Tampa Toast in Zombie Apocalypse, Study Says

TAMPA, FL — Fans of “The Walking Dead” may recall what Atlanta looked on the little screen after the fictional zombie apocalypse took hold. That’s how the folks at Career Builder envision Tampa’s future should fantasy ever become reality … only worse.

Tampa ranked 52nd out of 53 cities included in a survey meant to gauge metro areas across the country on their preparedness to take on zombies. The survey looked at multiple factors, including defenses, ability to contain a zombie virus, ability to find a cure and accessibility of food. CareerBuilder’s “totally practical and 100 percent feasible study” gauges survival rates “based on concentration of occupational skills and industries,” a media release from the website explained.

All 53 cities included in the ranking have more than 1 million residents. Data used to determine the rankings came from Emsi, “CareerBuilder’s labor market analysis arm, which aggregates information from more than 100 national, state and local employment resources,” according to the release..

On an aside, CareerBuilder also surveyed workers to find out what they would do if they were infected with a zombie virus. Thirty-six percent said they’d “feast on their co-workers,” CareerBuilder warned.

As for the rankings of how cities would fare in a battle against the walking dead, Boston, Massachusetts, earned first-place honors. The top five included Kansas City, Missouri; Salt Lake City, Utah; Baltimore, Maryland; and San Diego, California, respectively. New York City came in dead last in the study.

Rick Grimes' and Daryl Dixon’s Atlanta didn’t fare much better than how the folks behind “The Walking Dead” pictured it, by the way. The city earned 48th place in CareerBuilder’s rankings.

According to the study, Orlando is the best positioned city in Florida to survive a zombie virus outbreak. It scored 21st place in the rankings. Jacksonville came in 43rd with Miami down in 49th.

Curious about why Tampa Bay scored so poorly considering the placement of MacDill Air Force Base and the University of South Florida’s rise in research prominence, Patch reached out to CareerBuilder for more information. We never heard back, but we contend with USF’s standing in the Top 25 national research rankings, MacDill’s military prowess and other factors, we’d at least hold our own should zombies ever come knocking on our doors.

To check out CareerBuilder’s full study, visit it online.

How do you think Tampa Bay would fare in a zombie apocalypse? Let us know by commenting below!

Image by Mike Mozart via Flickr