Tried to, working in a US city (7)
I believe the answer is:
detroit
'a us city' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'tried to working' is the wordplay.
'working' is an anagram indicator.
'tried'+'to'='triedto'
'triedto' anagrammed gives 'DETROIT'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for detroit that I've seen before include "City in Michigan known for motor industry" , "City in Michigan nicknamed Motown" , "Motown, Mich." , "US city associated with automobile production" , "City also called Mo'town in USA" .)