U.S. Cities With the Highest and Lowest Unemployment Rates

By Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor

When you're looking to buy a home, it's all about location, location, location. And one of the biggest factors consumers consider when deciding on a new hometown is the health of the area's employment. Whether you're moving cross country or a just a few towns over, it's important to know if you'll find a job easily once you get there.

Every month, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the nation's unemployment numbers. In 2006, the national average has hovered around 4.7 percent. But do you really know what that means for you?

If there is low unemployment in your area, then the jobs are ripe for the picking -- it's a job seeker's market. But if the unemployment numbers are higher than the national average, chances are it will take you longer to find a job.

Consider this: The unemployment rate is 11.6 percent in Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss., which is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. But just 160 miles east along the Gulf of Mexico in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., the unemployment rate is just 2.7 percent.

If you want to live where the jobs are plentiful, you should make sure you've done your research. Luckily, we've done some of that for you. Out of 367 metro areas in the United States, here are the 20 with the lowest -- and the 20 with the highest -- unemployment rates:

20 U.S Cities With the Lowest Unemployment Rates

Average: 2.9

1. Fargo, N.D.: 2.1

2. Casper, Wyo.: 2.4

3. Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, La..: 2.5

3. Lafayette, La..: 2.5

3. Sioux Falls, S.D.: 2.5

6. Ames, Iowa: 2.6

6. Bismarck, N.D. 2.6

8. Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, Fla.: 2.7

8. Idaho Falls, Idaho: 2.7

8. Iowa City, Iowa: 2.7

11. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.: 2.8

11. Charlottesville, Va.: 2.8

11. Harrisonburg, Va.: 2.8

11. Rapid City, SD: 2.8

11. Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, Fla.: 2.8

11. St. George, Utah: 2.8

11. Winchester, Va.: 2.8

18. Billings, Mont. 2.9

18. Boise City-Nampa, Idaho: 2.9

20. Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa: 3

20. Lake Charles, La.: 3

20. Logan, Utah: 3

20. Missoula, Mont.: 3


20 U.S. Cities With the Highest Unemployment Rates

Average: 9.7

20. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas: 7.8

20. Muskegon-Norton Shores, Mich.: 7.8

16. Battle Creek, Mich.: 7.9

16. Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.: 7.9

16. Modesto, Calif.: 7.9

16. Niles-Benton Harbor, Mich.: 7.9

14. Jackson, Mich.: 8

14. Sumter, S.C.: 8

13. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.: 8.1

12. Yuba City, Calif.: 8.2

11. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.: 8.4

10. Monroe, Mich.: 8.5

9. Pine Bluff, Ark.: 8.6

8. Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, Mich.: 8.7

7. Kokomo, Ind.: 8.9

6. Merced, Calif.: 9.2

5. Pascagoula, Miss.: 9.4

4. Flint, Mich.: 10

3. Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss.: 11.6

2. El Centro, Calif.: 17.3

1. Yuma, Ariz.:21.4