Study: Irvine safety city for size

The city of Irvine has again ranked as one of the safest cities in the nation compared with cities of its size.

A annual study by CQ Press ranked Irvine No. 1 among cities between 100,000 and 499,000 people, a jump since the 2009-2010 ranking, which placed the city as No. 2.

Irvine placed above five other Southern California cities which ranked among the top 10 cities, and included Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Murrieta, Orange and Glendale.

In the same category Flint, Mich., ranked as one of the cities with the highest crime rates.

Other Orange County cities that ranked among the safest when compared with similar size Lake Forest and Mission Viejo — both in the 75,000 to 99,999 population range.

The study used Unified Crime Reports, and a scoring system to determine where cities rank in safety. Irvine was awarded the same distinction earlier this year when the FBI released its data.

— Lauren Williams

Twitter: @lawilliams30