When it comes to disaster situations, you can never be too prepared—even if those situations don't exist outsidehorror movies. You likely don't have to worry about a zombie apocalypse happening in your lifetime, but it can be fun to imagine how you would fare against an army of the undead. According to Lawn Love, these are the cities where you would stand the best chance of surviving a zombie apocalypse in 2021.
To compile the list below, the lawn care service provider ranked the 200 biggest cities in the U.S. based on their zombie-preparedness levels. Because there's no official protocol for dealing with such an event, they had to get creative when coming up with the criteria. Qualities that placed cities higher up on the list include number of military bases, access to hunting-gear stores, and share of homes with basements (a.k.a. bunkers).
Huntington Beach, California, was named the best place to live during a zombie apocalypse. The city ranks high in both protections and mobility. Residents there are also healthier and more active than average, which gives them a better shot at outrunning the walking dead. The Golden State seems like a prime place to ride out an invasion of the undead: In 2019, California topped CableTV.com's list of the best states to survive a zombie apocalypse.
Other urban areas on the West Coast seem promising, too. Two Washington cities appear at the top of the list, with Bellevue coming in at No.2 and Vancouver ranking No.5. Alexandria, Virginia, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, round at the top four in third and fourth place, respectively.
You can read the full list of the best cities for surviving a zombie apocalypse below. And if you do find yourself in this hypothetical scenario, be careful about how you fight back; killing a zombie isn't legal everywhere.
- Huntington Beach, CA
- Bellevue, WA
- Alexandria, VA
- Minneapolis, MN
- Vancouver, WA
- Seattle, WA
- St. Paul, MN
- Fort Collins, CO
- Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Hollywood, FL
- Portland, OR
- Olathe, KS
- Torrance, CA
- Honolulu, HI
- Tacoma, WA
- Tampa, FL
- Miami, FL
- Knoxville, TN
- Fullerton, CA
- Tempe, AZ
- Mobile, AL
- Frisco, TX
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Oceanside, CA
- Bridgeport, CT