Houston ties for top spot in safety rankings

Despite METRO's best efforts, our fair metropolis is in a five-way tie for the safest, most secure city in the nation:

In the US, Honolulu, Houston, Lexington, San Francisco, and Winston Salem rank highest in joint 45th position with scores of 104. Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Portland, and New York all follow in 58th place with scores of 100. The lowest scoring city in North America is Atlanta, ranked 90 with a score of 90.5, due to street crime and burglary.

The survey ranks cities by quantifying a number of quality-of-life issues. The data is based on an index, wherein New York gets a score of 100. In cleanliness, we didn't do so hot:

At the same time, the US has a number of cities with low scores for cleanliness. Air pollution is a concern in some locations, as is the ineffective disposal of waste. The lowest ranked city in the US is New York at position 128, with a score of 100. Other low-scoring cities include Los Angeles (115.5), Detroit (123), Miami, Houston, and Chicago (which all score 126.5).

I can see the slogan now: "Houston. It's Worth It. Marginally Cleaner than Detroit." Whaddya say, Jordy?