Austin-Round Rock Area Ranked #1 Most Secure Metropolitan Area in the Country

A study conducted by Farmers Insurance Group of Companies mirrored the results of a recent FBI report, which listed the city of Round Rock as one of the safest places to live in the United States. According to the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies report, which looked at 379 large metropolitan areas with a population of 500,000 or more, the Austin-Round Rock area is listed as number one among the Most Secure U.S. Places to Live.

A number of different factors were considered when conducting this study, including all of the following:

•    Extreme weather conditions
•    Crime statistics
•    Housing depreciation
•    Risk of natural disasters
•    Air quality
•    Foreclosure
•    Environmental hazards
•    Terrorist threats
•    Job loss
•    Life expectancy.

According to officials, the fact that Austin has enjoyed such high job growth coupled with minimal housing depreciation over the past year contributed greatly to its high ranking. It is not the first year the city has been included on the list, however, as it was actually listed as the 15th most secure place to live on the 2008 list.

Other Texas cities were also included on the list, with El Paso coming in 8th and McAllen-Edinburgh-Mission coming in 12th. Killeen-Temple was also included on the list of secure cities with a population of 150,000 to 500,000 with a 12th place ranking, while Midland was ranked as the 11th most secure of small towns with less than 150,000 residents. The complete top 10 list of the Most Secure U.S. Places to Live in 2009 among large metro areas with a population of 500,000 or more included:

•    Austin-Round Rock, Texas
•    Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa
•    Madison, Wisconsin
•    Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, Maryland
•    Rochester, New York
•    Honolulu, Hawaii
•    Syracuse, New York
•    El Paso, Texas
•    Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maryland
•    Nassau-Suffolk Counties, New York