(MONEY Magazine) – EVERYONE KNOWS THAT FLORIDA CAN BE HOT. but not this hot! This year, in our ninth annual exclusive ranking of the 300 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, five Florida cities rank among the top 10 places to live today, including No. 1, Gainesville (up from No. 7 in 1994), home to the University of Florida. The prime reason: According to our data, no other part of the country has had such strong recent employment growth, sizzling--yet still affordable--housing values and dazzling prospects for job creation. Take Gainesville, a small city (metro area pop. 186,300) in north central Florida. Its unemployment rate is a microscopic 2.8% (the national average: 5.9%), and this leafy college town enjoyed 6.1% job growth over the past year, which is nearly double the national average, according to Arizona State University's Economic Outlook Center. "In the past three years, Florida's economy has come roaring out of the gate, doing much better than the nation as a whole," says Atlanta Federal Reserve economist Andrew Krikelas.

The Sunshine State also offers a magnetic lure for tax-weary workers. It's one of only nine states with no tax on earned income. (The others: Alaska, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.)

So toast the Florida Five with a raised glass of Gatorade--that popular thirst quencher invented at the University of Florida. All but Gainesville are breaking into our top 10 for the first time since we started our annual ranking in 1987. The other honorees: No. 3, Jacksonville (up from 67 last year); No. 5, Ocala (78); No. 6, Fort Lauderdale (56); and No. 10, Naples (28). Also, Gainesville becomes only our second southern winner, after 1994's No. 1, Raleigh/Durham/ Chapel Hill, N.C.; it slipped to a still outstanding No. 8 as job growth slowed to 3.6% from last year's torrid 4.9%.

Excluding the Florida quintet, the remaining cities in the winners' circle dot the map, reflecting the nation's generally healthy economy. Two are former champions: No. 2, Rochester, Minn. (tops in '93 and our runner-up last year too), continues to attract new employers to counterbalance some shrinkage at its famed Mayo Clinic, IBM and U S West operations. Thanks to booming Microsoft nearby, No. 4, Seattle (No. 8 last year and No. 1 in '89), is faring remarkably well in the face of 6,900 Boeing layoffs last year. Finally, there are two more new faces in the top 10: No. 7 is the Salem, N.H./Haverhill, Mass. area (up from 146), which offers no state taxes on earned income for its New Hampshire residents; it is only about an hour's drive to Boston's top doctors, and cultural and sporting attractions. And No. 9, fast-growing Las Vegas (up from 43), is transforming itself from the U.S. gambling capital to a mecca for young ambitious families who may never set foot in a casino. (For the complete ranking of all 300 areas, see page 132.)

All in all, our top 10 cities boast the kinds of attributes Americans value most today in choosing a place to live. Three key factors:

Hardy local economies. For example, the Florida Five's kind of stable growth and recession-resistance can enhance your life whether you're age 27 or 72.

Medium to small populations. Let's face it. America prefers smaller cities. In our top 10, only Seattle and Fort Lauderdale have populations larger than 1 million. Most have between 200,000 and 1 million people.

And low taxes. In eight of our winners, residents pay no state taxes on earned income (exceptions are Raleigh/Durham/ Chapel Hill, N.C. and Rochester, Minn.--plus the Massachusetts side of the Salem, N.H./Haverhill, Mass. area.

Curious to learn more about No. 1, Gainesville? You could start by floating down that grand old Suwannee River as it meanders for 250 miles from Georgia to central Florida. Seventy miles south of the Georgia border, nearly smack-dab between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, you'll find booming Gainesville. The metro area, which encompasses all of Alachua County, includes a handful of picturesque pinpoint communities like Cross Creek, High Springs and Mican opy, where Michael J. Fox filmed his 1991 hit movie Doc Hollywood. In all, 65% of the county's 965 square miles is rolling greenery, braceleted by a crystalline web of lakes, creeks and springs.

