The recession is lifting in some metro areas much quicker than others, which is precisely why now’s the time to start prospecting in these U.S. cities:

1. Austin, TX. Austin was a burgeoning city before the recession hit, and that momentum has helped it maintain job growth throughout the recession with more optimistic signs on the horizon, according to a recent Forbes study. With a robust local economy fueled by a huge tourist trade (thanks to two annual week-long music and arts festivals and the University of Texas), Austin is one of the best (and often untapped) regions for sales and marketing organizations to focus their efforts.
2. San Jose, CA. Technology is one of the few fields that’s continued to expand despite the recession, which is a large part of the reason this Silicon Valley mainstay has emerged as a decent area to canvass. San Jose is home to several progressive companies in need of cutting-edge solutions. Companies that are able to respond to that need are in an excellent position to win more business.
3. Portland, OR. Over the past five years or so, Portland has grown more attractive to young professionals looking for an affordable city to live in. Portland still struggles with high unemployment, but its reputation as a center for green companies and eco-friendly initiatives put it at the forefront of metro areas that are in a position to grow and thrive.
4. New York, NY. Times may be tough and rent may be high, but New York is still the city that never sleeps. New York makes the list not so much because it is recovering from the recession quickly, but because the rest of the country needs New York to recover quickly. Plus, there are always new businesses and opportunities booming in Manhattan.
5. Olympia, WA. Olympia benefits from two emerging dynamics. First, the job market in Olympia is growing. Second, a lot of businesses are migrating to Olympia as a way to escape Seattle’s higher rent, taxes and overall cost of doing business.
6. Washington, DC. The public sector in D.C. is hiring again, and that’s good for the private sector in the nation’s capital as well. Meanwhile, the local housing market is beginning to stabilize, all of which are positive signs for sales organizations looking for metro regions to target.
7. Los Angeles, CA. While the show biz industry may not have proven as “recession proof” as it had during past downturns, L.A. is rebounding quite nicely. The job growth forecast for the next three years is optimistic and the region is a large source of GDP — a key economic indicator that’s continued to grow for the past two fiscal quarters.
8. Raleigh, NC. Raleigh is fourth overall when it comes to metro job growth, and the forecast for future job growth is positive as well. Combine that with a low 5% unemployment rate and a reasonable cost of doing business, and Raleigh is an ideal place to seek out new sales opportunities.
9. Fort Collins, CO. Fort Collins boasts reasonably low mortgage rates for a metro area, which is a tremendous draw for young professionals. But job growth is also projected to improve during the next three years. Beyond that, Fort Collins isn’t targeted by businesses nearly as much as Denver — which means there may be untapped opportunities waiting to be found.
10. Greenville, NC. Small city, low cost of doing business and a reasonable amount of job growth make Greenville a worthwhile stop for any sales organizations looking for hidden treasure.

How has the recession impacted your area? Have you started to see any signs of recovery? Let us know in the Comments Box below.

Adapted from “20 Cities Surviving the Recession,” by Miranda Marquitt, MainStreet, 5/11/10.

Tags: budgets, economy, Forbes, prospecting, Recession, regions, sales