HOUSTON – A new report shows Houston has the best economy in the country and ranks as one of the best cities in the world.
According to the Brooking's Global Metro Monitor, Houston's economy ranks 40th in the world.
"Houston is the most rapidly-growing metropolis in all of the U.S. It has also become the most ethnically-diverse of any city in America," said Stephen Klineberg, a professor at Rice University. "The last city to go into recession, the first one to come out."
Klineberg has been following Houston and Harris County for 31 years for the Kinder Houston-area survey.
The ranking is based on the gross domestic product per capita and employment change. The study declared three cities, including Dallas, as fully recovered from the major recession.
China had 34 of the top-performing metro areas in the world.
The study also said that three-fourths of the fastest-growing economies are in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
Louisville, Salt Lake and San Jose are also ranked among the top 20 percent, but their economies combined are still less than Houston's $400 billion.