As most of us are, you’re probably careful and attentive to the issue of home safety, and do what you can on a constant basis to keep your home and family safe. It’s a concern we all share.
However, if you’re an OC resident, we’ve actually got good news to report, and that may allow you and other residents and homebuyers in Orange County to sleep a bit more soundly. Why? According to a recent report on Home Safety Rankings by local home services app SERVIZ, you’re living in one of the safest places in America.
That’s because not just one, but several cities in the Orange County metro area ranked among the top of that list, with high-ranking cities including Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, and Mission Viejo.
OK in the OC
Out of 108 metro areas analyzed and ranked for home safety by the company, Aliso Viejo was ranked the #3 safest across the United States with a crime index score of 79 out of 100 (with 100 being safest). Laguna Niguel was #5, meanwhile, with a high 65 safety ranking (both received A+ letter grade scores), and Mission Viejo was #9 in the top 10, with a safety ranking of 61 and an A- rating. Area residents’ biggest safety concerns, meanwhile, were earthquake or flood (60%), crime (40%), and fire (40%).
To give you an example of how much farther down other cities fell on the list, by comparison, Washington, D.C. scored a crime index safety ranking of 3 out of 100, and a letter grade of F.
How Safe are OC Service Pros?
Overall, statistics for service pro background checks in these OC cities were much better than the national averages – for instance 1 in 11 home repair pros failed criminal background checks in all three high-ranking OC cities (and 1 in 15 handymen, a superb ratio).
This is far higher than statistics in Washington D.C. or Dallas, where 1 in 4 home repair pros failed criminal background checks, as did 1 out of every 4 handymen (Dallas) or even 1 in3 (Washington D.C.).
Your Chances of Becoming a Crime Victim
OC’s superlative results in the HSR are why your chance of becoming a crime victim in these three cities is among the lowest in our country — just 1 in 126 in Aliso Viejo, 1 in 89 in Laguna Niguel, and 1 in 82 in Mission Viejo. These are especially impressive numbers when compared with Washington, D.C.’s 1 in 17 chance of becoming a crime victim, Phoenix (1 in 25), or the national average (1 in 33).
It’s just one more reason why Orange County is a great place to buy… and live.
Creating the Home Safety Rankings Index
SERVIZ was inspired to create its Home Safety Rankings (HSR) Index when SERVIZ founders realized that they were failing as many as 1 in 3 home contractors for criminal background checks. Concerned at these numbers, SERVIZ then researched and assembled its groundbreaking new Home Safety Rankings (HSR) Index for over 100 metropolitan areas across the U.S. The resulting HSR Index also provides a look at the home safety habits and concerns of residents through city page statistics and vibrant infographics, and its findings received the approval of the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) as well.
The HSR Index was achieved as a result of proprietary data collected over the last 5 years serving over 200 thousand customers, and incorporating 300 thousand home improvement jobs, as well as other publicly available sources.
If you need help with your real estate goals, reach out and we’ll connect you with an expert in your area. As the #1 Independent Brokerage in Southern California, here at First Team we represent more buyers and sellers than anyone else in Orange County. Let us put our expertise to work for you.
