Pittsburgh tops ‘most secure’ metro area list [The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

Jan. 04--Pittsburgh was the nation's "most secure" metro area of a half-million people or more in 2011, according to Farmers Insurance Group.

The city's low rates of crime and motor vehicle deaths helped earn it the top rating in Farmers' eighth-annual study of nearly 400 communities. Low housing depreciation also was a factor, as the city escaped the worst of the collapse of the housing market.

"It's a good investment here, and you can get a home cheap," said George Hackett, president of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services in Pittsburgh. "If you want to buy a home under $100,000 you can."

Among the statistics that back up the report's findings:

-- The number of violent crimes, such as aggravated assaults, robberies and rapes, in Pittsburgh declined by nearly 20 percent in the first half of 2011 compared to 2010, according to FBI crime statistics.

-- Pittsburgh is among nine metro areas of 131 tracked by Zillow Market Research where home values showed positive growth in 2011 over the prior year.

-- The number of traffic fatalities in Western Pennsylvania dropped from 206 in 2006 to 186 in 2010, according to PennDOT. The total for 2011 is not yet available.

Farmers' rankings, released in December, also took into consideration factors ranging from extreme weather to job losses.

The Kennewickï¿ 1/2 Richlandï¿ 1/2 Pasco area in Washington state was most secure in the mid-size rankings, while Ithaca, N.Y., was the most secure small town.

Pittsburgh moved up 10 spots from a year ago among large metropolitan areas. It has made the top 20 five times. The city's previous best ranking was ninth in 2005.

Based on his own research before relocating to the city a year ago to run Farmers' Pittsburgh office in Robinson, David Howard said the 2011 ranking is on target.

"I was surprised when I first started researching it, but after spending some time here I really wasn't that surprised," he said.

___

(c)2012 The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.)

Visit The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) at www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib

Distributed by MCT Information Services