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.
http://www.brookings.edu/metro/MetroMonitor.aspx

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, N.Y.
2. Augusta, Ga.
3. Austin, Texas
4. Baton Rouge, La.
5. Buffalo, N.Y.
6. Columbia, S.C.
7. Dallas, Texas
8. Des Moines, Iowa
9. El Paso, Texas
10. Honolulu