25. Martinez, GA
Median home price: $145,000
Median family income: $77,939
Originally Lulaville, in 1915 the town was renamed Martinez (pronounced Mart-uhn-EZ) when postal officials learned that Georgia already had another Lulaville.
Martinez residents enjoy award-winning public schools and a small-town culture. The real-estate bubble largely passed the town by, although home prices have increased over the past three years. Entry-level, three-bedroom houses start below $130,000.
The town, located in Columbia County, near Augusta, has a large military population that works at nearby Fort Gordon. Many residents are in the healthcare field, with a short commute for work or school at Augusta's Medical College of Georgia.
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Last updated July 18 2008: 12:35 PM ET
RSS Clarification: An earlier version of this gallery included Clinton, MI, at no. 9 on the list. While Clinton does rate highly on home affordability, the top 25 is meant to include only growing cities, and Clinton should have been disqualified for having negative job growth at the county level. As a result, Martinez, GA, was added as no. 25.
