Have you ever wondered how Seattle would fare in a zombie apocalypse?
Now you’ll have a pretty good idea (or at least a well-informed opinion). Seattle was ranked at number 14 on the list of best cities for surviving a zombie apocalypse—out of 200 U.S. cities. It also received the second-highest score for one of the key metrics. To create this ranking, Lawn Love analyzed 200 U.S. cities according to 30 metrics split into five main survival categories: mobility, hideouts, protection, supplies, and vulnerability. The specific metrics that cities were scored on included share of homes with basements, number of hunting gear stores, and walk score.
Seattle scored particularly high in one of the metrics: the city’s physical inactivity rate. In other words, we’re ready and able to run. According to the study, “residents in two Evergreen State cities are most prepared to outrun the undead. Bellevue (No. 76) claims the lowest physical inactivity rate, followed by Seattle (No. 14).” Now it feels like we need to challenge Bellevue to a race…
Unfortunately, Seattle didn’t quite make it into the overall top 10. Here are the top 10 cities for the best chance of surviving a zombie apocalypse:
- Houston, TX
- New York, NY
- San Antonio, TX
- Miami, FL
- Los Angeles, CA
- Austin, TX
- San Diego, CA
- Las Vegas, NV
- Chicago, IL
- Orlando, FL
And these are the 10 worst cities (with 1 being the city that scored the lowest ranking):
- Miramar, FL
- Jackson, MS
- North Las Vegas, NV
- Paterson, NJ
- Pembroke Pines, FL
- Surprise, AZ
- Detroit, MI
- Port St. Lucie, FL
- Garden Grove, CA
- West Valley City, UT
Although we’re sorry to see that our city didn’t make it into the top 10, we’re happy to at least know that all that hiking will one day pay off.
You can read the full analysis over on lawnlove.com.