1. MIDLAND, TEXAS

Metro area population: 126,408
Median home price: $172,600
12-month change in home value: +10.4%
Home value vs. national median ($180,200): -4%
Top employer: Midland Independent School District
April 2009 unemployment rate: 4.5%

Midland's rock bottom unemployment rate, fueled by the local education, oil, manufacturing and health care industries, limits foreclosures in the area. As in most Texas communities, the city’s conservative lending market helped it to largely avoid the subprime-mortgage bubble's burst. The city, located about 50 miles east of the New Mexico border, is home to Midland College and was a childhood home to President George W. Bush.

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