So what’s this Midwestern city’s winning formula? Forbes said Omaha had a 1.3 percent gross metropolitan product growth rate in the last year, a low foreclosure rate and a 5 percent unemployment rate – half of the national rate of 10 percent.

Omaha also has a strong agricultural sector and growing biofuels industry, and it is home to 30 insurance companies and regional banks like Mutual of Omaha.

Forbes ranked the rate of economic recovery of the 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas based on five categories: unemployment rate, GMP (a measure of the size of a city’s economy), foreclosures, home prices and sales rates. Overall, cities that are on the road to recovery have diversified industry and a relatively stable housing base.

Rounding out the top 10 are San Antonio, Texas; Austin, Texas; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Harrisburg, Pa.; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Rochester, N.Y.; Houston, Texas; and Raleigh, N.C.

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