The Gadberry Group

Pennsylvania

Boomtown: Allentown
Household growth (2000-08): 4%
Household income growth (2000-08): -7%
Home value: $167,000

Pennsylvania's population has been in decline for years. So it's not surprising that the state's "boomtown" isn't exploding with growth. Allentown, a former working-class steel town in eastern Pennsylvania, did grow 4% from 2000 to 2008, to 43,863. At the same time, the average income fell 7% during that period, to $39,089 in 2008.

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