North Port named second-safest city in Florida, study says

Safety is something most people look for when choosing a city to live in and residents of North Port may be in one of the safest, a new study found.

The City of North Port was named the second-safest city in Florida with a population of at least 50,000 by SafeHome.org.

With a population of more than 61,000 and 101 reported violent crimes, along with several other factors, SafeHome.org gave the city a safety score of 85.53.

It also ranked in the 25th percentile in the U.S., according to the study.

The study looked at the FBI’s latest crime reports on the number and types of crimes, the number of law enforcement officers compared to the population, demographic metrics from U.S. Census data such as unemployment rate, median income and education level, according to the study’s methodology.

North Port has a citizen-to-officer ratio of 513 and cites a downward trend in violent and property crimes, according to SafeHome.org.

The safest city in Florida? Weston, with a safety score of 91.42 and raking in the top fifth percentile in the U.S., according to the study.

Bradenton landed in the No. 31 spot on the list, earning a safety score of 68.55 with a 3.6 percent decrease in violent crime and a 1.2 percent decrease in property crime, according to the study.

Here’s how other nearby cities ranked:

▪  Tampa, 19

▪  Bradenton, 31

▪  Clearwater, 32

▪  Largo, 34

▪  Sarasota, 38

▪  St. Petersburg, 50

This story was originally published December 5, 2017 at 1:41 PM with the headline "North Port named second-safest city in Florida, study says."