The ZOMBIES are coming! How will your city endure?
Everyone's favorite brain-eating (and heartbreaking) zombie television show has returned, and Halloween is just a few days away. You know what that means! Time for everyone to sit and ponder with friends what you would do if the undead horde came a-knocking.
Turns out, where you live plays a major factor on your chances of survival. CareerBuilder decided to compile labor market data from the largest 53 metropolitan areas (those with more than 1 million residents) in the United States, and evaluate their chances to weather the ghoulish storm. Yes – we're applying science to answer this extremely relevant, but impossible scenario.
The Parameters
First, we must assume a standard virus transmitted via biting or contact with infected blood that reanimates victims – turning them into flesh-eating walkers – has been confirmed.
The cities are scored in the index below on eight different factors in four categories: defense against the virus, ability to contain the virus, chances of finding a cure and likelihood to outlast the epidemic with an ample food supply.
The study is based on data from Emsi, CareerBuilder's labor market analysis arm, which aggregates information from more than 100 national, state and local employment resources.
(Spoiler alert: If you're in Atlanta waiting for a pizza delivery when the zombies start attacking, it's probably never going to arrive. Probably best to start thinking about making your way to Boston.)
|
M SA |
Defense Score |
Containment Score |
Cure Score |
Food Score |
Total Score |
Final Rank |
|
Boston, MA |
13.69 |
11.05 |
20 |
3.59 |
48.33 |
1 |
|
Kansas City, MO |
23.38 |
10.02 |
4.53 |
3.10 |
41.03 |
2 |
|
Salt Lake City, UT |
8.29 |
18.61 |
10.49 |
3.62 |
41.01 |
3 |
|
Baltimore, MD |
17.55 |
7.68 |
11.56 |
2.79 |
39.58 |
4 |
|
San Diego, CA |
16.44 |
9.89 |
11.69 |
1.41 |
39.43 |
5 |
|
Seattle, WA |
9.58 |
17.86 |
8.45 |
1.99 |
37.88 |
6 |
|
Denver, CO |
7.82 |
20.03 |
6.39 |
3.58 |
37.82 |
7 |
|
Virginia Beach, VA |
22.38 |
10.61 |
2.76 |
1.79 |
37.54 |
8 |
|
Hartford, CT |
17.28 |
9.07 |
5.80 |
3.32 |
35.47 |
9 |
|
Minneapolis, MN |
17.51 |
8.19 |
5.57 |
3.94 |
35.21 |
10 |
|
Indianapolis, IN |
8.73 |
9.39 |
10.79 |
5.01 |
33.92 |
11 |
|
Richmond, VA |
14.61 |
11.16 |
4.73 |
3.38 |
33.89 |
12 |
|
Grand Rapids, MI |
0.08 |
9.73 |
2.08 |
20 |
31.89 |
13 |
|
San Francisco, CA |
6.43 |
8.97 |
14.86 |
1.48 |
31.73 |
14 |
|
Portland, OR |
3.71 |
13.41 |
6.35 |
8.01 |
31.48 |
15 |
|
Washington, D.C. |
16.55 |
7.96 |
6.80 |
0 |
31.31 |
16 |
|
Sacramento, CA |
8.80 |
12.29 |
4.77 |
4.99 |
30.85 |
17 |
|
Pittsburgh, PA |
5.98 |
13.38 |
7.26 |
3.60 |
30.22 |
18 |
|
San Jose, CA |
5.74 |
15.02 |
8.17 |
1.09 |
30.02 |
19 |
|
Raleigh, NC |
7.70 |
12.22 |
4.89 |
4.18 |
28.98 |
20 |
|
Orlando, FL |
9.44 |
9.55 |
3.53 |
6.03 |
28.55 |
21 |
|
Memphis, TN |
14.07 |
2.96 |
5.15 |
6.26 |
28.43 |
22 |
|
Louisville, KY |
11.56 |
6.76 |
2.03 |
8.04 |
28.39 |
23 |
|
Cleveland, OH |
10.36 |
4.24 |
8.02 |
5.32 |
27.93 |
24 |
|
Birmingham, AL |
9.84 |
6.73 |
5.29 |
5.51 |
27.37 |
25 |
|
Oklahoma City, OK |
8.25 |
10.69 |
6.53 |
1.55 |
27.01 |
26 |
|
St. Louis, MO |
13.96 |
8.24 |
2.99 |
1.62 |
26.81 |
27 |
|
Houston, TX |
6.08 |
15.92 |
2.71 |
1.37 |
26.09 |
28 |
|
New Orleans, LA |
13.55 |
8.85 |
2.12 |
1.23 |
25.75 |
29 |
|
Phoenix, AZ |
12.81 |
7.39 |
1.96 |
3.44 |
25.59 |
30 |
|
Charlotte, NC |
8.65 |
6.12 |
0.50 |
9.78 |
25.06 |
31 |
|
Las Vegas, NV |
15.84 |
6.20 |
0.68 |
1.44 |
24.16 |
32 |
|
Columbus, OH |
7.88 |
7.59 |
6.03 |
2.50 |
24.01 |
33 |
|
Providence, RI |
8.82 |
5.37 |
4.19 |
4.85 |
23.23 |
34 |
|
Austin, TX |
5.83 |
12.13 |
4.45 |
0.70 |
23.11 |
35 |
|
Cincinnati, OH |
5.46 |
5.63 |
5.16 |
6.62 |
22.87 |
36 |
|
Rochester, NY |
5.16 |
4.92 |
3.87 |
8.69 |
22.64 |
37 |
|
Nashville, TN |
8.53 |
7.15 |
3.77 |
2.89 |
22.34 |
38 |
|
Milwaukee, WI |
6.29 |
7.48 |
4.09 |
3.95 |
21.81 |
39 |
|
Dallas, TX |
7.66 |
7.50 |
2.12 |
4.53 |
21.80 |
40 |
|
San Antonio, TX |
9.88 |
4.27 |
1.95 |
5.48 |
21.58 |
41 |
|
Philadelphia, PA |
8.53 |
1.18 |
7.46 |
3.90 |
21.07 |
42 |
|
Jacksonville, FL |
11.40 |
6.04 |
1.63 |
1.27 |
20.33 |
43 |
|
Detroit, MI |
2.03 |
14.50 |
2.10 |
1.32 |
19.94 |
44 |
|
Chicago, IL |
9.74 |
0.63 |
2.34 |
6.73 |
19.44 |
45 |
|
Tucson, AZ |
10.88 |
1.59 |
6.40 |
0.52 |
19.40 |
46 |
|
Buffalo, NY |
10.23 |
3.35 |
3.38 |
1.83 |
18.80 |
47 |
|
Atlanta, GA |
6.73 |
5.87 |
2.65 |
3.30 |
18.56 |
48 |
|
Miami, FL |
12.67 |
1.10 |
1.57 |
2.78 |
18.11 |
49 |
|
Riverside, CA |
4.44 |
4.99 |
0 |
7.30 |
16.72 |
50 |
|
Los Angeles, CA |
7.37 |
0.68 |
3.89 |
1.70 |
13.65 |
51 |
|
Tampa, FL |
6.07 |
2.33 |
2.97 |
1.52 |
12.89 |
52 |
|
New York City, NY |
12.44 |
-10.08 |
4.33 |
1.99 |
8.69 |
53 |
