A new ranking has revealed which major shopping malls in America are the best to hide in during a zombie apocalypse – based on eight key factors.
And it turns out that the mall which offers Americans the best chance of survival is the Millcreek Mall in Erie, Pennsylvania – situated between Peach Street and Interstate 79.
The findings, pulled together by JeffBet, scored each mall based on their demand, infection risk, shelter suitability, food provisions, weapon access, medicine access, mental stimulation, and chance of rescue, in the event of a The Last of Us scale infection.
HBO’s The Last of Us may have drawn to a close last weekend, but many of us were left wondering whether we could survive a zombie apocalypse, and what our plan would be.
Given that a zombie outbreak could occur without any prior warning, highly-populated areas like shopping complexes and malls could see thousands of people scrambling to survive – and it turns out that some malls in America are better-suited to survival than others.
The research assigned major shopping malls a survival score out of 10, based on how they compare across eight key metrics – including infection risk, weapons, and demand.
And the ideal mall to either be stranded in or to run to in the event of an outbreak is Millcreek Mall in Erie, Pennsylvania, with a survival score of 7.7 out of 10 – whilst the worst place to end up is Alana Moana Center in Honolulu, Hawaii (scoring just 3.9 out of 10).
Millcreek Mall scored well across all eight factors, but came out particularly high for infection risk, access to medicine and chance of rescue – arguably, some of the biggest benefits.
Infection risk factors in the mall’s daily footfall, which determines the chance of some visitors already having the virus, and the mall’s walking distance from its metro area – as the closer it is to a densely-populated center, the higher the likelihood of zombies making it to the mall.
Access to medicine involved analyzing each mall’s directory to see if there’s an on-site pharmacy, and seeing how long it would take to travel to the mall’s nearest medical center.
Chance of rescue – although never guaranteed – was determined by each mall’s infection risk, which would deter army forces from infiltrating the structure, and ease of access to the nearest hospital which features a helipad for potential airbourne rescues.
Overall, Millcreek Mall has a low daily footfall despite its size, boasts an on-site pharmacy and is only a 13 minute walk away from a hospital – giving visitors a good chance of survival.
Top 10 malls to increase chances of survival in a zombie apocalypse
Mall | Location | Survival Score | Best Scoring Factor |
| Millcreek Mall | Erie, Pennsylvania | 7.7 /10 | Infection Risk |
| Lakewood Center | Lakewood, California | 7.3 /10 | Food Provisions |
| King of Prussia Mall | King of Prussia, Pennsylvania | 7.1 /10 | Chance of Rescue |
| Mall of America | Bloomington, Minnesota | 6.7 /10 | Weapons Access |
| Palisades Center | West Nyack, New York | 6.7 /10 | Mental Stimulation |
| Westfield Garden State Plaza | Paramus, New Jersey | 5.9 /10 | Chance of Rescue |
| Westfield Valley Fair | San Jose, California | 5.9 /10 | Demand |
| Aventura Mall | Aventura, Florida | 5.8 /10 | Demand |
| American Dream | East Rutherford, New Jersey | 5.6 /10 | Shelter Suitability |
| Sawgrass Mills | Sunrise, Florida | 5.6 /10 | Weapons Access |
Alana Moana Center was primarily let down by its demand, shelter suitability, medicine access and mental stimulation – despite scoring fairly high for both food and weapons.
Demand takes into account each mall’s average daily footfall, area (m2) and driving distance from the metro centre, as a way to establish how packed each mall will become when people flock to it for protection from an influx of zombies.
Shelter suitability accounts for the number of mall entrances that would need securing or defending after an outbreak, the number of floors within each mall, and the number of store units that are vying for space – and that could obstruct the view of incoming zombies.
Mental stimulation was weighted as the least important factor as it’s less of a necessity – and relates to the number of leisure activities available within each mall to pass the time, such as ten-pin bowling, waterparks and mini golf courses.
For those who are confident in their ability to fight their way out of an outbreak, Alana Moana Center isn’t the worst choice, as there’s a good number of stores in the mall that could house weapons (such as knives from Macy’s and hockey sticks from Dick’s Sporting Goods).
Based on state-wide weapon registration rates, there’s also a higher likelihood of Alana Moana Center visitors being armed against a zombie attack, compared to other locations.
The mall also doesn’t come out as the worst for food provisions, which is calculated by comparing the number of on-site dining outlets against its average daily footfall.
Also amongst the worst-scoring malls were The Galleria in Houston (3.9 /10), Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois (4.3 /10), and Roosevelt Field in Garden City, New York (4.7 /10).
Generally speaking, the area which American malls most need to improve in came out as access to medicine, as many don’t have on-site pharmacies that could prove crucial in the event of a zombie apocalypse.
Top-performing factors across all American malls
- Infection risk (7 /10)
- Chance of rescue (6.9 /10)
- Demand (6.6 /10)
- Weapons access (6.2 /10)
- Food provisions (6 /10)
- Shelter suitability (5.6 /10)
- Medicine access (4.4 /10)
- Mental stimulation (2.8 /10)
Speaking on the findings, JeffBet said: “Smash show The Last of Us has left a mark on fans when it comes to imagining how good they’d be in a zombie apocalypse – and many will have concluded that there’s safety in numbers so that they can benefit from others’ skills.
“Whether it’s a case of already being at the mall or deciding to go there in the event of an outbreak, it’s interesting to find out which factors will prove the most challenging to navigate. Identifying structures that have steel shutters and aren’t too busy may be a useful pastime for those of us who’ll continue thinking about the apocalypse whilst we wait for season two.”
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Data gathered from the Office for National Statistics (population), individual mall directories and interactive maps, Google Maps and the US Census.
