The U.S. Cities Where Personal Income Grew The Fastest Last Year (PHOTOS)

If you're tempted to look on the bright side of high unemployment, a staggering economy and an uncertain stock market, we've got some reasons for optimism.

Personal income rose in just 134 of 223 metropolitan statistical areas last year, according to new data from the Commerce Department. (CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF CITIES THAT SAW THE BIGGEST INCOME DROPS IN 2009.)

But we've gathered the cities that have shown the biggest jumps in personal income in last year's tumultuous economy. You won't find cities that are closely tied to the finance or real estate industry on this list. In fact, most of the biggest income gains were in cities that are located near large college campuses. (Good news for residents of State College, Pa. or Manhattan, Kansas.)

Check out the cities which saw the biggest gains in personal income last year: