(MONEY Magazine) – 291. Des Moines Detractions: 20 degree winters; no major beaches or mountains. Attractions: unemployment rate of 3.5% among the lowest in the farm belt states; headquarters to 58 insurers; clean; no traffic problems. 292. Rockford, Ill. Detractions: 8.2% unemployment; still reeling from 1970s layoffs at Sundstrand Corp. and Chrysler. Attractions: new $9 million technology training center; downtown renovation under way.

293. Flint, Mich. Detractions: unemployment rate of 14.4%; $70 million Autoworld theme park closed since 1985; police chief expecting about 360 raids on crack houses this year. Attractions: newly elected 30-year-old mayor, Matthew Collier, determined to diversify local economy; great hunting and fishing. 294. New Bedford, Mass. Detractions: burglaries up 25% this year; teenagers % unhappy about lack of entertainment. Attractions: only an hour south of Boston; Victorian era and sea captains' homes sell for $200,000, vs. $1 million closer to Boston. 295. Janesville/Beloit, Wis. Detraction: still emerging from 1985 recession when leading employers Parker Pen and General Motors eliminated 1,500 jobs. Attractions: regional culture at Beloit College; Midland Products Steel to hire 100 next year. 296. Battle Creek Detractions: a crime rate 13% higher than the U.S. average; loss of 1,500 jobs when employers, including HBJ Insurance and Clark Equipment, moved out. Attractions: W.K. Kellogg Foundation to revive flagging downtown by moving from suburbs to the city by 1991; pretty pastureland in outlying areas. 297. Yuba City, Calif. Detractions: 12.8% jobless rate; lack of local entertainment. Attractions: two hours to Lake Tahoe and San Francisco; pleasant climate. 298. Benton Harbor, Mich. Detractions: roughly 60% of residents on public assistance; 6.7% unemployment rate. Attractions: Nearby sister city St.Joseph bustling; strong local civic pride reflected by the 91% voter-registration rate. 299. Jackson, Mich. Detractions: high violent-crime rate, though local officials say FBI numbers are inflated by crimes in the 4,000-inmate state prison, county's top employer; city suffering from the 1981 and '82 plant closings by Clark Equipment and Goodyear and the loss of Gilbert-Commonwealth by year-end. Attractions: near U. of Michigan; 180 lakes, 18 public golf courses nearby; civic pride galvanized by grass-roots Jackson County 1990 project. 300. Atlantic City See page 82.