(MONEY Magazine) – In many places this year, it's been a time of coping and hoping. But there are surprising pockets of prosperity, most of them tucked in the nation's heartland, virtually untouched by recession's icy hand. Our sixth annual survey of the 300 largest U.S. metropolitan areas reveals that the most livable locales tend to be in the Great Plains and other parts of the Midwest as well as Texas, where jobs have been growing and housing remains affordable. Our No. 1 pick, displacing last year's winner, Provo/Orem, Utah: Sioux Falls, S.D. (pop. 123,000). Sioux who? Sioux City? No, that's Iowa (and No. 149). This former cow town, nestled in the southeastern corner of the state, has one of the most diverse and robust economies (recent unemployment rate: 2.6%) anywhere in the U.S. Had a problem with your Citibank credit card? A Sioux Falls rep on an 800 line probably took care of it, since Citi does more than 50% of its credit-card processing there. In fact, in the past decade, the Sioux Falls metro area has emerged as a center for national back-office bank operations and a regional stronghold for health care and retailing. What's more, the Snoopy and Spiderman helium balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade are created at Aerostar International, a local start-up. Perhaps the main attractions are not what Sioux Falls has but what it lacks: pollution, traffic congestion, violent crime and state and city income taxes. ''South Dakota in general -- and Sioux Falls in particular -- has made a cottage industry of attracting firms fed up with high tax loads elsewhere,'' says economist Mark Zandi of Regional Financial Associates, a forecasting firm in West Chester, Pa. ''It's a moderate-size city that has retained a small- town atmosphere,'' notes Don Seten, 34, an urban planner who took a 14% pay cut last year to leave Breckenridge, Colo. and return here. (For why one family loves Sioux Falls, see the box at left.) The prairie city's strong showing reflects the shifting strength of the nation's regional economies. In 1987, seven of our top 10 places were in the Northeast. Now, only two winners are situated east of the Mississippi. Most are small or medium-size and, continuing a pattern that emerged last year, five of our top 10 are college communities with low housing prices and recession-resistant economies: Columbia, Mo.; Austin; Provo/Orem; Gainesville, Fla.; and Madison, Wis. The rest of the best: Minneapolis/St. Paul; Fargo, N.D.; San Francisco; and Honolulu. Provo/Orem slipped from No. 1 to No. 8 as its economy cooled a bit. Geneva Steel there laid off 70 workers, for example. (Profiles of the top five places, with phone numbers for the local chambers of commerce, appear beginning on page 117.) Our basic survey methodology remains unchanged. First, we asked a representative sample of 254 MONEYsubscribers (median age: 44; median household income: $71,760) what they value in a place to live. Specifically, they rated the importance of 44 factors -- ranging from a low crime rate to sunny weather to low local income taxes -- on a scale of 1 to 10. For the second consecutive year, our readers' top priorities were (in descending order): clean water, low crime, clean air, abundant medical care and a strong local government. Next we collected the most timely data available on each of the 300 largest U.S. metro areas. Unemployment figures are for February; crime data are from 1990. Century 21, the national real estate brokerage, again provided an exclusive list of prices and property taxes for a typical three- bedroom home in each area, plus appreciation from a year ago. The year's hottest housing markets: Waco, Texas (up 19%); Spokane (18%) and Green Bay (17%). Then, with the help of Fast Forward, a Portland, Ore. computer consulting firm, we consolidated our subscribers' preferences into nine broad categories such as economy and crime, and awarded points to each metro area depending on how well it delivered on the attributes readers said they wanted in each category. Finally, to discover attractions or drawbacks that our data might have missed, our reporters visited the top five and bottom five places. In our continuing effort to improve the rankings, we added new data this year. Notably, we included: -- State fiscal strength. Metro areas lost points in the 36 states whose budgets were so stretched that they had to raise taxes last year. We also awarded points based on how well each state's finances ranked in a study by City & State, a bimonthly trade newspaper. -- Physicians per capita. Leader of the pack, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: Rochester, Minn. (with 1,698 physicians for each 100,000 residents). -- Hospital death rates. Comparisons were provided by the Center for the Study of Services, a nonprofit group, in its new book, Consumers' Guide to Hospitals ($12; 800-475-7283). -- Environmental report cards. We used rankings from the Green Index ($18.95; 800-828-1302), compiled by the Institute for Southern Studies, for the states' records on overall environmental quality and water pollution. -- Public high school graduation rates. This information from the U.S. Department of Education provides one measure of school quality.

The places that jumped most in our rankings (northwest New Jersey, up from 199 to 45; central New Jersey, from 192 to 57; and 1987 winner Nashua, N.H., from 233 to 100) did so largely because of pickups in their depressed economies. This year's bottom five places are ones with shrinking economies in the Northeast and the rust belt: Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Lima, Ohio; Muskegon, Mich.; Rockford, Ill.; and, at No. 300 for the second year running, Waterbury, Conn. Unemployment rates in Lima, Muskegon, Rockford and Waterbury peaked at around 12% in February. Poughkeepsie and Waterbury lost 4% of their job base over the past year, according to the Economic Outlook Center at Arizona State. Still, in visits to these cities, stirrings of rebirth are evident. In Lima, Citizens National Bank, the sole locally owned financial institution, opened in June. Muskegon's SPX Corp. recently razed decaying waterfront buildings to erect a handsome office complex complete with marina. (The city's promotional material now compares Muskegon to San Diego.) Rockford is enjoying an influx of newcomers fleeing high housing prices in the Chicago suburbs. And in Waterbury, where in June the former mayor was sentenced to prison for embezzlement, the city has scored a few modest economic victories. Says Brian Herrman, who is building a new flooring-manufacturing plant in Waterbury: ''It's a city on the way back. The business climate is 100% better than three years ago.''

BOX: THE TOP 300 PLACES

Last year's ranking appears in parentheses.

1 .Sioux Falls, S.D. (12) 2. Columbia, Mo. (20) 3. Austin (9) 4. Minneapolis/St. Paul (63) 5. Fargo, N.D. (11) 6. San Francisco (38) 7. Honolulu (27) 8. Provo/Orem, Utah (1) 9. Gainesville, Fla. (41) 10.Madison, Wis. (8) 11.Bremerton, Wash. (2) 12.Bryan, Texas (3) 13.Galveston/Texas City (13) 14.Duluth, Minn. (21) 15.Oakland (103) 16.Houston (46) 17.Raleigh/Durham, N.C. (43) 18.Boston (96) 19.Phoenix (39) 20.Brownsville, Texas (24) 21.San Diego (52) 22.Seattle (49) 23.Waco, Texas (17) 24.Tacoma, Wash. (18) 25.Tucson (53) 26.New Orleans (23) 27.Lubbock, Texas (5) 28.Kenosha, Wis. (73) 29.Monmouth/Ocean counties, N.J. (158) 30.Fayetteville, Ark. (7) 31.Yakima, Wash. (25) 32.Lincoln, Neb. (10) 33.Springfield, Mo. (111) 34.Los Angeles/Long Beach (95) 35.Green Bay (54) 36.Laredo, Texas (29) 37.Lawton, Okla. (28) - 38.McAllen, Texas (26) 39.San Antonio (69) 40.Killeen/Temple, Texas (65) 41.Tampa/St. Petersburg (113) 42.Lafayette, Ind. (14) 43.St. Cloud, Minn. (77) 44.Tallahassee (80) 45.Northwest New Jersey (199) 46.Salt Lake City/Ogden (50) 47.Spokane (32) 48.Cumberland County, N.J. (100) 49.Bradenton, Fla. (90) 50.Amarillo, Texas (22) 51.Norfolk/Virginia Beach (159) 52.Milwaukee (57) 53.Brazoria, Texas (55) 54.Topeka (79) 55.Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (135) 56.Mobile (155) 57.Central New Jersey (192) 58.Omaha (78) 59.Boise, Idaho (4) 60.Las Cruces, N.M. (35) 61.Dallas (42) 62.San Jose (154) 63.Baton Rouge (40) 64.Charlottesville, Va. (124) 65.Rochester, N.Y. (122) 66.Riverside/San Bernardino, Calif. (99) 67.Las Vegas (37) 68.Wilmington (172) 69.Eau Claire, Wis. (51) 70.Fort Worth/Arlington (87) 71.Miami/Hialeah (133) 72.Panama City, Fla. (171) 73.Billings, Mont. (6) 74.Pittsburgh (137) 75.Pensacola, Fla. (151) 76.Sacramento (107) 77.Dothan, Ala. (104) 78.Bellingham, Wash. (68) 79.Denver (72) 80.Monroe, La. (33) 81.Northwest Indiana (64) 82.New York City (58) 83.Ocala, Fla. (168) 84.Jacksonville (183) 85.Knoxville (157) 86.Daytona Beach, Fla. (128) 87.St. Louis (190) 88.Jacksonville, N.C. (136) 89.Orange County, Calif. (150) 90.Reno (34) 91.Lexington, Ky. (127) 92.Tuscaloosa, Ala. (75) 93.Montgomery (146) 94.Oxnard/Ventura, Calif. (152) 95.Syracuse (116) 96.Boulder (74) 97.Baltimore (114) 98.Wichita (205) 99.Clarksville, Tenn. (175) 100.Nashua, N.H. (233) 101.Washington, D.C. (125) 102.Memphis (202) 103.Santa Fe (36) 104.Fort Lauderdale (167) 105.Beaumont, Texas (101) 106.Bloomington/Normal, Ill. (48) 107.Texarkana, Texas (61) 108.Biloxi/Gulfport, Miss. (134) 109.Appleton/Oshkosh, Wis. (132) 110.Charleston, W.Va. (59) 111.Orlando (142) 112.Jackson, Miss. (178) 113.Albuquerque (76) 114.Greensboro, N.C. (234) 115.Pueblo, Colo. (30) 116.Johnson City, Tenn (201) 117.Abilene, Texas (89) 118.Louisville (184)119.Athens, Ga. (112) 120.Fort Collins, Colo. (19) 121.Indianapolis (117) 122.Long Island, N.Y. (97) 123.Johnstown, Pa. (106) 124.Joplin, Mo. (223) 125.Midland, Texas (94) 126.Lynchburg, Va. (231) 127.Olympia, Wash. (15) 128.Mercer County, N.J. (121) 129.Sarasota (164) 130.Cleveland (131) 131.Fayetteville, N.C. (259) 132.Portland, Ore. (60) 133.Kansas City (256) 134.Tyler, Texas (139) 135.Orange County, N.Y. (123) 136.Akron (85) 137.Nashville (193) 138.Wilmington, N.C. (253) 139.Chicago (110) 140.Longview, Texas (174) 141.Oklahoma City (81) - 142.Corpus Christi (162) 143.Fort Pierce, Fla. (188) 144.Santa Cruz, Calif. (177) 145.El Paso (86) 146.Boston's North Shore (237) 147.Fort Myers/Cape Coral, Fla. (206) 148.Buffalo (144) 149.Sioux City, Iowa (118) 150.Racine, Wis. (98) 151.Philadelphia (173) 152.Cincinnati (119) 153.Chattanooga (218) 154.Richmond (282) 155.Wausau, Wis. (109) 156.Lakeland, Fla. (214) 157.Santa Rosa, Calif. (145) 158.Napa Valley, Calif. (179) 159.Vancouver, Wash. (45) 160.Lawrence, Mass. (285) 161.Asheville, N.C. (232) 162.Fresno (156) 163.Muncie, Ind. (153) 164.Albany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y. (130) 165.Salem, Ore. (44) 166.Colorado Springs (66) 167.Lafayette, La. (62) 168.Atlantic City (244) 169.Wichita Falls, Texas (148) 170.Columbia, S.C. (129) 171.State College, Pa. (105) 172.Birmingham (170) 173.Charleston, S.C. (93) 174.Atlanta (141) 175.Columbus, Ohio (120) 176.Hudson County, N.J. (278) 177.Odessa, Texas (160) 178.Brockton, Mass. (235) 179.Alexandria, La. (47) 180.Eugene/Springfield, Ore. (16) 181.Greeley, Colo. (67) 182.Bergen/Passaic counties, N.J. (242) 183.Bridgeport/Milford, Conn. (265) 184.Danville, Va. (263) 