2 of 10
BACKNEXT
Runner up: Detroit
Runner up: Detroit
Bargains like this 3-bed, 1.5 bath for $170,000 are common in Detroit.
Median home price: $86,000
Median income: $57,100
Affordability score: 93.4%

Detroit is transitioning from the leading manufacturing city of the land, the erstwhile "Arsenal of Democracy," into a leaner, more diversified economy.

The metro area's unemployment picture has darkened significantly in recent months and in December stood at 14.9%, nearly five percentage points higher than the national average. Still, it's an improvement of 2.4 points over three months earlier.

Metro Detroit home prices, pushed down by continued high foreclosure rates, stood at a median of $86,000 during the fourth quarter of 2009. That was down from $145,000 back in 2005.

Even though the median family income is a modest $57,100, almost 94% of all homes sold during the quarter were affordable for the average household.

NEXT: Third place: Dayton, Ohio
Last updated February 19 2010: 7:45 AM ET
Email | Print | Share  |  RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Special Offer

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.