Affordable Places To Weather The Downturn

Well-priced homes, enviable job growth and proximity to vibrant cities make these top 10 spots good choices in recessionary times.

In Pictures: Affordable Places To Weather The Downturn

Last week, unemployment hit a 20-year high, rising to 6.5% over the month before.

Folks in Denver-area Adams County may fare better than others nationwide. Year-over-year job growth is 3.4%, thanks to a diversified local economy that includes aerospace, aviation and bioscience jobs. Homeowners pay a scant $1,536 in property taxes and enjoy some of the most affordable properties in the country.

Residents in Madison County, Ala., Pulaski County, Ark., Hamilton County, Ohio, and Greenville County, S.C. have a similar story. They're within commuting distance to Huntsville, Little Rock, Cincinnati and Greenville, respectively, boast enviable job growth figures and round out our list of the top five spots to live affordably during an economic downturn.

Behind The Numbers
In compiling our list, we looked at three factors: affordability, property taxes and job growth. Moody's Economy.com provided us with an affordability index for each county. A score of 100 indicates that a family earning the median income in the surrounding metropolitan area can afford to buy a median-priced home. The higher the score, the higher the affordability.

In Pictures: Affordable Places To Weather the Downturn

The U.S. Census Bureau provided information on 2007 property taxes, and year-over-year job growth data came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

We cut out counties that don't include distinct townships that are within an hour's drive from an urban area.

Lone Star Spots
Several counties in Texas appear on our list. This is because homes statewide are relatively affordable thanks to low fees for building permits and liberal zoning policies. Property taxes, however, zing homeowners; Texas has neither state nor city income taxes, so local governments rely on property taxes as their main source of funding.