For the 10th straight year, the town has appeared high on a list of the nation’s safest cities. The annual list, published by CQ Press, a division of Congressional Quarterly, ranks Cary at No. 15 nationwide among cities of any size.

The 14th annual “City Crime Rankings” survey ranks 385 municipalities nationwide with populations of more than 75,000 using data from 2007. The results were released Nov. 19.

This year's report marks only the second time since Cary first appeared on the list that the town has not been ranked in the Top 10. Cary fell one spot this year after coming in at No. 14 in 2007. The town earned its highest ranking in 2001, when it came in at No. 4.

But Ben Krasney of CQ Press said Cary’s decline in the rankings probably meant little in terms of the public’s safety. He said the change could most reasonably be attributed to the addition of a handful of new towns to the list this year.

Among the new towns was this year’s choice of the nation’s safest city — Rampano, NY. Last year’s top pick — Mission Viejo, Calif., came in second this year.

“The city that tops the list this year wasn’t even on the list last year because it didn’t meet the population threshold,” Krasney said of Rampano, NY. “We had a few situations this year with towns like that that moved in on the list.”

Among cities with populations of 100,000 to 500,000, Cary returned this year to its position at No. 3 after falling one spot in 2007. As of October, the town’s population was estimated at nearly 133,000.

Only one city with more than 100,000 people — Amherst, NY — made it into the national Top 10. No cities with more than 500,000 people were on the list.

Cary was the only municipality in North Carolina and in the South to make the Top 25. Raleigh has the state’s second-highest ranking at 173.

CQ Press, formerly Morgan Quitno, uses FBI crime statistics to rank American cities in six crime categories — murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. Each city’s statistics are compared with the national average and the cities that are furthest below that average are ranked as the safest.

Police Chief Pat Bazemore said she was proud of Cary’s standing as a safe city. She attributed the honor to the efforts of a “tremendous group of volunteers” and “the most talented, dedicated and professional [police] staff that we can find.”

“I think that Cary being one of the best places to live, work and raise a family is directly tied to keeping Cary safe,” Bazemore said. “By keeping Cary safe, other people will want to also come here to live, work and raise families.”