CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland is the most distressed big city in America, according to a study from the Economic Innovation Group.

How did the group reach its conclusions?

The group -- founded last year to craft centrist proposals to stimulate the economy -- used U.S. Census data to document how growth is bypassing much of the country. It used statistics on poverty, jobs, vacant housing, income and education to compute "distress scores" for zip codes with more than 500 people

Those that scored above 80 on its 100-point-scale were classified as "distressed" areas where, on average, nearly one-quarter of adults have no high school diploma, 55 percent of adults are unemployed, and 27 percent of the people live in poverty. Cleveland rated 99.9 on its scale.

What were its findings on Cleveland?

The group found that 53% of adults in Cleveland are not working

36% of the population lives in poverty

23% of adults lack a high school degree

21% of houses are vacant

The city's median income is 54% of the state average

Employment fell by 2 percent between 2010 and 2013

The number of businesses fell by 3.3 percent between 2010 and 2013

What other cities were distressed?

Two other Ohio cities -- Toledo and Cincinnati -- also made the group's top 10. The most distressed large cities are concentrated in the Midwest, South and California's Central Valley, the report found.

"The results in Cleveland, Toledo and Cincinnati mirror what we find in may other cities in the Midwest, where transition away from legacy industries like manufacturing has been a challenge," said John Lettieri, EIG co-founder and senior director of policy and strategy.

Lettieri said more prosperous cities "tend to be relatively small, new, and fast-growing."

"That said, there are certainly signs of progress in central cities like Cleveland; the key will be sustaining those efforts over the long term."

What big cities did the group say were doing best?

Gilbert, Arizona, did the best on its scale, followed by Plano, Texas, and a pair of California communities - Irvine and Fremont. Many thriving cities specialize in "innovation-intensive, technology-based and high end services industries," the report said. Some are wealthy suburbs, like Arlington, Virginia, but even they tend to be growing employment centers, specializing in high-end activities in their own right.

What does the group recommend?

The group found that instead of lifting distressed communities, the national recovery left them and their residents further behind. It said that several state and federal programs over the years have tried to provide incentives for investment and enterprise in under-served areas.

"Though many have fallen short of expectations, it is worth revisiting -- and perhaps reinventing -- models for linking incentive to geography in order to help," the report said.

Read the report below: