This report is the second in a series on What the 1990 Census Says about Minnesota. A group of urban specialists gathered to examine a set of metropolitan areas that share important features that were thought to be related to central-city decline as evidenced in Minnesota's Twin Cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Six cities were identified as substantially similar to the Twin Cities, and four others were identified as substantially different. Variables studied in all 10 cities included one direct measure of poverty and 4 other characteristics considered indicators of weak labor force attachment: (1) the proportion of persons in each census tract living in households below the poverty level; (2) the proportion of households receiving public assistance; (3) the proportion of families and subfamilies headed by females; (4) the proportion of persons 16 to 19 years of age not in school and not working; and (5) the proportion of males 16 and older unemployed or underemployed. Examination of census and other data in these areas indicates that the Twin Cities area is in better shape than many comparable cities. While the inner-city cannot be said to be risk-free, troubled areas in the core cover only a fraction of the total city area. The fiscal disparities law that redistributes tax revenues in the area is excellent, but tax-base sharing alone cannot address all the inner city's needs. (Contains 7 tables, 70 figures, and 30 references.) (SLD)