How the Coronavirus Recession 

and Recovery Have Affected 

Businesses and Jobs in the 

100 Largest Metropolitan Areas 

Second Quarter of 2020 through Third Quarter of 2021 

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

ij 

JANUARY 2022 
 ICIC | January 2022 2

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

City, where Miles Chandler is a senior 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 | January 2022 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 third quarter of 2021. Our analysis of

Your-economy Time Series data shows that:

▪ In the top 100 metro areas as a whole, both the number of businesses and the number of jobs 

continued to recover in the third quarter of 2021. In the third quarter, the number of jobs was 92 

percent of its pre-crisis levels and the number of businesses was at 86 percent.

▪ Businesses of all sizes added jobs during the third quarter of 2021. However, the smallest 

businesses continued to suffer more than larger ones. In the third quarter, businesses with one to 

four employees had just 82 percent of the jobs they had at the start of the pandemic, while those 

with 100 or more employees had 97 percent.

▪ Asian- and Pacific Islander-, Black-, and Hispanic-/Latino-owned businesses gained jobs more rapidly 

than white-owned businesses during the third quarter of 2021. From the second quarter to the 

third quarter, the job growth rate was 3.7 percent for Black-owned businesses, 3.4 percent for 

Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned businesses, and 3.3 percent for Hispanic/Latino-owned 

businesses, while employment at white-owned businesses rose by only 2.2 percent.

▪ All the key industries within the top 100 metro areas gained jobs during the third quarter of 2021. 

Healthcare had the fastest job growth during the quarter, increasing from 94 percent of its precrisis employment level in the second quarter of the year to 96 percent in the third quarter. The 

accommodation and food services (including hotels, restaurants, and similar businesses) industry 

continued to suffer, recovering only to 87 percent of its employment in the third quarter of 2020

(up from 86 percent in the second quarter).

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

poverty and low income) continued to gain jobs in the third quarter of 2021. Employment in both 

under-resourced communities and other parts of their metropolitan areas was about 92 percent of 

its pre-crisis level.

▪ Among the top 100 metro areas, Baton Rouge, LA, had the fastest job growth rate (3.5 percent)

from the second to the third quarter of 2021, while Colorado Springs, CO, had the slowest (a job 

loss of 5.6 percent). The under-resourced communities of Austin-Round Rock, TX, enjoyed the most 

rapid job growth rate (15 percent) among all under-resourced communities in the top 100 metro 

areas between those two quarters.

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

exceptional growth in the third quarter of 2021 was largely contributable to two large-scale 

investment projects in the information and manufacturing industries, both located in underresourced communities. This drove employment in Austin’s largest businesses (those with 100 or 

more employees) higher than it was at the start of the pandemic. However, the metro area’s
 ICIC | January 2022 4

smallest businesses (those with one to four employees) continued to suffer, recovering to only 82 

percent of their pre-crisis employment level in the third quarter of last year.
 ICIC | January 2022 5

Introduction

This report, the second 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 businesses 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 | January 2022 6

Top 100 Metros Overview: Strong Recovery of Both Businesses and Jobs

In the top 100 metro areas, the numbers of jobs and businesses continued to recover during the third 

quarter of 2021. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the top 100 metro areas retained a 

larger share of their jobs than of their businesses. Between the second and third quarters of 2021, the 

numbers of jobs and businesses expanded at about the same rate. In the third quarter, the top 100 

metros had 92 percent of their pre-crisis employment but only 86 percent of their businesses.

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 Q3.21

Employment

Businesses
 ICIC | January 2022 7

Business Size: Employment Grew among Businesses of All Sizes but Recovery of Small Business Jobs 

Continued to Lag

Between the second and third quarters of 2021, businesses of all sizes in the top 100 metros gained jobs. 

Businesses with 10-19 employees had the fastest job growth rate between the second and third 

quarters (2.5 percent) while those with five to nine employees has the slowest (0.3 percent).

Although the third quarter’s job growth in businesses of all sizes represents a significant turnaround 

compared with previous quarters, much improvement is still needed for employment to reach pre-crisis 

levels, particularly among smaller businesses. In the third quarter, employment at businesses with one

to four employees was only 82 percent of its level at the beginning of the pandemic, compared to 97 

percent for businesses with 100 or more employees.

Figure 2. Employment by Business Size in Top 100 Metros

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

Additional information about job and business trends by business size in each metro area is available on the

dashboard.

