I saw The Walking Dead for the first time since season one this Sunday. Watching in horror as a beloved character (possibly) had his intestines ripped out and ingested by a horde of decrepit zombies, I got to thinking – “If this went down in Detroit, how would I, and the rest of the population, fare in a post virus, zombie ridden world?”
Luckily I wasn’t the only one seeking an answer to this morbid yet inevitable question.
CareerBuilder with the help of Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. (EMSI), conducted a study called the Zombie Apocalypse Index – an all around absurd but highly entertaining evaluation of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas that are the most well-equipped to survive a zombie invasion.
The research method concocted by the folks behind this magical piece of work consisted of a weighted index ranking the 53 U.S. metropolitan areas (with a population larger than 1 million) based on their occupational skills and industry characteristics.
They then used the classic virus-born zombie infestation scenario, akin to that of The Walking Dead, as the context against which to measure the aforementioned criteria.
The index measured eight different factors across four categories, which included the ability to defend against the virus, ability to contain the virus, ability to find a cure and ability to outlast the epidemic with an ample food supply.
According to PR newswire, the study is based on data from EMSI, which analyzes labor market data from more than 90 national, state and local employment resources.
If you’re curious, or considering a move in the near future and zombie defense preparedness is an important factor in your decision, here’s how the top 10 shook out according to this study.
|
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 |
And here were the losers. How do ya like them delicious Michigan grown apples, Chicago!?
|
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 |
While no Michigan cities made it into the top ten, it’s nice to see that for once neither Detroit, or any other Michigan cities, landed at the bottom of yet another list.
Now, for those of us looking to stay in the mitten in the event an invasion, there were some important items to note regarding the two Michigan cities included in the study – Detroit and Grand Rapids.
- In Category 1: Fighting the Good Fight – Ability to Defend Against the Virus – Detroit and Grand Rapids ranked last and second to last (Detroit 52 and GR 53)
- In Category 2: Keeping Zombies Out – Ability to Contain the Virus – Detroit actually did quite well, landing at number 5
- In Category 3: Race for the Cure – Ability to Cure the Virus – neither city landed in the top or bottom 5, so I’m gonna call that a win
- In Category 4: Counting Calories – Ability to Outlast the Virus with a Good Food Supply – Grand Rapids crushed everyone to land the number one spot, due the city’s impressive food manufacturing capability
So overall, I’d say we have a totally mediocre chance of surviving an invasion, which is only mildly reassuring after seeing Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead and suffering the resulting nightmares.
If you’re hungry as a zombie to see the full results of the study, you can check them out for yourself here. You can also click here to view the Zombie Apocalypse Index interactive map.
