It wasn't really that true in the US for about the 50 years after WW II. Yes, NYC and maybe a few other places. My cohort from undergrad and grad school in the 80s or so did not widely live in cities (again, with the totable exception of people I knew in finance many of whom lived in Manhattan). And, at least in Boston/Cambridge, there was very little "tech" in the city. After Teradyne moved out, there may have still been some consulting but not a single product company of any size.

That's somewhat different today but it's really a very recent change.