At the center is job-rich Gainesville, one of the few places in the U.S. where you can work in town, live in the wilderness and have a maximum 30-minute commute. You won't pay much for the privilege either. Locals love the area restaurants' all-you-can-eat Sunday buffets of ham, turkey and fried chicken priced at $5.50 or so. Housing is quite affordable too. A typical three-bedroom costs $82,000, according to Century 21. "You can purchase lakefront properties out of the hurricane path for a fraction of the price you would pay for a beachfront house in South Florida," says Joey Herres, Century 21's north Florida business consultant.

Town and gown are inextricably entwined here. The university is the city's economic taproot, employing more than 15,500 people, including 4,100 at 576-bed Shands Teaching Hospital, a national leader in orthopedics, neurology and gastroenterology. While there are no pro sports in town-the closest is Jacksonville's new National Football League Jaguars, a little over an hour away--the UF Fightin' Gators football team is a local passion. The seventh-ranked Gators (10-2-1 last year) "are practically a religion," says UF psychology professor Betty Capaldi.

Although no Fortune 500 companies are based in Gaines ville either, you'll recognize some employers. For example, Energizer makes its rechargeable bat teries here. Mainly, though, the city is an entrepreneur's haven. Many companies-- like Bear Archery and Hunter Marine, a leading sailboat maker--capitalize on the South's passion for sports. Jim Wood, 46, a former real estate agent, moved here with his wife and three kids from Philadelphia in 1989 and now runs the Santa Fe Canoe Outpost. Weekends, eager renters take his 100 canoes for leisurely paddles to Rum Island or Hollingsworth Bluff, 15 miles away. "I don't miss the rat race at all," Wood says. (For more on why others love Gainesville, see page 128.)

If outsiders know only one thing about Gainesville, it's probably that five students were murdered there in 1990; the serial killer was captured several months later and is now on death row. "It could have happened anywhere," reasons Marjorie Maxey, a 1982 UF graduate who moved back to the city in '89. "I feel safe in my neighborhood." Crime, however, remains Gainesville's weak point: Both the rate of property crime and violent crime exceed the U.S. average by more than 75%.

In ranking this year's best places, our basic survey metho d ology remained unchanged. First, we commissioned Roper/Starch Worldwide, a New York City polling firm, to ask a statistically representative sample of 252 Money subscribers (median age: 49; median household income: $62,500) what they value in a place to live. Specifically, they rated the importance of 41 factors, ranging from a low crime rate to future job growth, on a scale of 10 (for essential) down to 1. This year clean water rates as our No. 1 priority--as it has every year since 1990 except last year, when a low crime rate scored highest. Clean air follows in the No. 2 slot, with a low crime rate slipping to third. (For the complete list, see page 139.)

Then, with the help of Fast Forward, a Portland, Ore. demographic consulting firm, we again collected the most timely data available for each of the 300 largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The statistics come from the government as well as private sources. For example, Century 21 again provided an exclusive list of prices and property taxes for a typical three-bedroom house in each metro area, plus local appreciation rates during the past 12 months. This year's hottest markets for housing appreciation: No. 66 Eugene/Springfield, Ore. (up 18.4%); No. 10 Naples, Fla. (16.4%); and No. 219 Charleston, W.Va. (15.9%). The iciest: No. 106 Abilene, Texas (down 16.5%). The lowest prices are in No. 193 Jamestown, N.Y. ($42,250 for a typical three-bedroom) and No. 47 Benton Harbor, Mich. ($45,000). Our crime stats are the FBI's latest available figures (year-end 1993), and the cost of living comes from the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association.

Next, we awarded points to metro areas based on how well they deliver on attributes Money subscribers say they value most. We then separated out subjective data (like proximity to relatives) and consolidated our objective data (like unemployment rates) in to nine broad categories--economy, health, crime, housing, education, weather, transportation, leisure, and arts and culture. (The top 10 box on page 132 shows how the leaders rate head to head on these factors.) With the rankings complete, our reporters then visited the top 10 and bottom five places to unearth attractions and drawbacks that statistics sometimes don't reflect.

