The Hub City ranks a respectable 14th among American cities in news/politics website The Daily Beast's list of the 20 cities most resistant to the recession. The Hub City ranks a respectable 14th among American cities in news/politics website The Daily Beast's list of the 20 cities most resistant to the recession. Baton Rouge lands fourth on the list. They are the only two Louisiana cities to earn a ranking.
Using data from the federal bureaus of Labor Statistics and Economic Analysis, the website tracked cities that have shown positive growth since 2007 in three areas: overal employment, per capita personal income and the gross domestic product of the metro area. Each city was ranked individually within each category; those figures were combined for composite rankings to determine the final order, with employment and personal income being weighted at 45 percent each and GDP at 10 percent.
According to the website's figures, Lafayette's 2007-2009 employment increase was 0.9 percent. Income increased in the same period by 1 percent for a per capita personal income of $40,250. GDP increased 5.8 percent from 2007 to 2009.
Jacksonville, N.C., leads the list, followed by Fort Hood, Texas, and Fayetteville, N.C. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, rounds out the top five. To see the list, click here.