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Nine cities where wealth is soaring.

One factor that may have helped median incomes in these cities grow is that
incomes to begin with were often low, say Austin Nichols, senior research
associate at the Urban Institute think tank in Washington, D.C.

9. Big Spring, Tex.

- - Percentage increase in income: 17.2%

- - Median household income: $40,943

- - Poverty rate: 20.4%

- - Population: 27,763

Big Spring is less than an hour from Midland, Tex., which is widely considered
the epicenter of the state's oil boom. Mining has traditionally been a major
industry in Big Spring, accounting for at least 10% of the city's economy in
recent years. The sector has not grown considerably, but the state's energy boom
across the state is still a likely factor in the city's sharp income growth.
Strong growth in the city's housing market in recent years reflects to some
extent the region's rising incomes. While home prices have not been particularly
high in Big Spring the past five years, they had increased by nearly 25% between
the three-year period starting in 2007 and the three-year period starting in
2010, among the most dramatic home value increases nationwide.

Thanks to Owen Morse.