How the Coronavirus Recession 

and Recovery Have Affected 

Businesses and Jobs in the 

100 Largest Metropolitan Areas 

Second Quarter of 2020 through Second Quarter of 2021 

By Miles Chandler, Gregg Cole, Gary Kunkle, and Howard Wial 

NOVEMBER 2021 
 ICIC | November 2021 2

Howard Wial is Senior Vice President and Director of Research at the Initiative for a Competitive Inner 

City, where Miles Chandler is a research analyst. Gary Kunkle is Senior Research Fellow at the Business 

Dynamics Research Consortium (BDRC) at the University of Wisconsin, where Gregg Cole is Director of 

Research and Technology.

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The contents of this publication are 

solely the responsibility of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City.

The Business Dynamics Research Consortium: a project of the University of Wisconsin System, Institute 

for Business and Entrepreneurship, provided the Your-economy Time Series (YTS) data used for this 

report. Data Axle is the provider of the Licensed Database used to create the Your-economy Time Series 

(YTS). This research was authorized to use YTS through the Business Dynamics Research Consortium 

(BDRC) by the UW System’s Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship.
 ICIC | November 2021 3

Summary

This report summarizes our analysis of the most detailed and comprehensive information about what 

has happened to businesses and jobs in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas from the start of the 

coronavirus pandemic in the second quarter of 2020 through the second quarter of 2021. Our analysis of 

Your-economy Time Series data shows that:

▪ In the top 100 metro areas as a whole, the number of jobs has recovered more strongly than the 

number of businesses since the beginning of the pandemic. In the second quarter of 2021, the 

top 100 metro areas had 91 percent of their pre-pandemic employment but only 85 percent of 

their businesses.

▪ In general, smaller businesses suffered far greater percentage job losses than larger businesses. 

In the second quarter of 2021, businesses with one to four employees had only 81 percent of

the jobs they had at the start of the pandemic, while those with 100 or more employees had 95 

percent. However, small- and medium-sized businesses began to recover employment in the 

most recent quarter while larger businesses continued to lose jobs.

▪ Black- and Hispanic/Latino-owned businesses lost a greater proportion of their employment 

than white-owned businesses. In the second quarter of 2021, Black-owned businesses and 

businesses owned by Hispanics or Latinos each had 93 percent of the jobs they had when the 

pandemic began, while white-owned businesses had 96 percent. However, the number of Blackowned businesses recovered more strongly than the number of white-owned businesses.

▪ Under-resourced communities (heavily populated urban and suburban areas of concentrated 

poverty and low income) recovered to 91 percent of their pre-crisis job level in the second 

quarter of this year, only slightly more than other parts of their metropolitan areas, which 

recovered to 90 percent.

▪ Among key industries, accommodation and food services (including hotels, restaurants, and 

similar businesses), retail, and manufacturing were proportionately hardest hit by job losses 

since the start of the pandemic, while healthcare was impacted least. In the most recent 

quarter, jobs in construction rebounded most strongly.

▪ Among the top 100 metros, Colorado Springs, CO, regained the highest percentage of its

employment at the start of the pandemic in both the metro area as a whole and its underresourced communities. In the second quarter of 2021, the entire metro area had 99.8 percent 

of the jobs it had in the second quarter of 2020 and its under-resourced communities had 119

percent.

▪ Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, regained the least employment both for the metro 

area as a whole and among small businesses with one to four employees. In the second quarter 

of 2021, the entire metro area had just 86 percent of the jobs it had in the second quarter of 

2020 and the one- to four-employee small businesses in its under-resourced communities had 

only 75 percent.
 ICIC | November 2021 4

▪ The Metro Focus section of this report drills down more deeply into the Miami metro area. 

Although Miami suffered a very large percentage drop in employment since the start of the 

pandemic, its recovery in the second quarter of 2021 was much stronger than for the top 100 

metros as a whole. This is partly due to recovery among the Hispanic- or Latino-owned 

businesses and small businesses in Miami’s under-resourced communities.
 ICIC | November 2021 5

Introduction

This report, the first of four quarterly reports, summarizes the key findings of our analysis of the most 

detailed and comprehensive information about what has happened to businesses and jobs in the 

nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas during the coronavirus recession and recovery. It tracks changes 

in the numbers of businesses1 and jobs for metro areas as a whole. It also provides more specific detail 

on small, medium-sized, and large businesses; Black-owned and Hispanic- or Latino-owned businesses, 

under-resourced communities (heavily populated urban and suburban areas of concentrated poverty 

and low income) and non-under-resourced communities, and major industries.

