The federal government declared the recession of 2008 officially over in June of 2009. Four years later, where do we stand? We evaluated the cities hardest hit by the recession, as defined by the Brookings Institute Metro Monitor, which assesses cities on employment, unemployment, output (GDP), and house prices. We then used Radius to learn more about the businesses that sunk the lowest in 2008.

1. October, 2013
state of small businesses special report:
Recession-Ravaged Cities

2. the data
Radius has amassed an unmatched amount of
data that documents the existence and activities
of over 26 million small and medium sized U.S.
businesses. By collecting and organizing local
information from across the Web, Radius offers
comprehensive insights derived from billions of
pieces of information. The result is the only
living, breathing data set representative of the
small business economy in the U.S.
the most
recession-ravaged
metros in the u.s.
01. Cape Coral/Ft. Myers, FL
02. New Orleans, LA
03. Detroit, MI
04. Las Vegas, NV
05. Sarasota, FL
06. Stockton, CA
07. Riverside, CA
08. Phoenix, AZ
09. Tampa, FL
10. Sacramento, CA

3. the report
The federal government declared the recession
of 2008 officially over in June of 2009. Four years
later, where do we stand? We evaluated the cities
hardest hit by the recession, as defined by the
Brookings Institute Metro Monitor, which assess-
es cities on employment, unemployment, output
(GDP), and house prices. We then used Radius to
learn more about the businesses that sunk the
lowest in 2008.
there are
1,775,435businesses within recession-ravaged metros.
1-4
5-9
10-19
20-49
50-99
100+
size of businesses in
recession-ravaged
metros:
1-4: 56.5%
5-9: 19.6%
10-19: 11.3%
20-49: 7.9%
50-99: 2.5%
100+: 2.2%

4. web-savvy metro rankings
01 Austin, TX
02 McAllen, TX
03 San Diego, CA
04 Grand Rapids, MI
05 Kansas City, MO-KS
06 Portland, OR-WA
07 Louisville, KY-IN
08 San Jose, CA
09 Lakeland, FL
10 Worcester, MA
11 Palm Bay, FL
12 Denver, CO
13 Oklahoma City, OK
14 Modesto, CA
15 Tampa, FL
16 Sacramento, CA
17 Cleveland, OH
18 Tucson, AZ
19 Tulsa, OK
20 Dallas, TX
21 Orlando, FL
22 Stockton, CA
23 Minneapolis, MN-WI
24 Columbus, OH
25 Provo, UT
26 Akron, OH
27 Greensboro, NC
28 Las Vegas, NV
29 Lancaster, PA
30 San Francisco, CA
31 San Antonio, TX
32 Seattle, WA
33 Memphis, TN-MS-AR
34 Fresno, CA
35 Washington, DC-VA-MD-WV
36 Miami, FL
37 Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD
38 Greenville, SC
39 Bakersfield, CA
40 Oxnard, CA
41 Buffalo, NY
42 Baltimore, MD
43 Chicago, IL-IN-WI
44 Des Moines, IA
45 Charlotte, NC-SC
46 Riverside, CA
47 Nashville, TN
48 Houston, TX
49 St. Louis, MO-IL
50 Bridgeport, CT
51 Wichita, KS
52 Salt Lake City, UT
53 Knoxville, TN
54 Hartford, CT
55 Providence, RI-MA
56 Pittsburgh, PA
57 Sarasota, FL
58 Ogden, UT
59 Los Angeles, CA
60 New Orleans, LA
61 Phoenix, AZ
62 Indianapolis, IN
63 Atlanta, GA
64 New Haven, CT
65 Albuquerque, NM
66 Poughkeepsie, NY
67 Dayton, OH
68 Boston, MA-NH
69 Harrisburg, PA
70 Milwaukee, WI
71 Toledo, OH
72 Birmingham, AL
73 Chattanooga, TN-GA
74 Springfield, MA
75 Little Rock, AR
76 Raleigh-Durham, NC
77 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
78 Albany, NY
79 Rochester, NY
80 Colorado Springs, CO
81 Jacksonville, FL
82 Baton Rouge, LA
83 Virginia Beach, VA-NC
84 Omaha, NE-IA
85 Syracuse, NY
86 Columbia, SC
87 Richmond, VA
88 Detroit, MI
89 Boise City, ID
90 Jackson, MS
91 Charleston, SC
92 Youngstown, OH-PA
93 Augusta, GA-SC
94 Allentown, PA-NJ
95 Honolulu, HI
96 Madison, WI
97 Scranton, PA
98 New York, NY-NJ-PA
99 El Paso, TX
100 Cape Coral, FL
web-savviness in the
united states
The Radius web-savvy metro
rankings list major U.S. metro
areas by the likelihood of
their small businesses to
maintain websites, Facebook
pages, and Twitter handles.
01-20 21-40 41-60 61-80 81-100web-savvy rank:

