This paper examines differences between large urban areas, smaller urban areas and non-urban areas in their use of foster care. It looks at placement rates, child demographic characteristics and children's placement histories to understand how children's needs and program operations interact to produce differences in foster care experiences. The analysis finds that child welfare systems in large urban areas show very different patterns of foster care utilization than do other urban areas. These other urban areas look more like non-urban areas in their service provision patterns. In addition, the foster care placement of large numbers of African American infants seems to be the primary feature distinguishing care patterns in large urban foster care programs from those observed elsewhere.