A data dashboard accompanies the report. The dashboard provides detailed, customized information 

about each of the above business categories for each of the top 100 metros. If you are interested in 

what has happened to jobs or businesses in a specific business category within a specific metro area, 

please see the dashboard.

The report and dashboard will be useful tools for policymakers, small business assistance providers, 

community and economic development professionals, community foundations, researchers, and others 

who want to know how the recession and recovery have affected businesses and jobs in their 

metropolitan areas and how they can best target assistance to the businesses and locations that need it 

most.

Because changes in the number of businesses are generally very similar to changes in employment, the 

report emphasizes changes in employment and highlights changes in the number of business only where 

they differ notably from changes in employment. Detailed information about changes in the number of 

businesses is available on the dashboard. Because U.S. employment reached its peak in the second 

quarter of 2020, prior to the onset of the pandemic’s economic impacts, we show employment and 

businesses in each quarter as a percent of their levels in that quarter.

2

For more information about our 

methodology, see the methodology section at the end of the report.
 ICIC | November 2021 6

Top 100 Metros Overview: Jobs Recovered More Than Businesses

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the top 100 metro areas recovered a larger share of 

their jobs than of their businesses. By the second quarter of 2021, the top 100 metros retained 91

percent of the jobs but only 85 percent of the businesses they had when the pandemic began in the 

second quarter of 2020. During the second quarter of 2021, however, the number of businesses grew 

more rapidly than the number of jobs.

Figure 1. Businesses and Employment in Top 100 Metros

Percent of businesses and employment in the second quarter of 2020

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

Q2.20 Q3.20 Q4.20 Q1.21 Q2.21

Establishments

Employment
 ICIC | November 2021 7

Business Size: Small Businesses Hit Harder Than Larger Ones

Within the top 100 metros, small businesses suffered much greater job losses since the beginning of the 

pandemic than mid-sized and larger businesses. From the second quarter of 2020 to the second quarter 

of 2021, employment at businesses with one to four employees fell to 81 percent of its level at the 

beginning of the pandemic. In contrast, employment among businesses with 100 employees or more 

only declined to 95 percent of its level at the beginning of the pandemic. 

However, during the most recent quarter covered by this report, these trends reversed. During the 

second quarter of 2021, smaller businesses with fewer than 50 employees began to recover their 

employment losses, while larger businesses continued to lose jobs. In general, the smaller the size 

category the greater the employment recovery during the second quarter.

Figure 2. Employment by Business Size in Top 100 Metros

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

The number of businesses showed the same general pattern as the number of jobs. The number of 

businesses in the smallest size category fell by the largest percentage from the second quarter of 2020 

to the second quarter of 2021 and business losses in other size categories were proportionally smaller 

for larger businesses. The business retention percentages in each business size category were very close 

to the job retention percentages. For details, see our data dashboard.

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

Q2.20 Q3.20 Q4.20 Q1.21 Q2.21

1 to 4 employees

5 to 9 employees

10 to 19 employees

20 to 49 employees

50 to 99 employees

100 or more employees
 ICIC | November 2021 8

Race and Ethnicity: Jobs in Black- and Hispanic/Latino-Owned Businesses Hit Harder Than Those in 

White-Owned Businesses but the Number of Black-Owned Businesses Rebounded Strongly

Businesses owned by Blacks and those owned by Hispanics or Latinos suffered steeper job losses during 

the first full quarter of the pandemic (the third quarter of 2020) than white-owned businesses. In the 

second quarter of 2021, Black-owned businesses and businesses owned by Hispanics or Latinos each had 

93 percent of the jobs they had in the second quarter of 2020, while businesses owned by whites had 96 

percent. However, in the first two quarters of 2021, Black- and Hispanic/Latino-owned businesses

regained jobs more rapidly than white-owned businesses.

Figure 3. Employment in Black-, Hispanic- or Latino-, and White-Owned Businesses in Top 100 Metros

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

Changes in the number of businesses tell a different story for Black-owned businesses. The strong 

recovery of Black-owned businesses in the second quarter of 2021 resulted in proportionally smaller 

losses for that group than for white-owned businesses since the beginning of the pandemic. The number 

of Black-owned businesses in the second quarter of 2021 was 92 percent of its level in the second 

quarter of 2020, while the number of white-owned businesses was 91 percent of its second quarter 

2020 level. The recovery for Hispanic- or Latino-owned businesses was less robust than for Black- or 

white-owned businesses; the number of Hispanic- or Latino-owned businesses in the second quarter of 

2021 was 88 percent of its level at the beginning of the pandemic.

88%

90%

92%

94%

96%

98%

100%

102%

Q2.20 Q3.20 Q4.20 Q1.21 Q2.21

Black-Owned Hispanic- or Latino-Owned White-Owned
 ICIC | November 2021 9

Figure 4. Numbers of Black-, Hispanic- or Latino-, and White-Owned Businesses in Top 100 Metros

Percent of businesses in the second quarter of 2020

Complete information about job and business trends for Black-owned, Hispanic- or Latino-owned, whiteowned, and Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned businesses in each metro area is available on the 

dashboard.

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

Q2.20 Q3.20 Q4.20 Q1.21 Q2.21

Black-Owned Hispanic- or Latino-Owned White-Owned
 ICIC | November 2021 10

Communities: Under-Resourced Communities Suffered Slightly Less Job Loss Than Other Parts of Their 

Metro Areas but Business Losses Were Virtually Identical

Under-resourced communities (URCs) fared slightly better than other parts of their metro areas (OMAs) 

on employment recovery since the start of the pandemic. From the second quarter of 2020 through the 

second quarter of 2021, URCs retained a slightly higher proportion of their jobs (91 percent) than OMAs

(90 percent). During the second quarter of 2021, URCs gained jobs at a faster rate than OMAs.

Although URCs collectively recovered jobs at a slightly higher rate than OMAs, the strength of the jobs 

recovery varied considerably among URCs in individual metro areas. For example, the URCs in Fresno 

retained only 82 percent of their jobs and those in Indianapolis retained only 86 percent. At the other 

extreme, the URCs in Colorado Springs and Harrisburg had more jobs in the second quarter of 2021 than

a year earlier. Colorado Springs’ URCs recovered 119 percent of their jobs and Harrisburg’s recovered 

102 percent. Detailed information about the recovery in each URC and OMA is available on the 

dashboard.

Figure 5. Employment in Under Resourced Communities (URC) Compared with Other Parts of Their 

Metro Areas (OMA) in Top 100 Metros

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

For businesses, the recovery gap between URCs and OMAs was virtually nonexistent. Throughout the 

pandemic, the number of businesses in the second quarter of 2021 as a percentage of the number at 

the start of the pandemic differed by less than a percentage point between URCs and OMAs.

88%

90%

92%

94%

96%

98%

100%

102%

Q2.20 Q3.20 Q4.20 Q1.21 Q2.21

URC

OMA
 ICIC | November 2021 11

Figure 6. Businesses in Under Resourced Communities (URC) Compared with Other Parts of Their 

Metro Areas (OMA) in Top 100 Metros

Percent of businesses in the second quarter of 2020

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

Q2.20 Q3.20 Q4.20 Q1.21 Q2.21

URC

OMA
 ICIC | November 2021 12

Industries: Jobs in Accommodation and Food Services Continue to Lag

Every industry suffered job losses since the start of the pandemic. Within prominent industries of the 

top 100 metros, the accommodation and food services industry, which includes hotels, restaurants, and 

similar businesses,

3

suffered most, with employment dropping to 86 percent of its pre-crisis levels. The 

healthcare industry suffered least, with employment falling only to 94 percent of its total in the second 

quarter of 2020.

During the second quarter of 2021, employment levels rose strongly in the construction industry and 

there was some improvement in accommodation and food services and healthcare. Employment 

continued to fall in the entertainment, manufacturing, and retail industries.

Figure 7. Employment in Selected Industries in Top 100 Metros

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

Q2.20 Q3.20 Q4.20 Q1.21 Q2.21

Construction

Manufacturing

Retail

Healthcare

Entertainment

Accommodation & Food

Services
 ICIC | November 2021 13

Top 100 Metro Rankings

Although all metros lost employment from the beginning of the pandemic through the most recent 

quarter, they did not suffer equally. For example, by the second quarter of 2021, total employment in 

Colorado Springs was 99.8 percent of its level in the second quarter of 2020, representing a loss of just 

548 jobs. In contrast, employment in Miami was only 86 percent of its level at the beginning of the 

pandemic—a loss of 494,036 jobs.

The following tables rank the top 100 metros by their percent change in employment from the second 

quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2021. These rankings are based on job changes for each metro 

area as a whole and for each metro area’s under-resourced communities, small businesses with one to 

four employees, and Black- and Hispanic/Latino-owned businesses. Rankings based on percent changes

allow for comparison across metros of various sizes and compositions. For comparative purposes, we

divide the 100 metros into groups of 25 based on their percentage job recovery, with metro areas that 

recovered the greatest percentage of their pre-crisis jobs ranking in the top 25 and those that recovered 

the smallest percentage ranking in the bottom 25.
 ICIC | November 2021 14

Table 1. Total Metro Area Rankings on Employment Improvement, Second Quarter 2020 to Second 

Quarter 2021

Rank Top 25 Rank 3rd 25

1 Colorado Springs, CO 51 Baton Rouge, LA

2 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 52 Albuquerque, NM

3 Provo-Orem, UT 53 Worcester, MA-CT

4 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 54 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

5 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 55 Charleston-North Charleston, SC

6 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 56 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

7 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 57 Columbia, SC

8 Richmond, VA 58 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

9 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 59 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL

10 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 60 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

11 Akron, OH 61 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

12 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 62 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

13 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 63 Tulsa, OK

14 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 64 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

15 Cleveland-Elyria, OH 65 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

16 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 66 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

17 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 67 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

18 Madison, WI 68 Dayton, OH

19 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA 69 Jacksonville, FL

20 Wichita, KS 70 Knoxville, TN

21 Springfield, MA 71 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

22 Greensboro-High Point, NC 72 Kansas City, MO-KS

23 Bakersfield, CA 73 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA

24 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 74 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL

25 Winston-Salem, NC 75 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

2nd 25 Bottom 25

26 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 76 Memphis, TN-MS-AR

27 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 77 Jackson, MS

28 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 78 Urban Honolulu, HI

29 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 79 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

30 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 80 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

31 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 81 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

32 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 82 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

33 Boise City, ID 83 Raleigh, NC

34 Austin-Round Rock, TX 84 New Orleans-Metairie, LA

35 Oklahoma City, OK 85 New Haven-Milford, CT

36 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 86 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

37 Rochester, NY 87 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

38 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 88 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

39 Toledo, OH 89 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

40 St. Louis, MO-IL 90 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

41 Chattanooga, TN-GA 91 El Paso, TX

42 Columbus, OH 92 Stockton-Lodi, CA

43 Tucson, AZ 93 Fresno, CA

44 Syracuse, NY 94 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

45 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 95 Birmingham-Hoover, AL

46 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 96 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC

47 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 97 Pittsburgh, PA

48 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 98 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

49 Salt Lake City, UT 99 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

50 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 100 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
 ICIC | November 2021 15

Table 2. Metro Area Rankings on Employment Improvement in Under-Resourced Communities, 

Second Quarter 2020 to Second Quarter 2021

Rank Top 25 Rank 3rd 25

1 Colorado Springs, CO 51 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

2 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 52 Tulsa, OK

3 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 53 St. Louis, MO-IL

4 Pittsburgh, PA 54 Jacksonville, FL

5 Richmond, VA 55 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

6 Worcester, MA-CT 56 Memphis, TN-MS-AR

7 Provo-Orem, UT 57 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

8 Wichita, KS 58 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

9 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 59 El Paso, TX

10 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 60 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

11 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 61 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

12 Syracuse, NY 62 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA

13 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 63 Dayton, OH

14 Cleveland-Elyria, OH 64 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

15 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 65 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

16 Boise City, ID 66 Albuquerque, NM

17 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 67 Birmingham-Hoover, AL

18 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 68 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

19 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 69 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

20 Raleigh, NC 70 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

21 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 71 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

22 Winston-Salem, NC 72 Tucson, AZ

23 Bakersfield, CA 73 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

24 Akron, OH 74 Toledo, OH

25 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 75 Stockton-Lodi, CA

2nd 25 Bottom 25

26 Springfield, MA 76 Kansas City, MO-KS

27 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 77 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

28 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 78 Columbus, OH

29 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 79 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

30 Greensboro-High Point, NC 80 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

31 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA 81 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ

32 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC 82 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

33 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 83 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

34 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 84 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA

35 New Haven-Milford, CT 85 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC

36 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 86 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

37 Oklahoma City, OK 87 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

38 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 88 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

39 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 89 Madison, WI

40 Chattanooga, TN-GA 90 Jackson, MS

41 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 91 Knoxville, TN

42 Columbia, SC 92 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

43 Baton Rouge, LA 93 New Orleans-Metairie, LA

44 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 94 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

45 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 95 Salt Lake City, UT

46 Rochester, NY 96 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

47 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 97 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

48 Urban Honolulu, HI 98 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI

49 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 99 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

50 Austin-Round Rock, TX 100 Fresno, CA
 ICIC | November 2021 16

Table 3. Metro Area Rankings on Employment Improvement for Small Businesses with 1-4 Employees,

Second Quarter 2020 to Second Quarter 2021

Rank Top 25 Rank 3rd 25

1 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 51 Columbia, SC

2 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA 52 Charleston-North Charleston, SC

3 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 53 Greensboro-High Point, NC

4 Pittsburgh, PA 54 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA

5 St. Louis, MO-IL 55 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

6 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 56 Baton Rouge, LA

7 Rochester, NY 57 Provo-Orem, UT

8 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 58 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN

9 Madison, WI 59 Tucson, AZ

10 Toledo, OH 60 Ogden-Clearfield, UT

11 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 61 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

12 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 62 Wichita, KS

13 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 63 New Orleans-Metairie, LA

14 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 64 Oklahoma City, OK

15 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 65 New Haven-Milford, CT

16 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 66 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

17 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 67 Raleigh, NC

18 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 68 Albuquerque, NM

19 Worcester, MA-CT 69 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

20 Boise City, ID 70 Salt Lake City, UT

21 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 71 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

22 Columbus, OH 72 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

23 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 73 Fresno, CA

24 Dayton, OH 74 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL

25 Cleveland-Elyria, OH 75 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

2nd 25 Bottom 25

26 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 76 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL

27 Kansas City, MO-KS 77 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC

28 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 78 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

29 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 79 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

30 Springfield, MA 80 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

31 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 81 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA

32 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 82 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

33 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 83 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

34 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 84 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

35 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 85 El Paso, TX

36 Jackson, MS 86 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

37 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 87 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

38 Bakersfield, CA 88 Austin-Round Rock, TX

39 Akron, OH 89 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

40 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 90 Jacksonville, FL

41 Tulsa, OK 91 Urban Honolulu, HI

42 Richmond, VA 92 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

43 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 93 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

44 Syracuse, NY 94 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

45 Winston-Salem, NC 95 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

46 Chattanooga, TN-GA 96 Knoxville, TN

47 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 97 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

48 Stockton-Lodi, CA 98 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

49 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 99 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

50 Colorado Springs, CO 100 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
 ICIC | November 2021 17

Table 4. Metro Area Rankings on Employment Improvement in Black-Owned Businesses, Second 

Quarter 2020 to Second Quarter 2021

Rank Top 25 Rank 3rd 25

1 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA 51 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

2 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 52 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA

3 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 53 Bakersfield, CA

4 Toledo, OH 54 Columbia, SC

5 Syracuse, NY 55 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

6 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 56 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

7 El Paso, TX 57 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY

8 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 58 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

9 Boise City, ID 59 Dayton, OH

10 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 60 Tucson, AZ

11 Rochester, NY 61 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

12 Salt Lake City, UT 62 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

13 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 63 Baton Rouge, LA

14 Jackson, MS 64 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL

15 Akron, OH 65 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

16 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 66 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

17 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 67 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

18 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 68 Stockton-Lodi, CA

19 Tulsa, OK 69 Greensboro-High Point, NC

20 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 70 Jacksonville, FL

21 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 71 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN

22 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 72 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

23 Colorado Springs, CO 73 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC

24 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 74 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

25 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 75 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

2nd 25 Bottom 25

26 St. Louis, MO-IL 76 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL

27 Cleveland-Elyria, OH 77 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

28 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 78 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

29 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 79 Oklahoma City, OK

30 Columbus, OH 80 Birmingham-Hoover, AL

31 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 81 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

32 Kansas City, MO-KS 82 New Orleans-Metairie, LA

33 Albuquerque, NM 83 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

34 Pittsburgh, PA 84 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

35 Springfield, MA 85 Chattanooga, TN-GA

36 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 86 New Haven-Milford, CT

37 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 87 Austin-Round Rock, TX

38 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 88 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

39 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 89 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

40 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 90 Knoxville, TN

41 Worcester, MA-CT 91 Fresno, CA

42 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 92 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

43 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 93 Raleigh, NC

44 Winston-Salem, NC 94 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

45 Wichita, KS 95 Madison, WI

46 Provo-Orem, UT 96 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

47 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 97 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

48 Richmond, VA 98 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

49 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 99 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

50 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 100 Urban Honolulu, HI
 ICIC | November 2021 18

Table 5. Metro Area Rankings on Employment Improvement in Hispanic- or Latino-Owned Businesses, 

Second Quarter 2020 to Second Quarter 2021

Rank Top 25 Rank 3rd 25

1 Jackson, MS 51 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

2 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 52 El Paso, TX

3 Madison, WI 53 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC

4 Kansas City, MO-KS 54 Stockton-Lodi, CA

5 Salt Lake City, UT 55 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI

6 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 56 Urban Honolulu, HI

7 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 57 Akron, OH

8 St. Louis, MO-IL 58 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR

9 Colorado Springs, CO 59 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

10 Boise City, ID 60 Syracuse, NY

11 Provo-Orem, UT 61 Worcester, MA-CT

12 Cleveland-Elyria, OH 62 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

13 Rochester, NY 63 Oklahoma City, OK

14 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 64 Jacksonville, FL

15 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA 65 Springfield, MA

16 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 66 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

17 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 67 New Orleans-Metairie, LA

18 Dayton, OH 68 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC

19 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 69 Fresno, CA

20 Bakersfield, CA 70 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

21 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 71 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

22 Baton Rouge, LA 72 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

23 Chattanooga, TN-GA 73 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

24 Toledo, OH 74 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

25 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 75 Birmingham-Hoover, AL

2nd 25 Bottom 25

26 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 76 Memphis, TN-MS-AR

27 Pittsburgh, PA 77 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY

28 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 78 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

29 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 79 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

30 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 80 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN

31 Richmond, VA 81 Greensboro-High Point, NC

32 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 82 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

33 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 83 Winston-Salem, NC

34 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 84 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

35 Wichita, KS 85 Columbia, SC

36 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 86 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL

37 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 87 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

38 Tucson, AZ 88 Raleigh, NC

39 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 89 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

40 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 90 Austin-Round Rock, TX

41 Albuquerque, NM 91 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

42 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 92 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

43 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 93 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT

44 Columbus, OH 94 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

45 Tulsa, OK 95 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL

46 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 96 New Haven-Milford, CT

47 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 97 Charleston-North Charleston, SC

48 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 98 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

49 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 99 Knoxville, TN

50 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 100 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
 ICIC | November 2021 19

Metro Focus: Miami

For each quarter in this report series, one of the Top 100 Metros will be selected for a deeper evaluation 

using data available from our data dashboard. This is not intended to be an exhaustive analysis of a 

metro area but merely an example of some of the key results that can be found using data from the 

dashboard.

As stated above, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach (“Miami”) metro area suffered the worst 

employment loss of any of the top 100 metros since the start of the pandemic. By the second quarter of

2021, Miami’s employment was 86 percent of its second quarter 2020 level. This compares with a drop 

to 91 percent for all top 100 metros. However, during the most recent quarter Miami improved more 

strongly than the top 100 metro areas as a whole.

Figure 8. Employment in Miami Compared with Top 100 Metros

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

As in the top 100 metros as a whole, Miami’s under-resourced communities fared slightly better in their 

jobs recovery than other parts of the metro area. In the second quarter of 2021, the URCs had 87 

percent of the jobs they had at the start of the pandemic, compared to 86 percent for other parts of the 

metro area.

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

Q2.20 Q3.20 Q4.20 Q1.21 Q2.21

Miami

Top 100 Metros
 ICIC | November 2021 20

Figure 9. Employment in Miami’s Under-Resourced Communities (URC) Compared with Other Parts of 

the Metro Area (OMA)

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

Within Miami’s under-resourced communities, jobs in Hispanic- or Latino-owned businesses were 

initially impacted more severely by the economic downturn than those in businesses owned by other 

people of color and white-owned businesses.

