CHARLOTTE — A new report by The Brookings Institution analyzing how U.S. cities fared during the pandemic and their overall economic inclusiveness gives Charlotte high marks, the latest evidence that the area performed better than many similar-sized metro areas.
North Carolina’s cities mostly fell within the top two categories of the study, signifying sustained growth at a time when many areas were regressing.
The report, released this week, assesses 192 metro areas that, collectively, make up 78% of the U.S. population and account for 84% of the nation’s gross domestic product. All the metro areas have populations of at least 250,000.
Brookings used economic data from the federal government and tracking firm Lightcast to look at the metro areas over the past decade and, within that period, to compare pre-pandemic inclusive economic data from 2011-19 with pandemic-era figures spanning 2019-21. Statistics used included those for standard growth measures (GDP, wages and so on) with inclusion data (racial employment, earnings, and poverty gaps).
The metro areas were then ranked and identified as either resilient (in the top half of overall rankings pre-pandemic and after); emergent (in the bottom half pre-pandemic and in the top half after); tested (in the top half pre-pandemic and the bottom half after); or stagnant (in the bottom half in both periods).
Charlotte was among 50 of the 192 cities — 26% — that fell into the resilient category. The area ranked 52nd among those cities in inclusive growth from 2011-19 and shot up to 11th from 2019-21.
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(WATCH BELOW: ‘Watch Charlotte Grow’: A history of rising prices in the Queen City)
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