While things are relatively tight in much of the nation, some localities are worse off than others. Indeed.com assessed job markets in the 50 largest American cities to see which had the most unemployed workers per job posting.

Here are the places with the worst ratios:

1. Detroit: 18-1
2. Miami: 10-1
3. Riverside, Calif.: 9-1
4. Los Angeles: 8-1
5. Portland, Ore.: 7-1
6. Chicago: 7-1
7. Rochester, N.Y.: 6-1
8. Sacramento: 6-1
9. Orlando: 6-1
10. Buffalo: 6-1
11. St. Louis: 6-1

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Unfortunately, the company you keep might be a problem. If you live in any of the metropolitan areas below, it might be time to put a little heat on your friends and neighbors to clean up their act.

Here are two different looks at the Top 10 most polluted U.S. cities:

(By year-round particle pollution)
1. Los Angeles, California
2. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
3. Bakersfield, California
4. Birmingham, Alabama
5. Visalia/Porterville, California
6. Atlanta, Georgia
7. Cincinnati, Ohio
8. Fresno/Madera, California
9. Hanford/Corcoran, California
10. Detroit, Michigan

(By ozone)
1. Los Angeles, California
2. Bakersfield, California
3. Visalia/Porterville, California
4. Houston, Texas
5. Fresno/Madera, California
6. Sacramento, California
7. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
8. New York City/Newark, New Jersey
9. Baltimore, Maryland/Washington, DC
10. Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Source: American Lung Association

Related Links

• Read about how a solar plan in Los Angeles is sending up political flares in that city.

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Of course, there are drawbacks, too. Living in a big city means crowding, traffic, higher costs of living, and usually more crime.

In a perfect world, the advantages dwarf the drawbacks. Here on Earth, that’s not always the case.

Forbes recently compiled its list of America’s most miserable cities, surveying the 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. (Population 378,000 and up.) Communities were rated on nine factors: Commute times, corruption, pro sports teams, Superfund sites, taxes (both income and sales), unemployment, violent crime and weather.

Who fared the worst?

Here’s the list:

1. Stockton, Calif.

2. Memphis, Tenn.

3. Chicago, Ill.

4. Cleveland, Ohio

5. Modesto, Calif.

6. Flint, Mich.

7. Detroit, Mich.

8. Buffalo, N.Y.

9. Miami, Fla.

10. St. Louis, Mo.

What makes these towns such challenging places to live and work? Visit Forbes to get the skinny.

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In 2009, the tournament begins with the play-in game on March 17, followed by first-round action on March 19. The four lucky survivors will still be standing for the national semifinals on April 4.

Which cities will be hosting the Final Four this year and beyond?

Here’s the list:

2009
April 4 and 6
Ford Field
Detroit, Michigan

2010
April 3 and 5
Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, Indiana

2011
April 2 and 4
Reliant Stadium
Houston, Texas

2012
March 31 and April 2
Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, La.

2013
April 6 and 8
Georgia Dome
Atlanta, Ga.

2014
April 5 and 7
Cowboys Stadium
Arlington, Tex.

2015
April 4 and 6
Indianapolis, Ind.
Lucas Oil Stadium

2016
April 2 and 4
Reliant Stadium
Houston, Tex.

Source: NCAA

MarketWatch took a look at the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas and used a variety of data from multiple resources to determine which provided the 10 worst climates for business. Six of the bottom 10 were warm-weather cities, many of which were hurt by the burst of the real estate bubble.

Here’s the list:

50. New Orleans
49. Buffalo
48. Tucson, Ariz.
47. Sacramento
46. Rochester, N.Y.
T44. Tampa-St. Petersburg
T44. Los Angeles
T42. Virginia Beach
T42. Detroit
41. San Antonio

What were the factors that caused these towns to get the big thumbs down? Read all about it at MarketWatch.

Which cities offer the best bargains? Using data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, BusinessWeek came up with a list. Cities were ranked based on the share of homes sold in the second quarter of 2008 that would have been affordable to a family earning the local median income and willing to pay 28 percent of its gross income on housing.

Here’s who made the cut:

  1. Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind.

