Alan Berube and
Sarah Crump·Last updated: May 7, 2021
Editor’s note: This page and its data was last updated on May 7, 2021. To view a more recent analysis of metro area economic recovery, please read our June 2022 publication.
The impacts of the COVID-19 recession and the road to recovery differ widely across local economies. The Metro Recovery Index presents data across a variety of indicators to provide a picture of the impact of the crisis (compared to a pre-crisis state) and the trajectory of recent change, for both large and midsized U.S. metropolitan areas. The indicators track impacts and trajectories in three major categories: the labor market, the real estate market, and other areas of economic activity. Brookings Metro will update the tracker on at least a monthly basis as providers release new data, and provide related analysis through its blog The Avenue.
Metro Recovery Index at a glance
Readers can view the data in two ways: impact from pre-crisis baseline, and trajectory over the most recent month. Additionally, readers can select a metro area size class to view data for very large (at least 1M residents), large (500k to 1M residents), and medium-sized metro areas. (250k to 500k residents).
View detailed trend data and rankings for each indicator in the Metro Recovery Index dashboard below, for all 192 U.S. metro areas with at least 250,000 residents.