Best for job growth

Towns include:  St. George
Job growth (2000-2007): 57.74%

Despite its reputation as a region for retirees, Washington County, Utah, has nearly doubled its population in each of the past three decades - in part by attracting young workers.

Retail and service jobs have grown with the region's development as a tourist destination, while the area has attracted other businesses as well.

A 1999 expansion of its Fort Pierce Industrial Park created a mammoth, 250-acre site that has since become home to more than 50 companies. The county expects business opportunities to grow further after the 2010 completion of a new airport in St. George. --B.B.

NEXT: St. Lucie County, FL