  2. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.

  3. Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.

  4. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich.

  5. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.

  6. Toledo, Ohio

  7. Dayton, Ohio

  8. Akron, Ohio

  9. Syracuse, N.Y.

10. Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pa.

Check out the statistics, read more about these areas, and see a slideshow at BusinessWeek.

Republicans have done a good job of using their convention as a springboard to Election Day success, winning seven of the last 10 presidential races.

Here’s a list of the last 10 cities to serve as launching point for a Republican candidacy:

2008 — Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

2004 — New York

2000 — Philadelphia

1996 — San Diego

1992 — Houston

1988 — New Orleans

1984 — Dallas

1980 — Detroit

1976 — Kansas City

1972 — Miami Beach

1968 — Miami Beach

Source: CNN

Is your city among those being hit hardest? MensHealth.com assessed foreclosure rates, housing costs, credit scores, bankruptcy filings and more to see who is doing the best — and worst — job of staying afloat in these challenging times.

The 10 with the most personal debt include:

10. Phoenix, Ariz.
9. Modesto, Calif.
8. Denver, Colo.
7. Riverside, Calif.
6. Jacksonville, Fla.
5. Detroit
4. Sacramento, Calif.
3. Atlanta

To find out who are the two biggest offenders, and to read about all 10, visit MensHealth.com.

Related lists:

• Top Corporate Bankruptcies
• Biggest Corporate Bailouts
• Biggest U.S. Bank Failures
• Cities With Least Personal Debt

Thomson Reuters released its annual study identifying hospitals that demonstrated the fastest, most consistent improvement in the nation over five consecutive years. Nine of the 100 leading hospitals are in Texas. Florida and New York are each home to eight, and Pennsylvania boasts seven. Kentucky and Tennessee each have six winning hospitals, and California and Michigan have five apiece.

The study rated hospitals on eight factors — patient mortality, medical complications, patient safety, length of stay, expenses, profitability, cash-to-debt ratio, and use of evidence-based medicine. Researchers evaluated 2,867 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals grouped into five categories: major teaching hospitals, other teaching hospitals, large community hospitals, medium-sized community hospitals, and small community hospitals.

Here are the winning hospitals, by category:

Major Teaching Hospitals

• University Medical Center – Tucson, AZ
• Christiana Care Health System – Wilmington, DE
• Shands at the University of Florida – Gainesville, FL
• University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics – Iowa City, IA
• Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center – Boston, MA
• Baystate Medical Center – Springfield, MA
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center – Boston, MA
• Henry Ford Hospital – Detroit, MI
• The Mount Sinai Medical Center – New York, NY
• New York Hospital Queens – Flushing, NY
• Westchester Medical Center – Valhalla, NY
• Duke University Hospital – Durham, NC
• Allegheny General Hospital – Pittsburgh, PA
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center – Nashville, TN
• Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center – Houston, TX

Teaching Hospitals

• St. Bernards Medical Center – Jonesboro, AR
• St. Anthony Central Hospital – Denver, CO
• Florida Hospital – Orlando, FL
• Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare – Tallahassee, FL
• OSF Saint Francis Medical Center – Peoria, IL
• Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center-South Bend – South Bend, IN
• Via Christi Regional Medical Center – Wichita, KS
• Bronson Methodist Hospital – Kalamazoo, MI
• St. Joseph Mercy Oakland – Pontiac, MI
• McLaren Regional Medical Center – Flint, MI
• St. Cloud Hospital – St. Cloud, MN
• Valley Hospital Medical Center – Las Vegas, NV
• Saint Barnabas Medical Center – Livingston, NJ
• Altru Hospital – Grand Forks, ND
• Providence St. Vincent Medical Center – Portland, OR
• Saint Vincent Health Center – Erie, PA
• Heritage Valley Beaver – Beaver, PA
• PinnacleHealth – Harrisburg, PA
• Robert Packer Hospital – Sayre, PA
• Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis – Memphis, TN
• CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi – Corpus Christi, TX
• Methodist Dallas Medical Center – Dallas, TX
• Medical Center Hospital – Odessa, TX
• Corpus Christi Medical Center – Corpus Christi, TX
• Meriter Hospital – Madison, WI

