CHULA VISTA.- LawStreetMedia.com, with the help of FBI statistics, chose Chula Vista, California as one of the safest cities in the U.S. for 2012.

The site selected those cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, for a total of 286. Chula Vista placed tenth thanks to its low crime rate, with 233 violent crimes for each 100,000 persons. Currently, Chula Vista has a population of approximately 250,000 inhabitants.

Another reason for its inclusion in the list, and that helps the development of a safe and secure environment, is that the region has several small businesses that increase the possibilities of economic development and tourism areas.

The racial makeup of the city is also worth noting. Although race-wise, Whites represent 53.6 percent of the city's population, the cultural group of Hispanic or Latinos's of any race were 58.2 percent of the entire population, making it a minority-majority city. People of Mexican descent or nationality alone account for 53.5 percent of the population, according to the 2010 Census.

The data compiled during 2012, also shows a population comprise of 14.4 percent Asian and 4.6 percent African-american. Added to these facts is that Chula Vista posses a low unemployment rate, a majority of its inhabitants being upper middle class and the region is attractive to businesses and families.

The top ten places on the study also has two other California cities on them. Irvine came in first, while Fremont occupied the fourth place. Likewise, the study revealed that Flint, Michigan, was the most violent city in the country and that Detroit was the most violent large city in the U.S. The difference is born out from the fact that the listings are divided by population levels. The crimes taken into consideration for the study where homicides, assault, thefts and rapes.

brenda.colon@sandigored.com

jose.sanchez@sandiegored.com