BUFFALO, New York
Population: 258,959
Unemployment: 5.3 percent
Median home price: $89,450
Buffalo has been aggressive about getting business and people into the area, whether through its Urban Homestead Program that offers homes at $1 if buyers restore and live in them for three years, and through Start-Up NY, which offers companies willing to expand into space at the local state university zero personal or businesses taxes for owners and employees for 10 years. And that’s on top of a cost of living 10 percent lower than the national average.