If you’re a fan of The Walking Dead you’ve probably, at one time or another, considered how well you’d fare in a zombie apocalypse. Maybe you’d be among the first to be eaten, or maybe you’d go the full Rick Grimes.
Where you live would certainly have a major impact on your ability to survive, and with this in mind, and Halloween fast approaching, CareerBuilder's EMSI (Economic Modeling Specialists Intl.) looked into how well the major US cities would cope in the event of an actual zombie outbreak.
To come to its conclusions, the study used a weighted index ranking the 53 largest US metropolitan areas -- each with at least 1 million residents -- based on occupational skills and industry characteristics. (EMSI analyzes labor market data from more than 90 national, state and local employment resources). The index is scored on eight different factors in four categories:
- Ability to defend against the virus.
- Ability to contain the virus.
- Ability to find a cure.
- Ability to outlast the epidemic with an ample food supply.
A standard, flesh-eating virus transmitted via biting or contact with infected blood is assumed.
Here are the results:
The 10 Metros Most Likely to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
| MSA | Defense Score | Containment Score | Cure Score | Food Score | Total Score | Final Rank |
| Boston, MA | 11.52 | 9.58 | 20 | 2.88 | 43.99 | 1 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 7.95 | 18.9 | 9.2 | 3.45 | 39.49 | 2 |
| Columbus, OH | 8.28 | 6.24 | 5.50 | 19.28 | 39.31 | 3 |
| Baltimore, MD | 17.34 | 8.5 | 11.35 | 2.10 | 39.29 | 4 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 22.72 | 11.04 | 3.29 | 1.50 | 38.55 | 5 |
| Seattle, WA | 8.39 | 18.32 | 9.39 | 1.39 | 37.49 | 6 |
| San Diego, CA | 14.2 | 9.33 | 12.20 | 1.23 | 36.96 | 7 |
| Kansas City, MO | 14.87 | 11.63 | 4.41 | 4.12 | 35.03 | 8 |
| Denver, CO | 6.05 | 19.47 | 6.00 | 3.15 | 34.66 | 9 |
| Indianapolis, IN | 8.98 | 8.76 | 11.59 | 4.57 | 33.91 | 10 |
The 10 Metros Least Likely to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
| MSA | Defense Score | Containment Score | Cure Score | Food Score | Total Score | Final Rank |
| New York, NY | 11.6 | -11.17 | 3.75 | 1.47 | 5.64 | 53 |
| Tampa, FL | 4.73 | 2.49 | 2.66 | 1.15 | 11.03 | 52 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 6.73 | 0.51 | 4.32 | 1.42 | 12.98 | 51 |
| Riverside, San Bernardino, CA | 4.23 | 3.4 | 0.03 | 5.67 | 13.34 | 50 |
| Chicago, IL | 9.15 | 1.3 | 1.24 | 4.69 | 16.38 | 49 |
| Miami, FL | 12.46 | 0.59 | 1.66 | 2.07 | 16.78 | 48 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 9.61 | 5.1 | 1.57 | 0.92 | 17.21 | 47 |
| Milwaukee, WI | 5.19 | 6.44 | 4.07 | 2.62 | 18.31 | 46 |
| Providence, RI | 7.76 | 3.72 | 4.05 | 3.72 | 19.24 | 45 |
| Las Vegas, NV | 14.83 | 3.29 | 0.18 | 1.11 | 19.41 | 44 |
Category 1: Fighting the Good Fight -- Ability to Defend Against the Virus
To calculate which metros are best equipped to defend themselves against a zombie ambush, CareerBuilder looked at the percentage of each metro’s population in the military, the percentage of each metro’s population in protective services occupations (e.g. law enforcement, firefighting and security); and, to figure out the availability of small arms, the percentage of total exports coming from each metro’s small arms manufacturing industries. The results suggest that Virginia Beach, Norfolk is best prepared to defend itself from a mass zombie attack, thanks to a major naval presence.
| Five Cities Best Equipped for Defense | Five Cities Worst Equipped for Defense |
| 1.Virgina Beach, VA | 53. Grand Rapids, MI |
| 2. Atlanta, GA | 52. Detroit, MI |
| 3. Baltimore, MD | 51. Portland, OR |
| 4. Washington, D.C. | 50. Riverside-San Bernardino, CA |
| 5. Kansas City, MO | 49. Cincinnati, OH |
Category 2: Keeping Zombies Out -- Ability to Contain the Virus
To calculate which metros are best equipped to keep zombies out, CareerBuilder assessed each metro’s engineering prowess (looking at the percentage of each metro’s population in the civil, electrical, environmental, materials, mechanical, nuclear and engineering technician occupations); construction skills (looking at the percentage of each metro’s population in construction); and population density. (Why population density? The higher a metro’s population density, the faster its contamination rates, and the less time to organize and find a cure.) The results suggest that Denver is best prepared to fend off a zombie purge.
| Five Cities Best Equipped for Containment | Five Cities Worst Equipped for Containment |
| 1. Denver, CO | 53. New York, NY |
| 2. Houston, TX | 52. Los Angeles, CA |
| 3. Salt Lake City, UT | 51. Miami, FL |
| 4. Seattle, WA | 50. Chicago, IL |
| 5. Detroit, MI | 49. Philadelphia, PA |
Category 3: Race for the Cure -- Ability to Cure the Virus
To calculate which metros are best equipped to find a cure for infection, CareerBuilder scored metros based on their biomedical research and development. It did this by looking at the percentage of each metro’s population in the correlating industries. The results suggest that, with its 24,000 biological and medical scientists and professionals, Boston is most likely to develop a cure for the common zombie infection.
| Five Cities Most Likely to Find a Cure | Five Cities Lease Likely to Find a Cure |
| 1.Boston, MA | 53. Charlotte, NC |
| 2. San Francisco, CA | 52. Riverside-San Bernardino, CA |
| 3. San Diego, CA | 51. Las Vegas, NV |
| 4. Indianapolis, IN | 50. Chicago, IL |
| 5. Baltimore, MD | 49. Atlanta, GA |
Category 4: Counting Calories -- Ability to Outlast the Virus with a Good Food Supply
To calculate which metros have the highest supply of food to outlast an impending invasion, CareerBuilder scored metros based on the percentage of each metro’s total exports in non-perishable food manufacturing or wholesale goods industries, including rice milling, breakfast cereal manufacturing, fruit and vegetable canning, roasted nuts and peanut butter manufacturing. The results suggest that Grand Rapids, home base to some of our country’s largest food manufacturers, would have the best edible resources.
| Five Cities with the Highest Food Supply | Five Cities with the Lowest Food Supply |
| 1. Grand Rapids,MI | 53. Washington, D.C. |
| 2. Columbus, OH | 52. Tucson, AZ |
| 3. Rochester, NY | 51. Austin, TX |
| 4. Memphis, TN | 50. San Jose, CA |
| 5. Buffalo, NY | 49. New Orleans, LA |
There's also a cool interactive map available to play around with here.
How well do you think you -- and where you live -- would cope in the event of an actual zombie apocalypse?
All images courtesy of: AMC.com