Job Outlook: Albuquerque, NM

In 2008, Forbes magazine named Albuquerque the 13th best place in the U.S. for business and careers, down from the No. 1 spot in 2006. While no large company is headquartered there, it is a research and technology center with many small high-tech, growing firms. The Rio Grande Technology Corridor stretches from Los Alamos 95 road miles north all the way to Las Cruces (New Mexico State, White Sands Missile Range, Holloman AFB) about 250 miles south.