As an example of the litany of small changes that affect a company's fortunes, consider the Mead mill near Phenix City, Alabama, that makes paperboard for soda cartons.

FORBES: Paper & forest products

One of those parents, Carol Perdue of Phenix City, Ala.

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Three regions in Alabama finished above it: Huntsville and Auburn-Opelika ranked first and second, and Columbus-Phenix City, which straddles the Georgia border, ranked seventh (the state's two largest cities, Birmingham and Montgomery, ranked 83rd and 22nd).

ECONOMIST: Alabama��s small cities are poised for recovery