Despite its battered auto industry, and its high foreclosure and jobless rates, Motown has cause to celebrate. It is easier for families to make ends meet in Detroit than in seven other major U.S. cities, Forbes says.

According to the magazine’s calculations, a city’s high unemployment rate plus a steep cost of living and a low median income add up to trouble for families just trying to get by. Providence ranked No. 1 for pinching wage-earners. Providence’s unemployment in February 2009 hit 11.6 percent; its median income of $54,064 is about $4000 higher than the national average.

But while the 8th-ranked Motor City ranks higher than Providence in unemployment -- 13.6 percent -- and lower in median income -- $53,593, its saving grace is a cost of living that matches the national average. Providence, by comparison, has a cost of living index that is 22 points higher than the national average.

Los Angeles, with a cost of living 48 points higher than the national average, ranks No. 2. It has a 10.2 percent unemployment rate, a median income of $55,680.
Foreclosure hot zones Riverside, Calif., and Tampa, Fla., came third and fourth, followed by Buffalo, N.Y., Portland, Ore., and Orlando, Fla.

Rounding out the top 10, Detroit was followed by Miami, Fla., and, Louisville, Ky.