In the business world, it’s called “first mover advantage.” It’s the head start Apple got in the smartphone market because it invented the device.

The more we learn about young Americans’ priorities in where they want to live, the more it’s looking like a few cities that happened to start investing in low-car transportation options years ago have been enjoying a big head start in attracting young workers over the last 10 years, even if their local job markets are ho-hum at best.

It’s old news by now that young Americans are far more enthusiastic about urban life than their parents were. But a 10-city survey released this week shows something interesting and new: this attitude seems to be nearly as common among young people in Indianapolis or Tampa as it is among those in New York or San Francisco.

Check out these startling findings from the survey by the Rockefeller Foundation and Transportation For America: