BATON ROUGE, Louisiana
Population: 229,426
Unemployment: 6.2 percent
Population Growth Since 2010: 0
Being one of the strongest local economies in the nation means you get included on lists ranking best places for young people and new businesses as well as having the Brookings Institute list you as a top 20 city in North America for economic strength. And things continue to look up with Baton Rouge ranking 20th last year in total value of exports ($18.3 billion) and eighth in growth in value of exports since 2008 (9.1 percent).