- A resurgence of coronavirus cases in several states is stalling US economic recovery.
- A recent SmartAsset report looked at the most recession-resistant cities in the US.
- Texas seems well equipped to handle a recession – 8 cities made the top 25, more than any other state.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The coronavirus pandemic has sent the US economy on a rollercoaster ride.
In April, the US saw an unemployment rate of 14.7% – the highest since the Great Depression. While June saw the second straight month of net job gains, bringing the unemployment rate down to 11.1%, that was before a resurgence of COVID-19 cases hit several states.
The chief of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Raphael Bostic, has now warned that he is seeing signs of a “leveling off” of US economic recovery, leading to a potentially “bumpier” road ahead.
But feeling the effects of the economy may depend on where you live.
A recent SmartAsset report determined the most recession-resistant cities in the US by looking at government data for 264 of the largest cities in the country across three categories: employment, housing, and social assistance. It ranked each city across three different metrics in each of these categories for a total of nine metrics, then averaged the metric rankings of each category, giving each an equal weighting.
It then determined the final ranking by averaging each city's score in the three categories. Those with the highest ranking (close to 100) are most recession-resistant, while those with the lowest average ranking (close to 0) are the least.
Turns out, Texas is pretty recession-proof - five cities in the state made the top 10, including the top spot, and three more made the top 25.
Here are the top 25 most recession-proof cities in the US, according to the SmartAsset report.
25. West Valley City, Utah
Employment ranking: 65.45
Housing ranking: 74.34
24. Fargo, North Dakota
Employment ranking: 97.38
Housing ranking: 93.67
23. Alexandria, Virginia
Employment ranking: 100
Housing ranking: 81.37
22. Fort Collins, Colorado
Employment ranking: 76.96
Housing ranking: 79.61
21. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Employment ranking: 81.68
Housing ranking: 82.07
20. Killeen, Texas
Employment ranking: 56.94
Housing ranking: 61.86
19. Arlington, Texas
Employment ranking: 76.31
Housing ranking: 59.05
18. Durham, North Carolina
Employment ranking: 75.52
Housing ranking: 76.27
17. Madison, Wisconsin
Employment ranking: 94.90
Housing ranking: 88.75
16. Omaha, Nebraska
Employment ranking: 81.28
Housing ranking: 85.59
15. Arlington, Virginia
Employment ranking: 99.74
Housing ranking: 94.73
14. Lincoln, Nebraska
Employment ranking: 92.02
Housing ranking: 86.29
13. Rochester, Minnesota
Employment ranking: 89.40
Housing ranking: 84.53
12. Boise, Idaho
Employment ranking: 80.63
Housing ranking: 69.77
11. Round Rock, Texas
Employment ranking: 85.34
Housing ranking: 74.69
10. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Employment ranking: 96.99
Housing ranking: 84.01
9. Raleigh, North Carolina
Employment ranking: 73.04
Housing ranking: 90.33
8. Cary, North Carolina
Employment ranking: 91.23
Housing ranking: 95.25
7. Lubbock, Texas
Employment ranking: 80.37
Housing ranking: 67.49
6. Sunnyvale, California
Employment ranking: 76.18
Housing ranking: 94.02
5. Austin, Texas
Employment ranking: 86.26
Housing ranking: 79.26
4. Denton, Texas
Employment ranking: 78.4
Housing ranking: 71.18
3. Plano, Texas
Employment ranking: 81.41
Housing ranking: 92.27
2. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Employment ranking: 94.76
Housing ranking: 86.29
1. Frisco, Texas
Employment ranking: 87.3
Housing ranking: 92.27