The 10 Best-Performing Cities in America

By Gus Lubin and Jana Kasperkevic
Business Insider
March 30, 2012

The recovery is real -- at least in some American cities. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday that there was a 0.8% rise from January to February in personal spending -- the strongest gain in seven months.

 
Business Insider evaluated each city using indicators in the fourth quarter MetroMonitor from the Brookings Institute, including employment, home prices and gross metro product.

In this case, the adage that everything is bigger in Texas holds true. The Lone Star State boasts four cities on our list, all making the top 10. (You can see the top 20 here.)

So how did some cities fare so much better than others? Energy and real estate seem to be the answer. The list is full of energy centers and cities that avoided the initial housing bubble.

Read on to see which city tops the list...

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#10 -- Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas is one of the 10 best performing cities in America

 

Unemployment Rate : 7.1%

Employment: Down 1.6% from peak

Gross metro product: Up 7.8% from pre-recession peak

Home prices: Down 11.9% from peak

Fourth quarter data provided by the Brookings' MetroMonitor.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Viktor86.

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#9 -- San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas is one of the 10 best performing cities in America

Unemployment rate: 6.8%

Employment: Down 0.5% from peak

Gross metro product: Up 4.7% from pre-recession peak

Home prices: Down 11.1% from peak

Fourth quarter data provided by the Brookings' MetroMonitor.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Wattsbw2004.

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#8 -- Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha, Nebraska is one of the 10 best performing cities in America

Unemployment rate: 4.7%

Employment: Down 1.2% from peak

Gross metro product: Up 4.5% from pre-recession peak

Home prices: Down 14.7% from peak

Fourth quarter data provided by the Brookings' MetroMonitor.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/nmpf.

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#7 -- Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas is one of the 10 best performing cities in America

Unemployment rate: 7.3%

Employment: Up 0.7% from pre-recession peak

Gross metro product: Up 7.3% from pre-recession peak

Home prices: Down 10.2% from peak

Fourth quarter data provided by the Brookings' MetroMonitor.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Barclaynix.

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#6 -- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is one of the 10 best performing cities in America

Unemployment rate: 5.6%

Employment: Down 0.4% from peak

Gross metro product: Up 2.2% from pre-recession peak

Home prices: Down 9.2% from peak

Fourth quarter data provided by the Brookings' MetroMonitor.

Photo courtesy of forum.skyscraperpage.com.

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#5 -- Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin is one of the 10 best performing cities in America

Unemployment rate: 4.7%

Employment: Down 1.2% from peak

Gross metro product: Up 5.3% from pre-recession peak

Home prices: Down 16.1% from peak

Fourth quarter data provided by the Brookings' MetroMonitor.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/rahimageworks.

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#4 -- Rochester, New York

Rochester, New York is one of the 10 best performing cities in America

Unemployment rate: 7.3%

Employment: Down 0.6% from peak

Gross metro product: Up 4.8% from pre-recession peak

Home prices: Down 8.9% from peak

Fourth quarter data provided by the Brookings' MetroMonitor.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Gold41.

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#3 -- Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York is one of the 10 best performing cities in America

Unemployment rate: 7.9%

Employment: Down 2.4% from peak

Gross metro product: Up 8.2% from pre-recession peak

Home prices: Down 7.6% from peak

Fourth quarter data provided by the Brookings' MetroMonitor.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Mhbaker.

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#2 -- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is one of the 10 best performing cities in America

Unemployment rate: 6.6%

Employment: Up 0.4% from pre-recession peak

Gross metro product: Up 4.6% from pre-recession peak

Home prices: Down 6.7% from peak

Fourth quarter data provided by the Brookings' MetroMonitor.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/NO2.

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#1 -- Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas is one of the 10 best performing cities in America

Unemployment rate: 6.3%

Employment: Up 0.9% from pre-recession peak

Gross metro product: Up 8.3% from pre-recession peak

Home prices: Down 9.7% from peak

Fourth quarter data provided by the Brookings' MetroMonitor.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Visualist.

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