comparing two regions—the West and the South. In 1970, the lowest ranking South reported 13 gang cities, while the highest ranking West reported 137, more than 10 times the number of gang cities reported in the South. By 1995, the West, with 445 gang cities, still ranked first, but the South counted 411 gang cities, only about 7 percent fewer than the West. The number of gang cities in the South had increased by almost 32 times, compared with an increase of about 3 times in the West.

Figure 17 uses the data in table 15 to display the magnitude of change for each of the four major regions. The graph displays contrasting trends for the South and Midwest on the one hand, with increases on the order of 26 and 32 times, and the West and Northeast on the other, with increases ranging from 3 to 6 times. This disparity is discussed below.

Note: The gang-city trends are ranked by magnitude of change, which is the number of gang cities in 1995 divided by the number of gang cities in the 1970's.

The radical increase in the number of gang cities in the South raises the possibility that population changes may have influenced the increase. Tables 16 and 17 add population statistics to the standings shown in table 14.

The figures for percentage of change in table 16 show that while the population of all regions increased by about 25 percent, the number of gang cities increased by about 640 percent.

There was an increase of more than 40 percent in the population of the South during a period when the number of gang cities increased by more than 3,000 percent, which suggests a relationship between the growth of gang cities and population increases. However, the West showed an even greater percentage increase in population—58 percent—at the same time as it showed the lowest increase—224 percent—in the number of gang cities. This makes it difficult to claim any direct relation between increases in gang cities and increases in population. Such a relationship may exist, but the fact that the region with the highest population increase had the lowest increase in the number of gang cities shows that factors other than population growth are needed to explain the increase in the number of gang cities.

* Includes the District of Columbia.

* The divisions are ranked by magnitude of increase, which is the number of gang cities in all divisions in 1995 divided by the number of new gang cities in the 1970's.
Includes the District of Columbia.

Gang Cities, by Division

As shown in figure 15, the Bureau of the Census divides the four major regions of the United States into subregions called "divisions." There are two divisions each in the Northeast, Midwest, and West and three in the South. Examining gang cities in these nine divisions makes it possible to produce a more precise picture of regional locations and trends. Table 17 presents divisional numbers and trends for the period from 1970 to 1995.

Since the West North Central division, encompassing Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, reported no gang cities in the 1970's, the magnitude of increase cannot be calculated. However, this division's increase from no cities in the 1970's to 93 in 1995 places it in the top rank among the nine divisions. The highest ranking division in calculated magnitude of increase is the South Atlantic, which includes the Old South States of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

The eight States and the District of Columbia in the South Atlantic division reported four gang cities in the 1970's and 176 in 1995, an increase of 44.0 times. In the 1970's, two of the four cities were in southern Florida, one was in Delaware, and only one, Charleston, SC, was in the Old South. Ranking directly below the South Atlantic division are two more southern divisions, East South Central and West South Central, with gang-city increases of 32.0 and 24.4 times, respectively. The New England and Pacific divisions had the lowest magnitudes of increase.