5. the most recession-ravaged metros
(declined most from economic peak before recession to
lowest point of recession)
01. Cape Coral/Ft. Myers, FL
02. New Orleans, LA
03. Detroit, MI
04. Las Vegas, NV
05. Sarasota, FL
06. Stockton, CA
07. Riverside, CA
08. Phoenix, AZ
09. Tampa Bay, FL
10. Sacramento, CA
100
60
88
28
57
22
46
61
15
16
the most thriving metros
(improved most from the economic peak before recession
to now)
01. Austin, TX
02. Houston, TX
03. Dallas, TX
04. Oklahoma City, OK
05. San Antonio, TX
06. Nashville, TN
07. El Paso TX
08. San Jose, CA
09. Omaha, NE
10. Boston, MA
01
48
20
13
31
47
99
80
84
68
average social savvy rank:
49
average social savvy rank:
40
most declined most thriving web savvy rankweb savvy rank
how social media affects success
A number of metro areas were hit hardest by the
recession in 2008, and while a number of those
regions have climbed back out of recession, a
number of others are still struggling. The
web-savvy business ranks in recession-ravaged
areas average at nearly half the average rank for
areas that have performed well, economically, in
the face of the recession.

6. the most recovered metros
(most recovered from lowest point of recession to now)
01. San Jose, CA
02. New Orleans, LA
03. Phoenix, AZ
04. Grand Rapids, MI
05. Bakersfield, CA
06. Boise City, ID
07. Detroit, MI
08. Austin, TX
09. Portland, OR
10. Houston, TX
08
60
61
04
39
89
88
01
06
48
the least recovered metros
(least recovered from lowest point of recession to now)
01. Allentown, PA
02. Harrisburg, PA
03. Philadelphia, PA
04. Syracuse, NY
05. Albuquerque, NM
06. Jackson, MS
07. Little Rock, AR
08. Albany, NY
09. Buffalo, NY
10. Poughkeepsie, NY
94
69
37
85
65
90
75
78
41
66
average social savvy rank:
40
average social savvy rank:
70
the best off vs. the worst off
most thriving metro area:
Austin, TX
the most web-savvy metro area:
Austin, TX
the most recovered metro area:
San Jose, CA
most recession-ravaged metro area:
Cape Coral, FL
the least recovered metro area:
Allentown, PA
the least web-savvy metro area:
Cape Coral, FL
most recovered least recovered web savvy rankweb savvy rank

7. conclusion
Our research into recession-ravaged cities
exposed us to a side of the social media story
that’s unfolding across America’s businesses: the
impact that social technology may have on busi-
ness success. As we explore the impact of
web-adoption on businesses, we look to a new
set of questions about the viability of business-
es. Can adoption of social media indicate resis-
tance to recession? Does web-savviness indicate
growth potential? Does enthusiasm for social
media spread in regional patterns? Why do
certain industries adopt web technology faster
than others? Are businesses web-savvy because
they’re successful, or are businesses successful
because they’re web-savvy?
contact
Let’s set up a chat for 10 minutes. We’d love to help.
1.855.RADIUS-0
info@radiusintel.com
about us
Identifying and engaging with the right local businesses can be overwhelming due to the
disorganized — and often contradictory— nature of local business information. Radius
Intelligence has amassed unmatched data that documents the existence and activities of
over 20 million small and medium-sized U.S. businesses. Using Radius, businesses are
empowered to prospect smarter and accelerate sales.
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