Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Overall rank: 13

The unemployment rate in the D.C. area fell in both June and July, as it gained jobs in government and defense contracting sectors. Employment in the D.C. metro peaked in the third quarter of last year. Gross metropolitan product peaked in the second quarter. Home prices fell 5.7% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. And the unemployment rate in June was 6.5%, up 2.7 points from a year earlier. (Please see below for the various criteria used by the Brookings Institution to determine the overall ranking.)

Job growth (since peak) rank: 6
Gross Metro Product (since peak) rank: 1
Unemployment change (year over year) rank: 18
Home price change (year over year) rank: 72