Large Community Hospitals

• Jackson Hospital – Montgomery, AL
• Alta Bates Summit Medical Center – Oakland, CA
• St. Bernardine Medical Center – San Bernardino, CA
• Saddleback Memorial Medical Center – Laguna Hills, CA
• NCH Downtown Naples Hospital – Naples, FL
• Flagler Hospital – St. Augustine, FL
• Boca Raton Community Hospital – Boca Raton, FL
• Rockford Memorial Hospital – Rockford, IL
• Hardin Memorial Hospital – Elizabethtown, KY
• Western Baptist Hospital – Paducah, KY
• Shady Grove Adventist Hospital – Rockville, MD
• Allegiance Health – Jackson, MI
• Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare – New Hartford, NY
• Orange Regional Medical Center – Goshen, NY
• Rex Healthcare – Raleigh, NC
• Genesis HealthCare System – Zanesville, OH
• Saint Thomas Hospital – Nashville, TN
• Citizens Medical Center – Victoria, TX
• CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System – Texarkana, TX
• Providence Everett Medical Center – Everett, WA

Medium Community Hospitals

• Brooksville Regional Hospital – Brooksville, FL
• Oconee Regional Medical Center – Milledgeville, GA
• Adventist GlenOaks Hospital – Glendale Heights, IL
• Mary Greeley Medical Center – Ames, IA
• Murray-Calloway County Hospital – Murray, KY
• Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center – Danville, KY
• Saint Joseph East – Lexington, KY
• Grenada Lake Medical Center – Grenada, MS
• Bolivar Medical Center – Cleveland, MS
• San Juan Regional Medical Center – Farmington, NM
• Olean General Hospital – Olean, NY
• St. James Mercy Hospital – Hornell, NY
• Rutherford Hospital, Inc. – Rutherfordton, NC
• Medcenter One Hospital – Bismarck, ND
• Pocono Medical Center – East Stroudsburg, PA
• Cookeville Regional Medical Center – Cookeville, TN
• Paris Regional Medical Center – Paris, TX
• Carilion New River Valley Medical Center – Christiansburg, VA
• Aurora West Allis Medical Center – West Allis, WI
• Aurora BayCare Medical Center – Green Bay, WI

Small Community Hospitals

• St. Elizabeth Community Hospital – Red Bluff, CA
• Doctors Hospital of Manteca – Manteca, CA
• Jackson County Hospital District – Marianna, FL
• The King’s Daughters’ Hospital & Health Services – Madison, IN
• St. Joseph Regional Medical Center-Plymouth – Plymouth, IN
• Newton Medical Center – Newton, KS
• Mercy Regional Health Center – Manhattan, KS
• Baptist Hospital Northeast – LaGrange, KY
• Falmouth Hospital – Falmouth, MA
• Trace Regional Hospital – Houston, MS
• Hannibal Regional Hospital – Hannibal, MO
• Northern Montana Hospital – Havre, MT
• Corning Hospital – Corning, NY
• INTEGRIS Baptist Regional Health Center – Miami, OK
• Gettysburg Hospital – Gettysburg, PA
• St. Mary’s Healthcare Center – Pierre, SD
• St. Mary’s Medical Center of Campbell County – LaFollette, TN
• Baptist Hospital of Cocke County – Newport, TN
• Ennis Regional Medical Center – Ennis, TX
• Aurora Medical Center – Two Rivers, WI

For more information, go to Thomson Reuters.

Source: Thomson Reuters

The golf boom may be over, but there still are plenty of places for the avid duffer to tee it up. So, which cities have the most golf courses within a 30-mile radius?

CNNMoney thought you’d never ask. Check out the Top 10:

1. Chicago — 347

2. New York – 255

3. Los Angeles — 250

4. Philadelphia — 238

5. Detroit – 229

6. Phoenix — 221

7. Dallas — 208

8. Boston — 202

9. Fort Worth — 198

10. Atlanta – 188

To see more, visit CNNMoney.com.