Boston Is the Most Likely City to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-598642p1.html?cr=00&amp;pl=edit-00">Eugenio Marongiu</a> / <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/editorial?cr=00&amp;pl=edit-00">Shutterstock.com</a>
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-598642p1.html?cr=00&amp;pl=edit-00">Eugenio Marongiu</a> / <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/editorial?cr=00&amp;pl=edit-00">Shutterstock.com</a>

It’s always good to prepare for the “big one,” especially when the “big one” means a total zombie apocalypse. In a perfectly reasonable pursuit of knowledge, Career Builder and EMSI teamed up to rank the cities most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse. If you live in New York City, the results are more terrifying than The Walking Dead.

The study looked at 53 big cities and used four factors to separate the well prepped, from those whose brains will be toast. These factors were: ability to fight off the zombies, ability to contain the virus and start rebuilding, ability to find and produce enough food to outlast the epidemic, and ability to discover and distribute a cure.

After crunching the numbers, Boston scored high points because of its biomedical research industry. You can hide out in a bunker with an arsenal of guns and food for a while, but eventually you've got to get out and cure the disease. Boston would be the first city to find that cure, which is great considering it's going to be really hard to get out of this terribly designed city when the outbreak happens. Salt Lake City got big points in the containment category, helping it come in second place. The study found that Salt Lake had a large amount of engineers and construction workers who could potentially build a wall faster than Donald Trump. Coming in at a close third, Columbus, Ohio has the food supply. Columbus exports a lot of non-perishable food and has a large manufactory industry, all important factors when all hell breaks loose.

But some cities will not be as fortunate during the hypothetical apocalypse. New York City, Tampa, and Los Angeles were among the least likely to survive. It's easy to imagine that disease spreading like wildfire on the New York City subway, and Los Angeles inhabitants stuck on the 405 when escape is imminent. Better hope those Range Rover doors are zombie proof, Los Angeles.

Here's how the top and bottom 10 stacked up.

Most Likely to Survive

10. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN (33.91 points)
9. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (34.66 points)
8. Kansas City, MO-KS (35.03 points)
7. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA (36.96 points)
6. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (37.49 points)
5. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport New, VA-NC (38.55 points)
4. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD (39.29 points)
3. Columbus, OH (39.31 points)
2. Salt Lake City, UT (39.49 points)
1. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH (43.99 points)

Least Likely to Survive

10. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV (19.41 points)
9. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA (19.24 points)
8. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI (18.31 points)
7. Jacksonville, FL (17.21 points)
6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL (16.78 points)
5. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (16.38 points)
4. Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario, CA (13.34 points)
3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (12.98 points)
2. Tampa-St. Petersberg-Clearwater, FL (11.03 points)
1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (5.64 points)

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Kara King is a News Writer at Thrillist and would not last five minutes against zombies. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow her at @karatillie.