Kiplinger’s Personal Finance analyzed 258 metropolitan areas, including visits to the top ten finalists, before ranking Albuquerque as the nation’s second best city for living and work. Huntsville, Alabama, with a large aerospace and missile-defense industry, ranked first.

In researching Kiplinger’s Best Cities this year, the authors wrote “we still kept our focus on the best places to live. But we wanted to emphasize the best cities for work, too. So we have selected those that have stable employment rates in key job areas as well as provide new career opportunities. A premium was put on places that will lead the country in employment growth when the recovery takes off.”

For a thorough view of Kiplinger’s process and analysis, please see the lead story and associated features on.