California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

Stockton has been ranked the second-most miserable city in the nation, according to a ranking
by Forbes magazine.

The magazine surveyed 150 metropolitan areas and ranked them according to unemployment,
personal tax rates, commute times, weather, crime and Superfund sites.

Stockton's population soared 28 percent over the past 10 years and home prices jumped 158
percent between 2000 and 2005, but they have fallen the past two years, as Stockton has
one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. The city's violent crime, which is one of the
worst in the nation on a per-capita basis, also figured into the ranking.

Modesto, ranked as the eighth-most miserable city in America, was marked down because of
unemployment -- 8.7 percent in 2007. That is down from the early 1990s, when it topped 15 percent.

Detroit ranked as the most miserable city. It was followed in order by Stockton; Flint, Mich.;
New York City; and Philadelphia. Chicago ranked No. 6, followed by Los Angeles, Modesto;
Charlotte, N.C.; and Providence, R.I.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.