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

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

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 | January 2022 8

Race and Ethnicity: Jobs Rebounded Faster in Asian- and Pacific Islander-, Black- and Hispanic/LatinoOwned Businesses than in White-Owned Businesses

Asian- and Pacific Islander-, Black-, and Hispanic-/Latino-owned businesses gained jobs more rapidly than 

white-owned businesses during the third quarter of 2021. From the second quarter to the third quarter, 

the job growth rate was 3.7 percent for Black-owned businesses, 3.4 percent for Asian- and Pacific 

Islander-owned businesses, and 3.3 percent for Hispanic-/Latino-owned businesses, while employment at 

white-owned businesses rose by only 2.2 percent.

Figure 3. Percent Change in Employment in Asian- and Pacific Islander-, Black-, Hispanic- or Latino-, and 

White-Owned Businesses in Top 100 Metros, Second Quarter 2021 to Third Quarter 2021

Information about job and business trends for businesses in each metro area by the business owner’s race 

and ethnicity is available on the dashboard.

0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

2.5%

3.0%

3.5%

4.0%

Asian & Pacific

Islander

Black Hispanic or Latino White
 ICIC | January 2022 9

Industries: All Key Industries Gained Jobs but Accommodation and Food Services Continued to Lag

Every industry enjoyed some employment recovery during from the second quarter to the third quarter 

of 2021, with the strongest growth (2.1 percent) in the healthcare industry. Throughout the crisis, the 

accommodation and food services industry, which includes hotels, restaurants, and similar businesses,3

suffered most, with employment remaining depressed at 87 percent of its pre-crisis levels. The

healthcare industry suffered least since the beginning of the pandemic, with employment rebounding to 

96 percent of its pre-pandemic total in the second quarter of 2020.

Figure 4. Employment in Selected Industries in Top 10 Metros

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

80.0%

85.0%

90.0%

95.0%

100.0%

105.0%

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

Construction

Manufacturing

Retail

Healthcare

Entertainment

Accommodation & Food

Services
ICIC | January 2022 10

Communities: Strong Jobs Recovery for Both Under-Resourced Communities and Other Parts of Their 

Metro Areas

During the third quarter of 2021 both under-resourced communities (URCs) and other parts of their 

metro areas (OMAs) experienced strong upturns in employment for the first time since the beginning of 

the pandemic. From the third quarter of 2020 through the third quarter of 2021, URCs fared slightly

better than OMAs. From the second quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2021, OMA’s gained jobs

slightly more quickly than URCs,

, with employment rising by 1.4 percent in OMAs (from 90 percent of its 

pre-crisis level in the second quarter to 92 percent in the third quarter) compared to 1.1 percent in URCs

(from 91 percent of its pre-crisis level in the second quarter to 92 percent in the third quarter).

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

Additional information about job and business trends in under-resourced communities and other metro 

areas, for each metro area, is available on the dashboard.

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

pandemic, the number of businesses in the third 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 Q3.21

URC

OMA
ICIC | January 2022 11

Top 100 Metro Rankings

Although all of the top 100 metro areas gained jobs from the second to the third quarter of 2021, these 

gains differed greatly by metro area. Among the top 100 metro areas, Baton Rouge, LA, had the fastest 

job growth rate (3.5 percent) from the second to the third quarter of 2021, while Colorado Springs, CO, 

had the slowest (a job loss of 5.6 percent). 

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

the third quarter of 2021. These rankings are based on job changes for each metro area as a whole and, 

separately, 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 gained 

jobs most rapidly between the second and third quarters of last year ranking in the top 25 and those that

gained jobs most slowly ranking in the bottom 25.
ICIC | January 2022 12

Table 1. Total Metro Area Rankings on Employment Improvement, Second Quarter 2021 to Third 

Quarter 2021

Rank Top 25 Rank 3rd 25

1 Baton Rouge, LA 51 Birmingham-Hoover, AL

2 Pittsburgh, PA 52 Winston-Salem, NC

3 Austin-Round Rock, TX 53 Tucson, AZ

4 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 54 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

5 Salt Lake City, UT 55 Wichita, KS

6 Provo-Orem, UT 56 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

7 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 57 Madison, WI

8 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 58 Columbus, OH

9 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 59 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

10 New Haven-Milford, CT 60 New Orleans-Metairie, LA

11 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 61 Fresno, CA

12 Urban Honolulu, HI 62 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ

13 Oklahoma City, OK 63 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY

14 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 64 Dayton, OH

15 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 65 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

16 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 66 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

17 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 67 Springfield, MA

18 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 68 Akron, OH

19 Syracuse, NY 69 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA

20 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 70 Albuquerque, NM

21 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 71 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

22 Chattanooga, TN-GA 72 Stockton-Lodi, CA

23 Tulsa, OK 73 Toledo, OH

24 El Paso, TX 74 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

25 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 75 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

2nd 25 Bottom 25

26 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 76 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

27 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 77 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

28 Rochester, NY 78 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

29 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 79 Greensboro-High Point, NC

30 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 80 Memphis, TN-MS-AR

31 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 81 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL

32 Worcester, MA-CT 82 Kansas City, MO-KS

33 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 83 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR

34 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 84 Richmond, VA

35 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 85 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA

36 Knoxville, TN 86 Cleveland-Elyria, OH

37 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 87 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

38 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 88 Bakersfield, CA

39 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 89 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA

40 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 90 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN

41 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 91 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

42 St. Louis, MO-IL 92 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

43 Boise City, ID 93 Jackson, MS

44 Augusta-Richmond County, GA 94 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL

45 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 95 Charleston-North Charleston, SC

46 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 96 Jacksonville, FL

47 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 97 Columbia, SC

48 Raleigh, NC 98 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC

49 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 99 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI

50 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 100 Colorado Springs, CO
ICIC | January 2022 13

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

Second Quarter 2021 to Third Quarter 2021

Rank Top 25 Rank 3rd 25

1 Austin-Round Rock, TX 51 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

2 Madison, WI 52 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

3 Fresno, CA 53 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI

4 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 54 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

5 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 55 El Paso, TX

6 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 56 Syracuse, NY

7 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 57 Tucson, AZ

8 Richmond, VA 58 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

9 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 59 Albuquerque, NM

10 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 60 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

11 Rochester, NY 61 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT

12 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 62 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

13 Tulsa, OK 63 Bakersfield, CA

14 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 64 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

15 Worcester, MA-CT 65 Greensboro-High Point, NC

16 Augusta-Richmond County, GA 66 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

17 Provo-Orem, UT 67 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

18 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 68 Baton Rouge, LA

19 Kansas City, MO-KS 69 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA

20 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 70 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

21 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 71 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

22 Winston-Salem, NC 72 Chattanooga, TN-GA

23 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 73 Dayton, OH

24 Pittsburgh, PA 74 St. Louis, MO-IL

25 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 75 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

2nd 25 Bottom 25

26 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 76 Jacksonville, FL

27 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 77 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

28 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 78 Charleston-North Charleston, SC

29 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 79 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

30 Urban Honolulu, HI 80 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT

31 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 81 Cleveland-Elyria, OH

32 Wichita, KS 82 New Orleans-Metairie, LA

33 Knoxville, TN 83 Boise City, ID

34 Columbus, OH 84 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

35 Oklahoma City, OK 85 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA

36 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 86 Raleigh, NC

37 Springfield, MA 87 Stockton-Lodi, CA

38 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 88 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY

39 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 89 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL

40 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 90 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

41 Salt Lake City, UT 91 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

42 New Haven-Milford, CT 92 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA

43 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 93 Toledo, OH

44 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 94 Jackson, MS

45 Akron, OH 95 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

46 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 96 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

47 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 97 Columbia, SC

48 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 98 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

49 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 99 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

50 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 100 Colorado Springs, CO
ICIC | January 2022 14

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

Second Quarter 2021 to Third Quarter 2021

Rank Top 25 Rank 3rd 25

1 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 51 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN

2 Oklahoma City, OK 52 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

3 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 53 Salt Lake City, UT

4 Tulsa, OK 54 Greensboro-High Point, NC

5 Urban Honolulu, HI 55 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC

6 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 56 Ogden-Clearfield, UT

7 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 57 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

8 Austin-Round Rock, TX 58 Raleigh, NC

9 Worcester, MA-CT 59 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

10 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 60 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

11 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 61 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

12 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 62 Richmond, VA

13 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 63 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

14 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 64 Syracuse, NY

15 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 65 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

16 Wichita, KS 66 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL

17 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 67 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

18 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 68 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

19 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 69 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

20 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 70 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA

21 St. Louis, MO-IL 71 Stockton-Lodi, CA

22 Boise City, ID 72 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

23 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 73 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

