17. Charlottesville, VA

 Population: 122,000

Charlottesville is thriving during this economic downturn with an extremely low unemployment rate, excellent housing costs and a wide variety of industries. The settings for a great place to consider as a place to add to relocation list. Residents also enjoy the area's historic attractions, such as Monticello, the "Little Mountain" home of Thomas Jefferson. All in all, Charlottesville has a little bit of everything for business professionals.

The key industries located in and around Charlottesville are: Education; insurance; healthcare; telecommunications; government.

MAJOR AREA EMPLOYERS: University of Virginia; Albemarle County; American Safety Razor Company; State Farm Insurance; Martha Jefferson Hospital; City of Charlottesville; Northrop Grumman - Sperry Marine; Charlottesville City Schools; Klockner Pentaplast of America, Inc.; National Ground Intelligence Center; GE Fanuc Automation; LexisNexis; Sprint; Crutchfield Corporation; Region Ten Community Services Board(sources:www.bestjobsusa.com)

       Charlottesville, VA Unemployment Rate: (Source- www.bls.gov)

Month	Year	Unemployment Rate
January	1994	3.6%
January	1999	1.6%
January	2004	3.0%