In our continuing effort to improve our rankings, we also weighed fresh relevant data. Notably, this year we included new statistics for the following:

State fiscal strength. Drawing on a February survey by Governing magazine, we gave points to areas based on what financial assets would remain if state governments ceased operations and paid all debts. A fiscally sound state, after all, is less likely to raise taxes. The state that's most in the black: Alaska, which has net financial assets of $21,344 for each Alaskan.

Clean air. New data came from the Environmental Protection Agency's National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report (1993). Specifically, we downgraded cities with the highest concentrations of ozone and particulate matter.

Quality of the schools. Expansion Management, an Overland Park, Kans. trade magazine, provided fresh data on graduation rates, dollars spent per pupil and student/teacher ratios. The winners: for high school graduation rates, No. 150 St. Cloud, Minn., No. 185 Champaign, Ill. and No. 156 La Crosse, Wis., where virtually every student leaves with a sheepskin, compared with an average 71.7% for all districts measured. No. 248 St. Louis, No. 15 Charlottesville, Va. and No. 77 Roanoke spend the most per pupil while classes are smallest in No. 272 Topeka, Charlottesville (again) and No. 228 Burlington, Vt., where there are only 12 pupils for every teacher, compared with 17.9 on average.

And, lastly, future job growth. NPA Data Services, a Washington, D.C. forecasting firm, projected the cumulative job growth rates for metro areas through 1998. Specifically, NPA predicts that tiny No. 61 Punta Gorda, Fla. will lead the nation with a 23.5% increase, mainly in service jobs catering to retirees, who make up one-third of its population.

As in the past, places can rise or fall in our rankings for three reasons: First, readers' priorities shift, giving various factors more or less weight than in the preceding year. Second, fresh data sources can affect cities' rankings. Finally, the area's economy may have changed rather dramatically in the past 12 months. This year, for example, Michigan cities, including No. 56 Detroit, No. 49 Flint and No. 222 Jackson (last year's No. 300), took Michael Jordan-like leaps upward, mainly because their depressed economies snapped back with the rebounding domestic auto business.

The bottom places all share a similar misfortune: They have yet to emerge from the 1990-91 recession. Holding the last five rungs of our ladder: Glens Falls, N.Y. (No. 296 for the second consecutive year), already battered by waves of company down sizing, is bracing for 400 more layoffs following the recent merger of insurers Continental and CNA. Peoria, which slipped three notches to No. 297, saw jobs shrink 2.1%. In addition, a lengthy strike at its No. 1 employer, Caterpillar, curbed eco nomic growth. Birmingham (No. 298, down from 246 last year) is suffering from a towering crime rate and a discouragingly low high school graduation rate (53%). But it has its eyes on the prize: a nearly finished Mercedes-Benz plant 35 miles away where production is slated to begin in 1997. Finally, No. 299, Modesto (down from No. 285), and No. 300, Yuba City (291), 77 miles south and 40 miles north of Sacramento respectively, still wrestle with double-digit jobless rates. And unfortunately, Modesto, where unemployment is 16.6%, faces a new blizzard of pink slips as K Mart and two Blue Shield service centers shutter their branches.

In Yuba City, as agriculture goes, so goes the local economy--and this year, both got battered by wind and rain that destroyed the area's almond and peach trees, rice plants and other crops. The current unemployment rate: 19.6%.

Already twice ranked as the worst place to live in America by the Places Rated Almanac, Yuba City's confidence seems as bruised as the fruit trees. "When I graduate from Chico State University, I'm out of here," vows Khristine Pedigo, 26. "There's no culture, no energy. It's just a welfare town." But Gregg Goodwin, director of the Yuba-Sutter County Economic Development Corporation, says that the prevailing wind will turn as a growing population increases the tax base. "Then we'll have funds to improve schools and roads and attract new businesses," he predicts. "I see real economic growth in this area by the year 2000."