ASHEVILLE, North Carolina
Population: 87,236
Unemployment: 5.0 percent
Median Home Price: $235,500

Just this year, Asheville found itself ranked as a best city in which to start a business and to work, as a friendliest city—to both pet and human—the coolest,
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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama
Population: 212,113
Unemployment: 5.9 percent
Median Home Price: $177,000

Once known as the Pittsburgh of the South, Birmingham is transitioning to a more diversified economic landscape. That starts with a revitalized downtown offering not on
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BUFFALO, New York
Population: 258,959
Unemployment: 5.3 percent
Median home price: $89,450

Buffalo has been aggressive about getting business and people into the area, whether through its Urban Homestead Program that offers homes at $1 if buyers restore and live
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COLUMBUS, Indiana
Population: 45,775
Unemployment: 4.9 percent
Median home price: $223,134

Louisville and Indianapolis are each about an hour away, but why would you leave a city boasting 700 acres of parks, more than 20 miles of walkable trails and urban landsc
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COLUMBUS, Ohio
Population: 822,553
Unemployment: 4.2 percent
Median home price: $135,000

Though Ohio’s largest city, Columbus maintains a small town feel—especially on Saturdays during football season—in part because it is home to Ohio State University. Th
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FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas
Population: 78,960
Unemployment: 4.2 percent
Median home price: $183,750

Fayetteville offers low cost of living, a local economic engine in the University of Arkansas (which increased enrollment by 10,000) and close proximity to job creato
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OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma
Population: 610,613
Unemployment: 4.3 percent
Median home price: $185,000

OKC is a place that certainly gives a person a lot of job options and businesses lots of incentives to hire new talent. Consider that the city is home to nearly 19,
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PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania
Population: 305,841
Unemployment: 5.4 percent
Median home price: $149,900

No city was as identified with an industry as Pittsburgh was with steel. But things change and the city has transitioned from a steel town to a smart one. Pittsbur
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PROVO, Utah
Population: 116,288
Unemployment: 3.6 percent
Median home price: $394,668

Provo has the highest level of well-being of any city in the U.S., according to a Gallup/Healthways study that looked at factors such as work environment and emotional and phys
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SAN JOSE, California
Population: 998,537
Unemployment: 4.1 percent
Median home price: $750,000

As you’d expect from Silicon Valley, about half of its residents have college degrees. What’s more, locals with graduate degrees make nearly $40,000 a year more th
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