The city of Eau Claire was recently ranked 18th in a top 25 list as one of the safest cities for families in the U.S., out of a total of 358 cities.

Eau Claire is also joined by five other Wisconsin cities: Appleton (8th), Fond du Lac (16th), Oshkosh (21st), Sheboygan (23) and Wausau (6th).

“I think it’s fantastic,” Kat Fraser, a first-year nursing student, said. “It’s nice to feel this safe at school.”

According to the Leader-Telegram, a security website called SecurityChoice.com assembled a list with data from the FBI’s Crime Reporting program. The rankings consider employment rates, poverty, violent and property crime and work commute times, among other factors.

For Brooke Anderson, a first-year nursing student, the ranking comes as no surprise.

“I love the Eau Claire community,” Anderson said. “It makes me feel good that we live in one of the safest cities.”

Among the states listed, Wisconsin has the highest number of cities included on the list. The next state with the highest number of cities is Pennsylvania, with 4 cities: Altoona (20th), Bloomsburg (10th), Gettysburg (7th), and State College (2nd).

The safest city for families, according to Security Choice, is Logan, Utah. Logan is home to Utah State University, and has a population that is expected to reach 100,000 by 2025.

The list noted that cities falling “into the 100,000 to 249,000 population range” ranked higher on the list and were typically the safer cities.

According to the list, Eau Claire — with a population of 68,000 — has a low tendency for motor vehicle theft and burglary crime rates. The rating system also takes the quality of education into account when considering scores.

“I feel proud to live in a city where people can feel safe and supported,” Killian Phipps, a first-year kinesiology student, said. “Especially on a campus that promotes strong values of safety.”

The list names California as the safest state. Of the 358 cities, California managed to have 26 cities ranked overall, despite not being present on the top 25 list.

Eau Claire also ranked highly on a different Security Choice list, just short of a year ago, in 2017. Eau Claire placed as the 2nd safest city in the U.S. for women, beaten only by Waukesha, Wis.

The ranking — based on U.S. Census Bureau data — considers rates of female salary as percentage of males, female unemployment, female poverty, education and crimes per 100,000.

Spierings can be reached at [email protected].