Boise named safest big metro area

NAMPA, Idaho – A national insurance company has ranked the urban areas of southwest Idaho as the most secure large metropolitan area in the United States.

Farmers Insurance Group listed the five-county metropolitan area as the most secure for areas with populations of 500,000 or more in its third-annual “Most Secure U.S. Places to Live.”

The study looked at such factors as crime statistics, fire and police service responses, plans to handle potential terrorist threats, job security and unemployment rates, and fluctuations in major business relocations.

The fast-growing region includes Ada, Canyon, Owyhee, Gem and Boise counties.

“We are gratified once again that a national organization has recognized one of the key elements that makes our area so appealing,” Boise Mayor David Bieter told the Idaho Press-Tribune.

The Farmers’ study noted that the region “is shielded from severe weather.”

The study found Las Cruces, N.M., as the most secure city with a population of 150,000 to 500,000. St. George, Utah, topped the list among cities with populations less than 150,000.