Forbes Ranks Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio Among America's 10 Recession Proof Communities
A recent Forbes.com article placed the four largest cities in our great state in their list of "10 Recession Proof Communities".
To reach their findings, Forbes.com examined the 50 largest U.S metro areas and examined several key indices.
They examined U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics of unemployment data for the year ending February 2008 to see which areas are adding or subtracting most jobs. Then they looked at the BLS data on job growth in non-farm payrolls, through February 2008, for construction, education and health services, financial activities, information, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, natural resources and mining, professional and business services, trade, transportation and utilities, and the BLS's catch-all category, "other services."
In addition, they looked into median home price data from the National Association of Realtors--from the fourth quarter of 2006 to the fourth quarter of 2007--to see which areas posted the largest annual gains. They're quick to add that their data do not account for the impact of declining sales in the first several months of this year.
Lastly, the rankings were adjusted using data from a November 2007 report, "U.S. Metro Economies: The Mortgage Crisis," by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. It lists each city's estimated gross metropolitan product growth by projecting how rising foreclosures and falling home prices would affect overall levels of productivity in local economies.
According to the article, Texas cities fared best under the above measures. San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth have benefited from historically lower home prices, which have been affordable to a large segment of the population. The availability of land--and, in some cases, little zoning--helped keep prices in these cities low. Instead of competing for homes, Texans could move to a new subdivision a little farther out.
What's more, all four boast falling unemployment rates, with Austin dropping from 3.8% to 3.6% and San Antonio from 4.3% to 4%.