by Laura Conaway

I'm proud to say my home county of Rankin, Miss., has an unemployment rate of 4.4 percent — as opposed to 7.2 across the state and 6.7 nationwide. Why? The Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports:

The county's school district is the No. 1 employer, with 3,155 staff members. The health sector, centered around River Oaks Hospital in Flowood, employs thousands more. The same can be said for the county's retail hubs in Flowood and Pearl.

"We have a great diversity of industry here," [county economic development officer Larry] Mobley said. "We're not heavy in one, so we don't necessarily experience the highs and lows of the economy."

Tell it to Detroit — or to Elkhart County, Ind. (Side note: I'd offer a toast to Rankin County, but it's still dry.)