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Demographers identified the phenomenon of step-migration as they studied the movement of large populations within Europe and the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. Migrants often made the trek from rural areas to cities in steps as they first settled in a town or smaller urban center before moving to a large city. Blacks who moved from the South to northern cities in the 1930's often followed the pattern of step-migration. However, their final success was not necessarily insured by their gradual acculturation to urban life. A case study of Pittsburgh in the 1930's indicates that black women tended to have better jobs and prospects on reaching the city, but black men faced more difficulties.