TribBlog: Forbes Says College Grads Making Bank in the 915

El Paso is in the national news today, and — for the first time in recent memory — it has nothing to do with its proximity to drug war-torn Juarez. Forbes actually has some good news about the border city: Incomes for college graduates in El Paso are rising faster than any other major metropolitan area of the nation.

Median pay there grew 19.4 percent over the last four years, and is now about $49,100. Nationally, the growth was about 8 percent.

Forbes attributes the rising pay scale in El Paso to a number of factors, including expansion at the Fort Bliss Army base, growth at the University of Texas at El Paso and more border security-related jobs. "Couple that with El Paso's relative protection from the battered housing economy and it's easier to see why pay is inching up," the article said.

Other cities that saw big income growth were Bakersfield, Calif., Omaha, Neb., and Virginia Beach, Va. While national unemployment rates continue to grow, Forbes said urban areas where government, university and health care jobs are prevalent have had steady income growth.