Where the jobs are

Towns include: Lake Monticello
Job growth (2000-2006): 38.9%

The University of Virginia drives the economy in this tiny Blue Ridge Mountains community that has seen double-digit growth in population and income since 2001. The construction of some 3,000 new housing units has helped the building trades and increased the area's tax base. Agriculture remains the backbone here, with farms occupying much of the nearly 200 square miles of open space, while retail has made some recent gains as well.