Minneapolis Makes Forbes Top 10 Affordable Cities List

Forbes has recently compiled a list of America's 10 Most Affordable Cities. Ranked at No. 7 overall was the Minneapolis - Saint Paul Twin Cities Metro Area.

Forbes started its list with the 50 largest U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Then they went to work finding a mix of data that included current median asking price of homes on the market, median salaries of workers with bachelor's degrees or higher, cost of living and unemployment statistics. The result is a list of the top 15 urban affordability hot spots.

Minneapolis ranked 28 for asking price, 17 for salar, 19 for cost-of-living, and 5 for unemployment. Here's what Forbes had to say about Minneapolis:

At $249,000, the current median asking price for homes in Minneapolis-St. Paul remains higher than those of its neighbors on our list. The Twin Cities make up for it in quality of life, touting low unemployment rates and a healthy cost of living vs. salary.

"Minneapolis-St. Paul has very strong institutions of medical research and higher education, a highly educated population and a desirable amenity base," says Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for real estate at the University of California Los Angeles.

"Minneapolis has weathered the downturn better than most places and its prospects continue to look relatively bright," says Gabriel, who has researched the quality of life as it relates to real estate economics.

The cities that beat Minneapolis were:

1. Omaha, Nebraska
2. Buffalo, New York
3. Detroit, Michigan
4. Indianapolis, Indiana
5. Cincinnati, Ohio
6. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Overall, the Midwest dominated Forbes' bargain city list.