24 Pittsburgh, PA 74 Augusta-Richmond County, GA

25 Albuquerque, NM 75 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

2nd 25 Bottom 25

26 Winston-Salem, NC 76 Madison, WI

27 Chattanooga, TN-GA 77 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

28 Provo-Orem, UT 78 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA

29 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 79 New Orleans-Metairie, LA

30 Springfield, MA 80 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

31 Colorado Springs, CO 81 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY

32 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 82 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL

33 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 83 Bakersfield, CA

34 New Haven-Milford, CT 84 Baton Rouge, LA

35 Kansas City, MO-KS 85 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

36 Knoxville, TN 86 Toledo, OH

37 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 87 Dayton, OH

38 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 88 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

39 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 89 Akron, OH

40 El Paso, TX 90 Memphis, TN-MS-AR

41 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 91 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

42 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 92 Columbus, OH

43 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 93 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC

44 Tucson, AZ 94 Cleveland-Elyria, OH

45 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 95 Jacksonville, FL

46 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 96 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI

47 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 97 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR

48 Fresno, CA 98 Charleston-North Charleston, SC

49 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 99 Columbia, SC

50 Rochester, NY 100 Jackson, MS
ICIC | January 2022 15

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

Quarter 2021 to Third Quarter 2021

Rank Top 25 Rank 3rd 25

1 Colorado Springs, CO 51 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL

2 Rochester, NY 52 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

3 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 53 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

4 Madison, WI 54 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

5 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 55 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR

6 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 56 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

7 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 57 Akron, OH

8 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 58 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN

9 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 59 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

10 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 60 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

11 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 61 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

12 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 62 Stockton-Lodi, CA

13 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 63 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

14 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 64 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY

15 Oklahoma City, OK 65 St. Louis, MO-IL

16 Columbia, SC 66 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

17 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 67 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

18 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 68 Charleston-North Charleston, SC

19 Raleigh, NC 69 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA

20 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 70 Dayton, OH

21 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 71 Worcester, MA-CT

22 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 72 New Haven-Milford, CT

23 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 73 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA

24 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 74 Tulsa, OK

25 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 75 Salt Lake City, UT

2nd 25 Bottom 25

26 Columbus, OH 76 Pittsburgh, PA

27 Greensboro-High Point, NC 77 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

28 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 78 Knoxville, TN

29 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 79 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

30 Springfield, MA 80 Bakersfield, CA

31 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 81 Wichita, KS

32 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 82 Boise City, ID

33 Winston-Salem, NC 83 New Orleans-Metairie, LA

34 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 84 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT

35 Austin-Round Rock, TX 85 Kansas City, MO-KS

36 Baton Rouge, LA 86 El Paso, TX

37 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 87 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

38 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 88 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA

39 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 89 Toledo, OH

40 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 90 Richmond, VA

41 Jacksonville, FL 91 Albuquerque, NM

42 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 92 Syracuse, NY

43 Jackson, MS 93 Chattanooga, TN-GA

44 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 94 Fresno, CA

45 Tucson, AZ 95 Provo-Orem, UT

46 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 96 Ogden-Clearfield, UT

47 Cleveland-Elyria, OH 97 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT

48 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 98 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI

49 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 99 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA

50 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 100 Urban Honolulu, HI
ICIC | January 2022 16

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

Second Quarter 2021 to Third Quarter 2021

Rank Top 25 Rank 3rd 25

1 Dayton, OH 51 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

2 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 52 Memphis, TN-MS-AR

3 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 53 Akron, OH

4 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 54 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

5 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 55 Worcester, MA-CT

6 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 56 El Paso, TX

7 Oklahoma City, OK 57 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

8 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 58 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

9 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 59 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

10 Jacksonville, FL 60 Knoxville, TN

11 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 61 Fresno, CA

12 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 62 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

13 Raleigh, NC 63 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA

14 Tulsa, OK 64 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

15 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 65 Rochester, NY

16 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 66 Kansas City, MO-KS

17 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 67 Columbia, SC

18 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 68 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

19 Richmond, VA 69 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

20 Jackson, MS 70 Cleveland-Elyria, OH

21 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 71 Boise City, ID

22 Springfield, MA 72 St. Louis, MO-IL

23 Columbus, OH 73 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA

24 Greensboro-High Point, NC 74 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT

25 Bakersfield, CA 75 Pittsburgh, PA

2nd 25 Bottom 25

26 Austin-Round Rock, TX 76 Provo-Orem, UT

27 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 77 Colorado Springs, CO

28 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 78 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

