What was one significant result of the changes in manufacturing and transportation that took place in the first half of the nineteenth century? Many factory laborers left cities to work in far away rural areas due to improvements in transportation. Improved transportation led to the development of many new factories in the South and the West. People in cities often made more money as they took on skilled positions in manufacturing and transportation. Cities became overcrowded as more and more people traveled to the North, looking for factory work.