Housing markets in the Northeast and other parts of the East Coast remain most economically impacted by and at risk of further depression as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, according to a new report by ATTOM Data Solutions. 

The report – which included 499 counties across the United States – evaluated markets as being more or less at risk depending on the percentage of homes facing possible foreclosure, the portion with mortgage balances exceeding estimated property values, and the percentage of average local wages required to pay for homeownership expenses. In particular, New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago have the largest clusters of high-risk counties in the U.S., while states across the West – with the exception of California – are less vulnerable. 

New Jersey, Illinois, California, Louisiana, New York, Florida and Maryland comprised 40 of the 50 counties most vulnerable to the pandemic's economic impacts in the fourth quarter of 2020. Eight suburban counties in the NYC metro area, four around Philadelphia, and two near Washington D.C., were included in that count, as well as six in the Chicago suburbs and two in the St. Louis metro area. Northern California accounted for five of the seven western counties in the top 50.