Syracuse cracks list of top-20 performing American cities

Business Insider has named Syracuse the 16th best-performing city in America.

The ranking is part of The 20 Best-Performing Cities in America, a Business Insider list that the website based on fourth-quarter economic data in the Brookings Institution’s MetroMonitor.

Syracuse’s gross metropolitan product is up 4.9 percent from its pre-recession peak, according to that data. The area’s unemployment rate of 8 percent shows that employment has slipped from its peak — employment is down 2.9 percent from pre-recession levels. Home prices have fallen 10.2 percent from their peak.

Syracuse was tied for number 16 on the list with Boston. Boston’s gross metropolitan product was up 5.7 percent from its pre-recession peak, and the city’s unemployment rate stood at 5.8 percent. Employment has dropped 1.5 percent in Boston since peaking. However, home prices in Boston plummeted 25.4 percent from their peak.

Other upstate cities on the list were Albany at number 14, Rochester at number four, and Buffalo at number three. The number-one city was Austin, Texas.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com