Differences between City and Town

Cities are basically larger towns, where a large number of people live. Towns are typically smaller than cities.

The criteria for cities and towns varies from across different parts of the globe. However, the commonly accepted differences between cities and towns are given below:

1. Cities are very large and they extend over a large portion of land. Towns typically have smaller area than cities, but larger than villages.
2. Density of population is very high in cities, whereas there is a modest level of population density in towns.
3. The absolute population of cities is much higher than that of towns.
4. Cities are of urban nature characterized by well planned developed communication, road, transportation, and sewage systems. Towns are typically of semi-urban or rural nature.
5. The per capital income of people living in metropolitan cities is much higher than people living in smaller towns.
6. In large cities, there are a number of good educational institutions, such as schools, colleges, universities. In smaller towns, there are fewer schools and colleges.
7. There are a large number of high-rise buildings in cities. In towns, there are smaller buildings.
8. Larger cities are big economic centers. Many multinational companies are headquartered in cities. In towns, there are generally proprietorship businesses and fewer companies.
9. A number of industries are set up along the suburb of cities. The areas around towns generally consists of agricultural land and few factories.
10. There is massive employment opportunities in large metropolitan cities. In towns, there are less employment opportunities and a large mass of the population are self-employed.