In April of 2008, Austin was ranked the third most recession proof city by Forbes because of a lack of a housing bubble, low median home price, low unemployment, and strong job growth segments that would recover more quickly. Plus, Austin was known as “Silicon Hills” for its growing tech sector industries.

Now, over two years later, the Brookings Institute has released their quarterly in-depth analysis which also ranks Austin the third most recession proof city in the U.S.

The Brookings Institute analyzes the health of America’s 100 largest metropolitan economies. It examines trends in metropolitan-level employment, output, and housing conditions to look “beneath the hood” of national economic statistics to portray the diverse metropolitan trajectories of recession and recovery across the country. MetroMonitor looks at the particular industries that drive national economic trends, and takes into account metro areas’ unique starting points for eventual recovery.

Click here for the full report. You can also view many interactive reports for employment, REO properties and other economic measurements.

The top 10 stable cities identified by MetroMonitor are:

1. Albany, New York
2. Augusta, Georgia
3. Austin, Texas
4. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
5. Buffalo, New York
6. Columbia, South Carolina
7. Dallas, Texas
8. Des Moines, Iowa
9. El Paso, Texas
10. Honolulu, Hawaii

Article provided by Denise Moody of Gracy Title