185.Roanoke (294) 186.Harrisburg, Pa. (149) 187.Detroit (224) 188.Florence, Ala. (185) 189.Huntington, W.Va. (115) 190.Little Rock (161) 191.Brevard County, Fla. (165) 192.Stamford, Conn. (83) 193.Norwalk, Conn. (216) - 194.Terre Haute, Ind. (70) 195.Santa Barbara (220) 196.Shreveport, La. (197) 197.Pascagoula, Miss. (277) 198.Cedar Rapids, Iowa (241) 199.Richland, Wash. (56) 200.Danbury, Conn. (204) 201.Columbus, Ga. (195) 202.Lake County, Ill. (138) 203.Champaign, Ill. (71) 204.Huntsville, Ala. (225) 205.Monterey, Calif. (222) 206.Lake Charles, La. (91) 207.Naples, Fla. (140) 208.Anniston, Ala. (181) 209.Charlotte, N.C. (292) 210.Providence (240) 211.Portland, Maine (271) 212.Utica/Rome, N.Y. (102) 213.Fort Smith, Ark. (126) 214.Des Moines (166) 215.Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (212) 216.Medford, Ore. (84) 217.Kalamazoo (226) 218.Janesville/Beloit, Wis. (211) 219.West Palm Beach, Fla. (251) 220.Houma/Thibodaux, La. (31) 221.Merced, Calif. (230) 222.Beaver County, Pa. (248) 223.Anchorage (82) 224.New Haven (272) 225.Ann Arbor (92) 226.Lorain/Elyria, Ohio (163) 227.Waterloo, Iowa (147) 228.Macon (169) 229.Hamilton/Middletown, Ohio (213) 230.Altoona, Pa. (207) 231.Joliet, Ill. (191) 232.Binghamton, N.Y. (196) 233.Niagara Falls (210) 234.Redding, Calif. (180) 235.Chico, Calif. (194) 236.Decatur, Ala. (254) 237.Albany, Ga. (221) 238.Southeast New Hampshire (288) 239.Wheeling, W.Va. (88) 240.Tulsa (186) 241.Fort Wayne (203) 242.Aurora/Elgin, Ill. (187) 243.Burlington, Vt. (268) 244.Tulare County, Calif. (217) 245.Augusta, Ga. (239) - 246.Greenville, S.C. (249) 247.Springfield, Ill. (108) 248.Hartford (291) 249.Lowell, Mass. (280) 250.Saginaw, Mich. (284) 251.Sharon, Pa. (182) 252.Savannah (246) 253.Erie, Pa. (260) 254.Hickory, N.C. (274) 255.Springfield, Mass. (261) 256.Stockton, Calif. (245) 257.Lansing (269) 258.New London, Conn. (270) 259.Parkersburg, W.Va. (143) 260.Dayton/Springfield (266) 261.Williamsport, Pa. (229) 262.Toledo (243) 263.Worcester, Mass. (273) 264.Allentown/Bethlehem, Pa. (281) 265.Modesto, Calif. (247) 266.Elkhart/Goshen, Ind. (208) 267.Evansville, Ind. (176) 268.Steubenville, Ohio (228) 269.Grand Rapids (255) 270.Bakersfield, Calif. (276) 271.South Bend, Ind. (189) 272.Florence, S.C. (250) 273.Flint, Mich. (262) 274.Lancaster, Pa. (215) 275.Youngstown, Ohio (198) 276.Canton, Ohio (209) 277.Reading, Pa. (283) 278.York, Pa. (258) 279.Pawtucket, R.I. (298) 280.Anderson, S.C. (238) 281.Benton Harbor, Mich. (252) 282.Jackson, Mich. (290) 283.Peoria (200) 284.Anderson, Ind. (219) 285.Yuba City, Calif. (227) 286.New Bedford, Mass. (293) 287.Hagerstown, Md. (295) 288.Davenport, Iowa (236) 289.Battle Creek (287) 290.Fall River, Mass. (297) 291.Mansfield, Ohio (275) 292.Manchester, N.H. (296) 293.New Britain, Conn. (299) 294.Decatur, Ill. (257) 295.Glens Falls, N.Y. (279) 296.Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (286) 297.Lima, Ohio (264) , 298.Muskegon, Mich. (289) 299.Rockford, Ill. (267) 300.Waterbury, Conn. (300)