Recession Recovery By City: Best And Worst Performers

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The Great Recession officially ended five years ago according to economists, and many cities across the country have fully recovered from the downturn. A few metroplexes have even surpassed their pre-recession economies, due to regional factors, technology or new industries springing up post-recession.

That said, the negative aftereffects of the financial crisis and recession still felt in many communities around the nation, with some spiraling ever deeper into debt and leaving millions of Americans wondering why their home towns are being left behind in the much-heralded economic recovery of the last couple of years. Moreover, 13 municipalities — including Westfall Township, PA, Prichard, AL., Stockton, CA., and even Detroit — have been forced to declare bankruptcy.

Wallet Hub study methodology

In order to evaluate local economies and their current state of recession recovery, WalletHub compared the 150 largest U.S. cities to filter out the communities with the most and least growth since the official end of the recession (2009). Wallet Hub’s methodology involved analyzing 18 essential metrics (including the inflow of college-educated workers, the number of new businesses, unemployment rates and home price appreciation) to develop a more detailed insight into how each city has gotten along over the past several years.

recession recovery

Recession recovery breakdown

Texas has done very well since the end of the Great Recession. The Lone Star State dominated the city economic rankings, garnering the top two spots, three out of the top five and six out of the top 10 positions. Laredo, Texas came in first place, with an Employment and Earning Opportunities Rank of 33rd and an Economic Environment Rank of 1st. Irving, TX was second on the list with an Employment and Earning Opportunities Rank of 3rd and an Economic Environment Rank of 9th.

Recession recovery Home price

California and Arizona cities filled out the majority of the bottom 15 cities on the recession recovery list, with Stockton, CA coming in second to last with an Employment and Earning Opportunities Rank of 137th and an Economic Environment Rank of 148th. San Bernadino was in last place among the 150 cities, with EEO rank of 141 and an EE rank of 150th.

Of note, but perhaps not too surprisingly, Detroit, MI and San Bernadino, CA tied at 147th for the least decrease in poverty rate since 2009.

recession recovery full time jobs

recession recovery violence decrease

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