The Top 10 Safest Cities in America -- 2 Are In The O.C.

[socal78]

April 2016 - This is a newly released list of the safest cities in America. Congratulations to Rancho Santa Margarita and Aliso Viejo for making the list.
http://ppcorn.com/us/2016/04/10/top-10-safest-cities-to-live-in-america/

"The cities in this countdown of the safest cities to live in America are based on both the population size of each region and the number of crimes that take place. Each individual crime is tallied per thousand residents. Violent and property crimes including burglary, homicide, rape, armed robbery, assault, and vehicle theft are all accounted for in this study. Thanks to the Neighborhood Scouts and law enforcement for providing the information for the safest cities to live in the United States.

Number One: Zionsville, Indiana. Population: 25,000. Zionsville is located in Boone County, and is considered a ?tourist attraction? city. The safest city in the United States has made a name for itself in Hollywood, and it was mentioned on Saturday Night Live and the television show The Middle. The small city is the hometown of several professional athletes, including Jeff Saturday (NFL), Ron Artest (now named Metta World Peace; NBA), Danny Granger (NBA), and Austin Collie (NFL).

Number Two: Lake in the Hills, Illinois. Population: 28,000. The city was formed by Chicago residents who used to vacation in Lake in the Hills. It wasn?t long before the vacationers turned into actual residents, and Lake in the Hills? population greatly increased. The home value in this city is over $177,000 thousand.

Number Three: Bergenfield, New Jersey. Population: 27,000. Bergenfield has been ranked one of the best places to live in America a few times. The past two years, it was ranked the second safest city in America. The city is the hometown of Fun. guitarist and songwriter Jack Antonoff.

Number Four: Sammamish, Washington. Population: 50,000. Not only has Sammamish been ranked as one of the best places to live in America, but it was also named the Friendliest Town in the United States three years ago. The city is located in King County.

Number Five: Bella Vista, Arkansas. Population: 26,000. Bella Vista is predominantly a retirement community; changing the city to a retirement community helped boost the population significantly. The population increased from just over 2,000 residents in the 1980s to over 26,000 residents today.

Number Six: Rancho Santa Margarita, California. Population: 47,000. Education in this city is held very high, and more than 30% of residents living in Rancho Santa Margarita have a Bachelor?s degree. The reality television series, The Real Housewives of Orange County, is mainly filmed in this city (even though the show is based in Coto De Caza).

Number Seven: Franklin, Massachusetts. Population: 32,000. Franklin or the Town of Franklin is located in Norfolk County. It is home to America?s first library, and the library?s first books were donated by Benjamin Franklin. The city was named after Benjamin Franklin, which was voted on by the people in 1778.

Number Eight: Aliso Viejo, California. Population: 50,000. Aliso Viejo is located in Orange County, and it borders the infamous Laguna Beach (made popular on the reality television series on MTV). The average income for families in Aliso Viejo is about $99,000 thousand.

Number Nine: Bartlett, Illinois. Population: 41,000. Bartlett?s motto is ?History, Harmony, Pride.? The median home value in this town is around $290,000 thousand, and the average family income is about $90,000.

Number Ten: Cheshire, Connecticut. Population: 29,000. This town city is located in New Haven County. Along with being ranked one of the safest cities to live in, it was also ranked as one of the 100 Best Places to Live by Money magazine. The city?s bragging rights also include being the hometown of actor James Van Der Beek.

 

[SubSolar]

Interesting seems to contradict with this article that says RSM has a 50%+ increase in crime last year:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/crime-710203-county-police.html

 

[freedomcm]

and Cheshire CT is home to a state prison, where a few years back a pair of inmates broke out, broke into a house, and raped and murdered a mom and teen girl, and tortured the dad.

short memory?

 

[socal78]

and Cheshire CT is home to a state prison, where a few years back a pair of inmates broke out, broke into a house, and raped and murdered a mom and teen girl, and tortured the dad.

short memory?

It's not that there is a short memory. It's that these things are accounted for and that they happen at a lower rate than other areas. The article explains how each individual crime is tallied per thousand residents. The Cheshire murders happened 9 years ago. If we go back a decade in any city, we will find unsavory things because crime happens everywhere. For some cities, it's a one-off. For others, not so much.

 

[socal78]

Interesting seems to contradict with this article that says RSM has a 50%+ increase in crime last year:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/crime-710203-county-police.html

Hypothetically, if a city had 2 incidents last year and 3 this year, that's a 50% increase. 50% sounds alarming until we consider what it really means. This list looks at the number of crimes per thousand people. If RSM had 100,000+ residents, it would knock Irvine off the map for the safest large city.

 

[socal78]

These results should come as little surprise since the same California cities tend to make the lists year after year. Typically, we see Yorba Linda, Mission Viejo, RSM, etc. For a broader look, here is the same source's (Neighborhood Scout's) updated list of Top 100 Safest Cities in America with a population of over 25,000. Again, looking at the number of crimes per thousand people.
http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/neighborhoods/crime-rates/top100safest/

I pulled the California cities which make the list and condensed them here:

#3 Rancho Santa Margarita

#10 Aliso Viejo

#41 Moorpark

#50 Laguna Niguel

#52 Mission Viejo

#55 Lake Forest

#58 Saratoga

#67 Poway

#79 Lincoln

#81 Walnut

#82 Yorba Linda

#83 Los Altos

#88 San Clemente

#98 Foster City

Here is how the cities are ranked.

 

[pricedoutJay]

No Irvine or Newport Beach...

 

[usctrojancpa]

No Irvine or Newport Beach...

Yeah, that's a fail in my book.  Those two cities have to be in any "top safest city" list. 

 

[socal78]

Yeah, that's a fail in my book.  Those two cities have to be in any "top safest city" list. 

Irvine makes the lists when every other city with fewer than 100,000 people is disqualified. Yes, even though they have a lower crime rate. That is why it has been named the safest *large* city. The word "large" is often omitted from the description when referred to colloquially, giving the impression that you are left with now. The smallest population size I've seen Irvine able to compete with is a list of cities with 75k and up, a few years back, iirc. That isn't to say Irvine is not safe. "Safe" is a subjective term. However, statistically, it does not compete with the lower crime rates seen in the 100 cities listed above.