Farmers Insurance Survey Ranks Safest Cities

In the latest Farmers Insurance rankings of hundreds of communities across the U.S. based on safety and security, Holland-Grand Haven in Michigan and Corvallis, Oregon secured the title of Most Secure Mid-sized City and Most Secure Small City, respectively.

The study of metropolitan areas, compiled by quality of life expert Bert Sperling took into consideration a number of criteria, including economic stability, crime statistics, extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, housing depreciation, foreclosures, air quality, environmental hazards, life expectancy, motor vehicle fatalities, and employment numbers. In the survey, mid-sized cities were those with populations between 150,000 to 500,000 while small cities were those with populations smaller than 150,000.

Earlier in the year, Farmers announced that the Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick area in Maryland had been ranked the Most Secure large metropolitan area in the country.

“Our most secure metropolitan areas are islands of security in our challenging times,” said Bert Sperling, president of Best Places. “They have been able to maintain stable economies and many are fortunate that their locale is not prone to hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes. Although each metropolitan area is different, they all possess a desirable combination of factors (jobs, low crime rates, housing, climate, health, reduced levels of natural disasters) that make these some of the best places to live in the United States.”

Top 20 Most Secure Mid-sized Cities (150,000-500,000 pop.):

1. Holland-Grand Haven, Mich.
2. Green Bay, Wisc.
3. Appleton, Wisc.
4. St. Cloud, Minn.
5. Boulder, Colo.
6. Fargo, N.D.
7. Sioux Falls, S.D.
8. Lincoln, Neb.
9. Charlottesville, Va.
10. Erie, Pa.
11. Burlington-South Burlington, Vt.
12. Provo-Orem, Utah.
13. Rochester, Minn.
14. Ann Arbor, Mich.
15. Lafayette, Ind.
16. Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.
17. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark./Mo.
18. Canton-Massillon, Ohio.
19. Rockingham County-Strafford County, N.H.
20. Bellingham, Wash.

Top 20 Most Secure Small Cities (pop. less than 150,000):

1. Corvallis, Ore.
2. Midland, Texas.
3. Bismarck, N.D.
4. State College, Pa.
5. La Crosse, Wisc.
6. Fond du Lac, Wisc.
7. Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, Va.
8. Logan, Utah/Idaho.
9. Grand Forks, N.D./Minn.
10. Dubuque, Iowa.
11. Elizabethtown, Ky.
12. Williamsport, Pa.
13. Harrisonburg, Va.
14. Lewiston, Idaho/Wash.
15. Owensboro, Ky.
16. Columbus, Ind.
17. Ames, Iowa.
18. San Angelo, Texas.
19. Danville, Ind.
20. Eau Claire, Wisc.

Top 20 Most Secure Large Metro Areas (pop. 500,000+):

1. Bethesda–Gaithersburg–Frederick, Md.
2. Grand Rapids–Wyoming, Mich.
3. Pittsburgh, Pa.
4. Austin–Round Rock, Texas.
5. Cambridge–Newton–Framingham, Mass.
6. Omaha, Neb.–Council Bluffs, Iowa.
7. San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, Calif.
8. San Francisco–San Mateo–Redwood City, Calif.
9. Portland–Beaverton, Ore.–Vancouver, Wash.
10. Dallas–Plano–Irving, Texas.
11. Boise City–Nampa, Idaho.
12. Madison, Wisc.
13. Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington, Minn.
14. Raleigh–Cary, N.C.
15. Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine.
16. Essex County, Mass.
17. El Paso, Texas.
18. Honolulu, Hawaii.
19. Santa Ana–Anaheim–Irvine, Calif.
20. Des Moines–West Des Moines, Iowa.

Source: Farmers Insurance