10 'Safe Harbors' Offer Affordability, Recreation

A mix of metros located in the American South, Midwest, and Rust Belt have low crime and affordable home values for homebuyers with or without families.

Rick Palacios Jr., director of research at John Burns Real Estate Consulting, explains, "When homeowners think about the biggest investment of their life, top of mind is how safe an area would be to live in and raise a family," adding, "High crime rates unnerve potential homebuyers." With that in mind, Realtor.com compiled a list of cities where homebuyers can have it all--affordability, fun, and safety. Grand Rapids, Mich. came out on top, with a median home price of $280,000, an 18.38 percent crime rate, and a low 2.5 percent metro unemployment rate boosting it to number one.

We analyzed crime data provided by NeighborhoodScout, a website that tracks community data, focusing on America's 150 largest metros. We eliminated those with high rates of violent or property crime, and with home prices above the (roughly) $300,000 national median. Next, we zeroed in on cities with great extracurriculars—running the gamut from nightlife, to kayaking, to great indie bookstores—as tracked on Yelp.com.**

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