Boston, Worcester projected to rebound from coronavirus better than almost every other U.S. city, new analysi – MassLive.com

For years officials in Worcester have lauded the citys growth as strong as any in the country. On Friday, data backed those claims up placing Worcester among national metropolitan titans like Washington D.C., Seattle and San Francisco.

As Massachusetts navigates through phase two of its four-phase reopening strategy, the commonwealths two largest cities are poised to rebound from the coronavirus better than almost every city in the country.

According to analysis from Bloomberg, which ranked the largest 100 cities in the United States, Boston and Worcester fell within the top 10 of metropolitan areas set for growth moving forward.

San Jose and San Francisco captured the top two spots and Boston was third. Worcester ranked eighth far outslugging its weight class. The cities separating Boston and Worcester including Madison, Wisconsin, Seattle, Washington D.C. and Minneapolis.

Worcester ranked higher than New York City, Miami and Denver to name a few.

What catapulted New Englands two largest cities was their foundation of education and a strong health care center, Bloomberg said.

Together, they are home to about 40 colleges and universities and more than 20 hospitals, along with many of the worlds leading biotech companies, Bloomberg said.

Peter Dunn, Worcesters chief development officer, said in the report that health care and education are typically stable industries and tend to be less vulnerable to recession.

Each city also has a high student population due to the array of colleges, meaning that people in the area tend to be younger and not as susceptible to severe outcomes of coronavirus.

Diverse urban economies ranked in the Bloomberg gauge, especially ones that dont rely mainly on leisure and hospitality or on small businesses, the report said. Metro areas with strong human capital - a highly educated labor force - and lower consumer debt also scored higher.

The coronavirus has claimed more than 7,000 lives in Massachusetts so far. Thats the third highest in the country. As of Thursday, the state had confirmed 106,422 cases of the virus.

Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday said the progress made in the fight against the virus puts the state on a good trajectory toward the last two phases of its plan to reopen all sectors of the economy. Phase 2 of the states plan began on June 8.

His comments come as Arizona, Florida and Texas on Tuesday all reported their largest single-day increase in case numbers to date, the New York Times reported. The newspaper reported that, based on these spikes in new infections, the U.S. could surpass Europe in overall deaths next week.

Related Content:

See more here:

Boston, Worcester projected to rebound from coronavirus better than almost every other U.S. city, new analysi - MassLive.com