Zoning: Wealth Levels

Wealth levels apply to Sims as well as residential and commercial zones. They also restrict where Sims of a certain wealth level can shop, it affects tourists coming into the city who will want particular attractions based on their wealth level and what types of mass transit Sims are prepared to use.

The following sections can be found in this article:

Wealth Levels & Shopping

Sims of a particular wealth level will only shop in commercial buildings of the same wealth level. This is common sense really, poor Sims can't afford to spend money in high wealth shops, high wealth shops need the income of high wealth Sims to stay in business.

If Sims can't find a shop that matches their wealth level, they will become unsatisfied shoppers. Unsatisfied Shoppers can become a problem for your approval rating IF there are no alternative venues for these Sims to go to, such as parks, libraries, places of worship.

Unsatisfied shoppers and shops without sufficient customers means zones of particular wealth levels are too far away from their counterpart zones of the same wealth level, or there are too many buildings of one type and not enough of the other.

Unsatisfied shoppers can use other city service buildings such as libraries, parks or places of worship, but such buildings cost money and bring in no tax revenue.

Check your population statistics and look for unsold goods or unsatisfied shoppers in wealth level groups; if there are is a large disparity then it's time to take a close look at your residential and commercial zones to see where the demand is and where you need to change your zoning quantities and increase or decrease the underlying land value to match up neighboring zones.

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Wealth Levels & Industry

ALL types of industry will require workers from ALL wealth levels. Typically most factories will want many more low wealth workers than medium and high, but they will want higher percentages of medium and high wealth workers as they increase their tech level.

Improving the wealth level of some residential areas that are near to industries by adding small parks, expanding your police coverage if necessary to reduce crime and ensuring that your school enrollment is sufficient for your population will keep your industrial zones thriving by providing a 'complete' workforce. Think in terms of providing not just factory workers, but supervisors, managers and directors for each industry. You want lots of workers, but you also need a few Sims to organize the workers and run the company. All these Sims can be educated, but the higher wealth Sims can only exist in your city if they have higher wealth homes to live in.

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Wealth Levels & Tourists

Just like resident Sims, tourists also have wealth levels and will want to shop and visit appropriate buildings. If you want to attract medium and high wealth Sims you will need cultural or gambling attractions that encourage medium and high wealth tourists. High wealth tourists in particular, are vital for high wealth commercial buildings which will go out of business quickly if their high wealth souvenirs remain unsold.

In addition to considering what shops and attractions your city has when planning a tourist city, you'll also need to consider how you are going to move your tourists around it. Tourists will come by car, but most prefer mass transit, so it's important to fully utilize mass transit to move tourists around your city.

Mass transit systems also have associated wealth levels. Low wealth Sims use buses, high wealth Sims prefer planes and ferries. Fortunately everyone likes the streetcar, but this means not only having the right attractions and available shopping for a particular wealth class, but also using the appropriate mass transit system in such a way that it brings tourists in close to those attractions. Phew! If you don't get this aspect right, there's a good chance that your tourist attractions and casinos will not make a profit, and commercial buildings that need tourists will likely fail.

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Wealth Levels & Happiness

Sims become harder to keep happy the higher their wealth level (entitlement much!). Low wealth Sims will typically be happy with a local park, a job of some description and a cheap burger joint to visit round the corner. So long as the tax rate is Ok, and they're not sick or on fire, they won't complain too much and will think that the Mayor is doing a good job.

Medium wealth Sims will worry about many more things. They will get fed up if they don't have access to medium wealth shops, and will also worry about pollution, germs and access to education.

High wealth Sims are incredibly fussy and will complain about the slightest little thing! If there was a mugging down the street four months ago they will complain there is too much crime and move out. If someone in a high wealth building develops a sniffle, they will pack their bags and leave. They have no tolerance for garbage, pollution, germs, low tech industry or poor Sims. They require high land values and lots of education. They want access to high wealth / high tech jobs, but don't want to have to travel far (certainly not by bus) to get there.

In short, higher wealth means higher difficulty, the more your city has, the harder you have to work micro-managing it. This is useful to keep in mind when taking on achievement challenges such as 'Best Mayor Ever' or getting the full upgrade path for your Mayoral mansion (Quid Pro Quo).

Tourists & Happiness

These same factors will also apply to tourists of different wealth levels.

Low wealth tourists will be quite content with the nickle slots at the gambling house and a shuttle bus to take them there. Medium wealth tourists will want to see a tourist attraction and do some shopping. High wealth tourists will want to buy only high-end souvenirs, stay in hotels in high wealth commercial areas, will only travel by ferry or airplane, and will want to go to the smartest casinos. Any hint of crime, garbage, pollution etc, they will stop visiting your city immediately (and probably tell all their snooty high wealth friends not to visit either).

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