The 15 strongest U.S. metros

Employment and economic muscle

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke might think the country is out of the recession, but unemployment is rising from Connecticut to California and banks are taking possession of a growing share of American homes. But some metros across the nation have managed to stay out of the recession’s path and could now be poised for recovery. Using data and analysis from the Brookings Institution’s new MetroMonitor study, BusinessWeek.com ranked the nation’s top 40 economies based on job growth, employment, economic growth and home prices. And Texas seems to be the clear winner, with San Antonio at the top of the list and five metros in the top 10. To see which metros made the list, read on.

1. San Antonio

2. Austin-Round Rock, Texas

3. Oklahoma City

4. Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark.

5. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas

6. Baton Rouge, La.

7. Tulsa, Okla.

8. Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa

9. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas

10. El Paso, Texas

11. Jackson, Miss.

12. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas

13. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va

14. Columbia, S.C.

15. Pittsburgh

To see the reason why each city is considered in this list go to MSN.com.