Midland, Texas was named the best city for post-recession economic recovery.
June marks the sixth anniversary of the U.S. recession’s end, and by most economic indicators the country as a whole has rebounded rather nicely.
The peak 10% unemployment rate has been nearly halved while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has witnessed growth of about 200% since its lowest level during the recession.
While recovery is moving along quite nicely in many parts of America, the story isn’t the same in all cities.
Measuring How Cities Have Fared
To determine how individual cities across the country have fared with post-recession economic recovery to date, Glassdoor’s senior economist Dr. Andrew Chamberlain sharpened a pencil and devised a “recovery index’” for cities.
The index takes into account such factors as number of jobs, wages and unemployment. When these numbers are combined, an index score results.
The number is arrived at by adding the decrease in unemployment to the changes in total employment and average hourly wages since 2009 began.
By delving into these three factors and crunching the numbers, Chamberlain was able to create a snapshot of America’s best performing and worst performing cities on the post-recession economic front.
The higher a city’s index number, the better it has fared in recovery.
Top 10 Cities
While cities that have recovered well are found in many parts of the country, some of the leaders on the list are located in areas that have been bolstered courtesy of the shale oil boom and Silicon Valley’s continued growth.
Here are the top 10 cities on the recovery index:
- Midland, Texas
- Odessa, Texas
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
- Greeley, Colo.
- Provo-Orem, Utah
- Laredo, Texas
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
- Ames, Iowa
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastoria, N.C.-S.C.
- Oklahoma City, Okla.
Bottom 10
The top 10 worst-faring cities since the recession’s ended are also found scattered across the country. From poorest-faring up, they are:
- Ocean City, N.J.
- Decatur, Ill.
- Pine Bluff, Ark.
- Glens Falls, N.Y.
- Carson City, Nev.
- Texarkana, Texas-Ark.
- Hot Springs, Ariz.
- Santa Fe, N.M.
- Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville, Ala.
- Salisbury, Md.-De.
Leaders in the Individual Factors
When the three index prongs are examined on their own, different leaders emerge:
- Unemployment rate drop – Some of the cities that have seen the largest percentage drop in unemployment rates include Burlington, N.C., Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C., and San-Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
- Change in employment – The increase in the number of jobs since 2009 was found to be the highest in such cities as Midland, Texas, Greeley, Colo., and Odessa, Texas.
- Wage growth – The biggest gainers here included Midland, Texas, Odessa, Texas, and Oklahoma City, Okla.
While America on the whole is on the road to recovery following the recession, some regions have simply done better than others since 2009.
Glassdoor’s study shows that the shale oil boom and strong growth in Silicon Valley have contributed to some regions rebounding faster than others.
