America's largest cities have 72% of the post-crisis employment growth

In the recovery from the financial crash, the largest, densest U.S. cities have had much steeper employment growth than smaller communities, according to a new study by Brookings' Clara Hendrickson, Mark Muro and William Galston.

"Big, techy metros like San Francisco, Boston, and New York with populations over 1 million have flourished, accounting for 72% of the nation’s employment growth since the financial crisis. By contrast, many of the nation’s smaller cities, small towns, and rural areas have languished."

The big picture: The report traces this economic trend to the current state of political polarization. "In a very real way, the 2016 election of Donald Trump represented the revenge of the places left behind in a changing economy," the authors say.