Big Cities Are Breeding Grounds for COVID-19, But With a Catch

Today brings a new study of COVID-19 with some interesting results. The basic question is whether big, dense cities are more vulnerable to outbreaks than smaller towns and rural areas. The authors come to two conclusions:

• High population cities have higher infection rates and higher death rates.
• However, high density cities have lower death rates.

So the worst possible place to live is a big city with low density. These are mostly found out west: Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, etc. The best place to live would be a relatively small city with high density: San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, and so forth.

I’m not sure how much this matters since most of us can’t move, but at least it gives you some idea of how dangerous your current residence is.