A few metropolitan areas are beginning to showing signs of economic recovery, according to a study by The Brookings Institute, although none has completely recovered. McAllen, Texas is the only metropolitan area that saw growth in both employment and output during the first quarter of 2009. Employment also rose in New Haven, Conn. and Baton Rouge, while output also increased in Seattle, Austin, Virginia Beach, Washington, Richmond, San Jose, and Riverside. Still, none of these metro areas has yet returned to its pre-recession levels of employment or output.
                                           Donner Lake
 
Some 38 of the top 100 metro areas avoided declines in home prices over the past year, even as prices nationwide dipped 6 percent. Most of these metro areas also experienced below-average employment declines, and lie in the less-affected parts of the "Manufacturing Belt" (Pennsylvania and upstate New York) and Sun Belt (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana). They also exhibit below-average shares of properties in REO (real estate-owned) status due to bank foreclosure.
 
Source: The Brookings Institute