The Metropolitan area that includes Bethesda, Gaithersburg and Frederick has been named the “Most Secure Place to Live in the U.S.,” by Farmers Insurance, which did a study of crime stats, extreme weather, housing value and other factors to come up with the ranking.
The company ranks metropolitan areas of 500,000 or more people by factoring in criteria including crime, risk of natural disasters, foreclosures, air quality, life expectancy, motor vehicle fatalities and employment.
The Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick Metro area (used in many of these rankings and defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) ranked No. 1 in the study. It has been ranked in the top 10 every year since 2007:
Some of the key factors that helped the historical Maryland area earn its No. 1 spot in the 2012 study included its low unemployment and low personal crime rates, while its long life expectancy rate contributed to its top rating.
Grand Rapids, Mich., was ranked No. 2. It was followed by Pittsburgh, Austin-Round Rock, Texas and Cambridge-Newton-Farminghan, Mass.