4 However, over the most recent quarter employment in 

Hispanic- or Latino-owned businesses rebounded strongly.

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

Q2.20 Q3.20 Q4.20 Q1.21 Q2.21

URC

OMA
 ICIC | November 2021 21

Figure 10. Hispanic- or Latino-Owned Businesses in Miami’s Under-Resourced Communities (URC) 

Compared with Miami’s URC As a Whole

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

The employment impact of the downturn in Miami’s under-resourced communities differed widely by

industry. Accommodation and food services, retail, and manufacturing were the hardest hit and 

recovered little in recent quarters. In contrast, construction, healthcare, and entertainment were not as 

badly impacted and began to recover jobs more rapidly than the other industries. 

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

Q2.20 Q3.20 Q4.20 Q1.21 Q2.21

Hispanic or Latino in URC

URC As a Whole
 ICIC | November 2021 22

Figure 11. Employment in Selected Industries in Miami’s Under-Resourced Communities

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

In Miami’s under-resourced communities, the smallest businesses suffered the most severe job losses 

when compared to businesses of other sizes, just as previously shown for the top 100 metros as a 

whole. This contrast is most apparent when comparing businesses with one to four employees and 

those with 100 or more employees. From the second quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2021, the 

smallest businesses shed 25 percent of their jobs (a total of 63,313 jobs), whereas employment at the 

largest businesses dropped by 4 percent (10,544 jobs). However, during the second quarter of 2021

employment in the smallest businesses began to recover strongly while employment among the largest 

continued to slump.

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

Q2.20 Q3.20 Q4.20 Q1.21 Q2.21

Construction

Manufacturing

Retail

Healthcare

Entertainment

Accommodation & Food

Services
 ICIC | November 2021 23

Figure 12. Employment in the Smallest Businesses (1-4 employees) and Largest Businesses (100+

employees) in Miami’s Under-Resourced Communities

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

Q2.20 Q3.20 Q4.20 Q1.21 Q2.21

1 to 4 employees

100 or more employees
 ICIC | November 2021 24

Methodology

Data Axle (formerly Infogroup) has granted exclusive use of its historical dataset on a quarterly basis to 

ICIC and BDRC in support of this project. Data Axle’s dataset contains interview and survey data from 

more than 71 million business establishments each quarter, including the approximately 16 million 

verified establishments currently active or intent on conducting commercial activity in the economy. 

Each quarter, Data Axle verifies and updates approximately 6 million of these records. All verified 

establishments are assembled into a time-series database (Your-economy Time Series or YTS).

5 BDRC 

has developed sophisticated econometric models to translate this ‘sample’ of 6 million records into 

estimates of the activities and employment changes of the approximately 10 million establishments not 

contacted by Data Axle during the quarter. BDRC then consolidates all quarterly and annual records 

from each establishment in the economy to create the master dataset that powers the dashboard and 

enables tailored research services.

Endnotes

1

In this report and the accompanying dashboard, a “business” means a business establishment, an 

individual location where business is conducted. We measure the number of establishments and the 

number of jobs in those establishments. Nearly all small establishments are one-location businesses and 

most large establishments are branches or corporate headquarters. For more information, see the 

methodology section at the end of this report.

2 This benchmarking to the second quarter of 2020 allows comparison of changes across groups with 

widely varying sizes. It also enables easy examination of change patterns between groups. The data 

clearly show pre-pandemic aggregate employment and establishment growth into the second quarter of 

2020, despite early indications during that quarter that the COVID-19 pandemic was rapidly creating 

economic uncertainty. We believe this continued growth, despite emerging warnings, is due to inertia in 

business planning and execution. For example, it commonly takes months if not years to plan a business 

creation, expansion, or relocation project, which can involve significant investments of monetary and 

reputational capital. Thus, it may take weeks or months of new contradictory information to cancel or 

reverse such plans.

3Accommodation and food services includes traveler accommodations (e.g., hotels, B&Bs, casinos), 

rooming and boarding houses, restaurants and other eating places, food contractors and caterers, 

alcoholic drinking places, and RV parks and campgrounds.

4 Data on other businesses owned by people of color and data on white-owned businesses are not 

presented here for brevity but are available on the data dashboard.

5

See https://youreconomy.org.