Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has ranked its “Best Cities 2009”—-But the list might as well be termed “Top Ten Cities for Clinging onto Your Job.”

Kiplinger’s formula examined areas’ income growth, cost of living, and whether the local industries will “help generate new jobs and businesses once the recession ends.”

Other cities on the list: Huntsville (thanks to defense and aerospace operations), Albuquerque (a budding film industry, and a burgeoning renewable energy job field), Charlottesville and Athens. 

Washington D.C. appears to be the largest metro region on the list.

Thanks to the government, the government contracting world, the tourist industry, the local universities, various tech and biotech companies and labs, D.C.’s in business, and will continue to see job growth in the future, according to Kiplinger.com.

Here are the D.C. metro region’s stats: 

Population: 5,263,322
Income Growth: 8.7%
Cost of Living Index: 138
Median Household Income: $81,163
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 44%

Image by Paul Goyette, Flickr Creative Commons