| Being in a safe community is one of the most | | | | 14. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York |
| important factors that buyers consider when | | | | 15. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks- Ventura, California |
| purchasing a home, condo or any other type of real | | | | 16. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, New York |
| estate. So where are America's most secure places | | | | 17. Nassau-Suffolk, New York |
| to live? The Farmers Insurance Group of Companies | | | | 18. Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pennsylvania |
| has released its third annual ranking of top 20 'Most | | | | 19. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut. |
| Secure U.S. Places to Live'. | | | | 20. New Haven-Milford, Connecticut. |
| Bert Sperling, a database expert with compiled the | | | | The top 20 safest places to live among mid-size cities |
| Farmers rankings based on data from 379 U.S. | | | | are: |
| municipalities. Factors such as crime statistics, | | | | 1. Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| unemployment rates and risks of environmental | | | | 2. Rockingham County-Strafford County, New |
| hazards, terrorism threats, natural disasters and | | | | Hampshire |
| extreme weather conditions, were taken into | | | | 3. Huntington, West Virginia.-Ashland, Kentucky |
| consideration. | | | | 4. Bellingham, Washington |
| The communities were divided into three groups - | | | | 5. Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont |
| large metropolitan areas (above 500,000 residents), | | | | 6. Lynchburg, Virginia |
| mid-size cities (between 150,000 and 500,000 | | | | 7. Medford, Oregon |
| residents), and small towns (fewer than 150,000 | | | | 8. Prescott, Arizona |
| residents). | | | | 9. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California |
| According to the survey, the most secure community | | | | 10. Binghamton, New York |
| to live in the U.S. among large metropolitan areas are | | | | 11. Provo-Orem, Utah |
| the adjacent communities of Boise City and Nampa | | | | 12. St. Cloud, Minnesota |
| (both in Idaho), which topped all large metro areas. | | | | 13. Fargo, North Dakota |
| Located among the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, | | | | 14. Hagerstown, Maryland -Martinsburg, West Virginia |
| the area has one of the lowest unemployment rates | | | | 15. Olympia, Washington |
| and enjoys a wonderful climate. | | | | 16. Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Among the Mid-size cities, those with a population | | | | 17. Chico, California |
| between 150,000 and 500,000, the safest community | | | | 18. Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, Washington |
| to live is Las Cruces, New Mexico. Las Cruces was | | | | 19. Manchester-Nashua, New Hampshire |
| the first among mid-size cities in low unemployment | | | | 20. Duluth, Minnesota |
| rate and favorable climate categories. | | | | The top 20 safest communities to live among the small |
| St. George in Utah topped all small cities with | | | | towns are: |
| populations of 150,000 or fewer in the survey. The city | | | | 1. St. George, Utah |
| has 110,515 residents who enjoy a mild climate, clean air | | | | 2. Bend, Oregon |
| and low annual precipitation. It also has the lowest | | | | 3. Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, Virginia |
| crime rates of all the 379 communities surveyed. St. | | | | 4. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
| George stands first in employment rate among the 138 | | | | 5. Ithaca, New York |
| small towns in the Farmers study. | | | | 6. Morgantown, West Virginia |
| The following are top 20 communities of America's | | | | 7. Logan, Utah |
| most secure places to live among large metropolitan | | | | 8. Winchester, Virginia |
| areas, mid-size cities and small towns: | | | | 9. Harrisonburg, Virginia |
| The top 20 safest communities to live among the large | | | | 10. Idaho Falls, Idaho |
| metro areas are: | | | | 11. Madera, California |
| 1. Boise City-Nampa, Idaho | | | | 12. Glens Falls, New York |
| 2. Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine | | | | 13. Wenatchee, Washington |
| 3. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada | | | | 14. Bangor, Maine |
| 4. Honolulu, Hawaii | | | | 15. Lewiston-Auburn, Maine |
| 5. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California | | | | 16. State College, Pennsylvania |
| 6. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazelton, Pennsylvania | | | | 17. Billings, Montana |
| 7. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California | | | | 18. Cumberland, Maryland |
| 8. Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, Maryland | | | | 19. Lewiston, Idaho |
| 9. Syracuse, New York | | | | 20. Pocatello, Idaho |
| 10. Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California | | | | If you are looking to settle down in any of these great |
| 11. El Paso, Texas | | | | cities, contact a good real estate agent who will help |
| 12. Albany-Troy-Schenectady, New York | | | | you purchase the home or condo of your choice. |
| 13. Rochester, New York | | | | |