That Orange County mortgage broker (who used to be a pizza delivery guy) can take a class online from the University of Phoenix (APOL) and become a computer engineer in Silicon Valley.

FORBES: How Do You Fix the Hollowing Out of America's Middle Class?

Over the past decade, we saw the demand for housing push middle-class families toward destinations as varied as Las Vegas and Phoenix, Austin, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta.

FORBES: New Geographer

Baltimore contrasts sharply to places where lots of middle-class retirees have settled down over the last two decades, like Miami and Phoenix, Ariz.

FORBES: Magazine Article