PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania
Population: 305,841
Unemployment: 5.4 percent
Median home price: $149,900
No city was as identified with an industry as Pittsburgh was with steel. But things change and the city has transitioned from a steel town to a smart one. Pittsburgh has increased its college educated population nearly 40 percent since 2000 and is home to Carnegie Mellon University’s cutting edge Robotics Institute. One of the most literate cities in America, as well as one of its most bikeable and hikeable, Pittsburgh was also dubbed the next great food city by Bon Appetit.