4 SoCal Cities Rank Among Top 50 Safest U.S. Cities: Report

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — Four cities in Southern California rank among the top 50 safest cities in the country, according to a new report by WalletHub.

The personal finance website analyzed America's safest and least safe cities. Irvine ranked 26th, Chula Vista ranked 38th, Glendale ranked 40th, and San Diego ranked 48th, according to the study. On the other end of the list, Los Angeles ranked 172nd and San Bernardino ranked 180th.

The rankings included the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state.

WalletHub compared 182 cities across three key dimensions: home and community safety, natural disaster risk, and financial safety. The company evaluated those dimensions using 42 relevant metrics, from assaults per capita to unemployment rate. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of safety.

Here's how Irvine, Chula Vista, Glendale and San Diego scored:

• Irvine
  • Overall rank: 26
  • Total score: 79.25
  • Home and community safety: 6
  • Natural disaster risk: 150
  • Financial safety: 61
• Chula Vista
  • Overall rank: 38
  • Total score: 77.69
  • Home and community safety: 18
  • Natural disaster risk: 132
  • Financial safety: 74
• Glendale
  • Overall rank: 40
  • Total score: 77.50
  • Home and community safety: 8
  • Natural disaster risk: 151
  • Financial safety: 124
• San Diego
  • Overall rank: 48
  • Total score: 77.11
  • Home and community safety: 36
  • Natural disaster risk: 130
  • Financial safety: 33

Columbia, Maryland, ranked as the safest city in the country, followed by Nashua, New Hampshire, and Laredo, Texas, according to the report. St. Louis, Missouri, landed at the bottom of the list.

These are the top 10 safest cities in the country, according to the report:

1. Columbia, Maryland
2. Nashua, New Hampshire
3. Laredo, Texas
4. Portland, Maine
5. Warwick, Rhode Island
6. Yonkers, New York
7. Gilbert, Arizona
8. Burlington, Vermont
9. Raleigh, North Caroline
10. Lewiston, Maine

See how cities in California ranked, according to the report. National rankings are in parenthesis:

• Fremont (17)
• Irvine (26)
• Chula Vista (38)
• Santa Rosa (39)
• Glendale (40)
• San Diego (48)
• Santa Clarita (54)
• Oxnard (63)
• Rancho Cucamonga (64)
• Oceanside (66)
• Huntington Beach (68)
• San Jose (73)
• Garden Grove (76)
• Ontario (78)
• Fontana (80)
• Moreno Valley (83)
• Sacramento (88)
• Santa Ana (92)
• Anaheim (94)
• Fresno (113)
• Modesto (118)
• Riverside (126)
• San Francisco (136)
• Long Beach (139)
• Bakersfield (144)
• Stockton (149)
• Los Angeles (172)
• Oakland (175)
• San Bernardino (180)

Read the full report.