Average home price (2011): $150,500
Projected home price (2014): $155,500
Gross rent (2011): $825
Projected gross rent (2014): $947
Rochester's housing market never sputtered as badly as some of the other cities on this list. Home prices are slightly higher than they were during the market boom and unemployment, at 7.1% in May, is well below the national level.
The
Rochester area, however, is a slow-growth place with many of its old industrial powerhouses, like Eastman Kodak, employing far fewer workers than in the glory days.
Like a lot of cities in the Northeast, its industrial infrastructure is being re-purposed, according to Winzer,
"Small businesses are moving in to old sites," he said. "The economy is improving a little."
Even during the down years, rents have held up fairly well and are projected to get stronger rising about 15% by 2014 as unemployment eases over the next few years.
NEXT: Stockton, Calif.
