Other metro areas would love to have the Tri-Cities' problems. With a large agricultural base and many high-paying technical jobs at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the local economy has been relatively stable. Unemployment is 6.9 percent (the lowest of any metro area in the state). Although the foreclosure rate rose 135 percent last year, it's still a very low 0.62 percent. CNN has highlighted Kennewick-Richland-Pasco as one of eight metros expected to see real estate values rise this year.
Richard Dickin/The Tri-City Herald/AP/File