29 Winston-Salem, NC 79 Toledo, OH

30 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 80 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

31 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 81 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

32 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 82 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

33 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 83 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC

34 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 84 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT

35 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 85 Salt Lake City, UT

36 Chattanooga, TN-GA 86 New Orleans-Metairie, LA

37 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 87 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

38 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 88 Albuquerque, NM

39 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 89 Tucson, AZ

40 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 90 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

41 Madison, WI 91 Wichita, KS

42 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 92 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA

43 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 93 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY

44 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 94 New Haven-Milford, CT

45 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 95 Baton Rouge, LA

46 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 96 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

47 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 97 Syracuse, NY

48 Stockton-Lodi, CA 98 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

49 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 99 Ogden-Clearfield, UT

50 Urban Honolulu, HI 100 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
ICIC | January 2022 17

Metro Focus: Austin

For each quarter in this report series, one of the top 100 Metros is 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.

From the second to the third quarter of 2021, the Austin-Round Rock, TX, metropolitan area (“Austin”) 

enjoyed a strong employment recovery along a number of important dimensions. It was ranked third in 

total metro employment improvement (with a job growth rate of 2.3 percent), first in under-resourced 

community improvement, eighth in improvement for businesses with one to four employees, and in the 

second highest group of 25 for employment improvements for both Black- and Hispanic/Latino- owned 

business.

From the beginning of the pandemic through the end of 2020, Austin’s total employment losses mirrored 

the average for all top 100 metros. But over the first three quarters of 2021, these paths have significantly 

diverged, with Austin recovering to 95% of its pre-crisis employment level in the third quarter of 2021, up 

from a low of 91 percent at the start of 2021. In contrast, the top 100 metro areas as a whole recovered to 

92 percent of their its pre-crisis employment level in the third quarter of last year, up from a low of 90 

percent at the beginning of last year.

Figure 6. Employment in Austin Compared with Top 100 Metros

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

88%

90%

92%

94%

96%

98%

100%

102%

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

Austin

Top 100 Metros
ICIC | January 2022 18

From the second quarter of 2020 through the second quarter of 2021, other parts of Austin’s metro area 

fared better in terms of employment loss and stabilization than its under-resourced communities. Yet, 

from the second quarter to the third quarter of last year quarter, the employment level in its URC 

skyrocketed (from 92 percent of pre-crisis level to 106 percent—a 15 percent increase in the number of 

jobs in the URC), far exceeding the level of its OMA and higher than before the crisis. This rate of job 

growth in Austin’s URC was the highest among URCs in the top 100 metro areas.

Figure 7. Austin’s Employment in its Under-Resourced Communities (URC) Compared with Other Parts

of the Metro Area (OMA)

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

110%

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

URC

OMA
ICIC | January 2022 19

The increases in Austin’s URC employment in the second and third quarters of 2021 were primarily 

attributable to large plant openings or expansions in the information and manufacturing industries. In the 

third quarter, information and manufacturing employment in the entire Austin metro area were each 10 

percent higher than their pre-crisis levels. Other major industries also grew in the third quarter, although 

their growth was more modest. 

Figure 8. Employment in Selected Industries in Austin

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

105%

110%

115%

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

Construction

Manufacturing

Information

Healthcare

Education

Accommodation & Food

Services
ICIC | January 2022 20

Austin’s new investment projects continued to support the growth of larger businesses of 100 

employees or more, raising their total employment in the third quarter of 2021 to 103 percent of its 

level at the start of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the smallest businesses in Austin (those with one to four 

employees) added total employment between the second and third quarters of last year but still 

remained close to their pandemic-era lows (82 percent of pre-crisis employment).

Figure 10. Employment in the Smallest Businesses (1-4 employees) and Largest Businesses (100+

employees) in Austin

Percent of employment in the second quarter of 2020

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

110%

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

100 or more employees

1 to 4 employees
ICIC | January 2022 21

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, accounting for any up-dates to Infogroup records, in order 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

In our previous report, which covered the period ending in the second quarter of 2021, we presented 

rankings based on the percent change in employment from the beginning of the pandemic (second quarter 

of 2020) through the most recent quarter for which data were available (second quarter of 2021). In this 

report, we rank metro areas based on the percent change in employment over two most recent 

consecutive quarters for which data are available (second quarter of 2021 to third quarter of 2021).

5

See https://youreconomy.org.