Bullish on jobs? These 10 cities are.

No, this is not the home of the Buckeyes and Ohio State University. It's the much smaller Columbus next door in Indiana. With a 10 percent growth spurt from 2009 to 2010, Columbus has not only outstripped the rest of Indiana, it has seen the fourth-largest economic rebound among all the metro areas since the Great Recession. Its unemployment rate dropped from 9.6 percent two years ago to 7.0 percent in December. That's more than a full percentage point below the national average and the lowest rate of any metro area in Indiana. Its secret: manufacturing. Maneuvering itself to compete in international as well as national markets, Columbus is home to Cummins, a Fortune 500 company that sells its engines in 160 countries. The industry giant is planning on expanding in Columbus, with a new downtown office building. A nearby Honda plant recently hired 1,000 new workers, is helping the job market as well. Fully a third of the metro’s jobs are in manufacturing, triple the national average. Located on the east fork of the White River, the city has undergone a noticeable downtown revitalization and is renowned for its modern architecture. Columbus was also one of the top American cities in a recent National Geographic Traveler ranking of destinations that had preserved their historic character.