How to Earn a Lot of Money in Sim City 4

Build residential zones. The bulk of your money comes through residential taxation. Build low-, medium- and high-density residential zones to increase your population and the amount of taxes your city generates. Low- and medium-density residential zones are better if you're just starting out. High-density zones mean larger houses and more people, but if your city cannot handle that many people to start out, then residents will leave your city.

Increase tax rates. Open your budget and increase residential tax rates for low-, middle- and high-income residents. Do not raise your taxes to an extreme amount, because your people will leave your city in a hurry. For example, if your current tax rate is 10 percent, raising it to 35 percent will cause your residents to flee and your income to drop. You can also increase business and industrial tax rates, but the money you generate from business and industrial is significantly lower than money generated from residential taxes.

Open your budget and decrease funding. The monthly expense of each building and local budget greatly affects your potential income. Lower the funding for certain budgets and buildings and you can save a lot of money. For example, if your school funding is $900 per month, reducing it to 80 percent funding will save you $120 per month. Do not lower funding for power plants, police stations and fire stations. Do not reduce funding too much or workers may strike.