The U.S. reported over 817,000 new cases of coronavirus over the seven days ending September 28, bringing the total count to more than 42.6 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 683,000 COVID-19-related deaths — the highest death toll of any country.<\/p>\n
New cases continue to rise, albeit at a slowing rate. In the past week, there were an average of 39.7 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans — a decrease from the week prior, when there were an average of 47.3 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people.<\/p>\n
While new data shows that the risk of contracting COVID-19 is high in almost every part of the country, cities continue to be the sites of major outbreaks and superspreader events. Experts agree that the virus is more likely to spread in group settings where large numbers of people routinely have close contact with one another, such as colleges, nursing homes, bars, and restaurants. Metropolitan areas with a high degree of connectivity between different neighborhoods and a large population may be particularly at-risk. <\/p>\n
The metro areas with the highest incidence of COVID-19 cases are distributed relatively unevenly across the United States. Of the 50 metro areas with the highest case counts per capita, 39 are in the South, seven are in the Midwest, four are in the West, and zero are in the Northeast.<\/p>\n
The five metro areas with the highest number of coronavirus cases per capita are: Lubbock, TX; Bismarck, ND; San Angelo, TX; Laredo, TX; and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL. The incidence of COVID-19 in these metro areas range from 20,494.3 cases per 100,000 to 20,252.7 cases per 100,000. For comparison, there are currently 13,207.9 cases per 100,000 Americans nationwide.<\/p>\n
The 50 cities with the highest incidence of COVID-19 have over 5,200 more coronavirus cases per capita than the U.S. as a whole, but cases are growing at a slowing rate. There were an average of 53.7 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the week ending September 28, a decrease from the week prior, when there were an average of 70.0 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people. In six of the 50 cities with the highest COVID-19 incidence, new cases are rising at an increasing rate.<\/p>\n
To determine the cities with the most COVID-19 cases, 24\/7 Wall St. compiled and reviewed data from state and local health departments. We ranked metro areas based on the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents as of September 28. To estimate the incidence of COVID-19 at the metropolitan level, we aggregated data from the county level using boundary definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau. Population data used to adjust case and death totals came from the U.S. Census Bureau\u2019s 2019 American Community Survey and are five-year estimates. Unemployment data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is seasonally adjusted.<\/p>\n