A recent survey by Forbes.com found Honolulu the 3rd safest city in the country, with low rates of fatal traffic accidents and violent crime. Other "wealthy" cities made the list: Plano, TX (#1), San Jose (#4) and San Diego (#9). Forbes explains, "Money alone isn't the key to safety. The size of the wealth gap matters more. 'If you have low incomes in an environment with high incomes, it creates a crime vector between the 'haves' and 'have-nots,' says Bruce McIndoe, president of iJet Intelligent Risk Systems, a Maryland-based risk-assessment firm. 'Places like Plano and Honolulu are more homogeneous.'"
The study started with the cities having a population above 250,000. Then it ranked each based on the number of violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 1009 (as tallied by the FBI). Not all cities submitted complete data. 71 cities made the next round.
Then, each city was ranked on the number of traffic fatalities per 100,000 residents, using 2008 data from the NHTSA. The rankings for violent crime and fatal crashes was averaged to arrive at the final score.
About the winners, Forbes explains, "Not every city on our list is a moneyed enclave. Omaha, NE, which came in fifth, has a median household income below the national median, and the median home value of $134,600 is 27% below the national median, according to the United States Census Bureau. Omaha isn't poor, but its strong safety record also can't be explained by pointing to the fat wallets of its citizens. Rather, the high percentage of Omahans with jobs contributes to its safety: The Omaha metropolitan area's unemployment rate is the seventh-lowest in the country, at 4.9%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 'High-growth cities with low unemployment are safer,' says McIndoe. 'When people are gainfully employed, they are more invested in their city.'"
Another interesting finalist was New York City, which came in #6. It is pedestrian-friendly, so fewer drivers are on the roads, and has a violent crime rate well below most big cities, 552/100,000 residents. This statistic is better than 2/3 of the 71 city finalists.
In summation, McIndoe states, "The country's safest cities are ones where residents are reasonably well-off, homeownership is high, infrastructure and employment are strong, and rates of drunk drivers are low."
Here is the list of the top 10 winners:
1. Plano, TX
2. Portland, OR
3. Honolulu, HI
4. San Jose, CA
5. Omaha, NE
6. New York, NY
7. Santa Ana, CA
8. Anaheim, CA
9. San Diego, CA
10.Glendale, Az
Now you have one more reason we're "lucky to live Hawaii." Call or email me to look at some homes in Honolulu that will fit your needs.
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