City living comes with some trade-offs.

You get a short commute to work, but you have to park your caron the street.

You get restaurants and bars within walking distance, but youhave to deal with crowds on the sidewalk at all hours.

And you get the security that comes with living amongst manyother people, but the fact is that crime in general is more commonin the city than it is in rural areas. It's a target richenvironment and crime is simply part of the equation.

But that isn't entirely true in every city. In fact, accordingto the FBI's crime statistics, some metropolitan areas withpopulations of more than 200,000 are nearly as safe as small towns,with tiny numbers for both violent and property crimes eachyear.

Where are they? Click through the following pages to find out.(Source: The 10 safest cities over 200,000 in the UnitedStates based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Report Statistics, ascompiled by Law Street Media.)

#10 Chula Vista, Calif.

Located just south of San Diego, Chula Vista is a bedroomcommunity for the entire metro area. And it's a nice one, with lowunemployment and high median incomes. According to Law StreetMedia, “Chula Vista is on our safest cities list due to itsadvantageous coastline location, wide array of small businesses andtourist hot spots, and its safe environment.”

• Violent Crime Rate: 232.56 per 100,000 people
• Population: 249,830
• Murder Rate: 0.32 per 100,000 people
• Officer to Population Ratio: 1:1189
• Median Household Income: $67,265
• Unemployment Rate: 10.34 percent
• Safest City Over 200,000 Rank in 2011: #11

(The view of nearby Dallas.)

#9 Garland, Texas

Located northeast of downtown Dallas, Texas, Garland iswell-situtated for both economic and personal security. The localeconomy is stable and the city has recently focused on a number ofcommunity-oriented programs like Neighborhood Crime Watch andCrimestoppers to promote a safe environment for itsresidents.

• Violent Crime Rate: 229.80 per 100,000 people
• Population: 234,984
• Murder Rate: 0.3 per 100,000 people
• Officer to Population Ratio: 1:758
• Median Household Income: $49,156
• Unemployment Rate: 8.76 percent
• Safest City Over 200,000 Rank in 2011: #8

(The Cowboys used to play in Irving. Their new stadium islocated in nearby Arlington.)

#8 Irving, Texas

Another bedroom community, located not too far from Garland onthe other side of Dallas, Irving is a slightly safer place to callhome, according to the FBI. It's an interesting place, though,because the median income level in the city is lower than thenational poverty line, making it a place that typically would seemore crime. In Irving, however, unemployment is low and localeconomic development has been in high gear for the last decade. Itis also a very diverse community, with the most diverse zip code inAmerica located within its city limits.

• Violent Crime Rate: 226.33 per 100,000 people
• Population: 224,007
• Murder Rate: 0.13 per 100,000 people
• Officer to Population Ratio: 1: 680
• Median Household Income: $47,248
• Unemployment Rate: 8.38 percent
• Safest City Over 200,000 Rank in 2011: #9

#7 Virginia Beach, Va.

Home to the largest concentration of military personnel outsidethe Pentagon, southeastern Virginia has a solid economic baseanchored by a range of employers including Naval Air StationOceana, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek and SentaraHealthcare. It's also a popular tourist destination, attractingsome five milion annual visitors.

• Violent Crime Rate: 169.35 per 100,000 people
• Population: 447,588
• Murder Rate: 0.47 per 100,000 people
• Officer to Population Ratio: 1: 571
• Median Household Income: $58,568
• Unemployment Rate: 13.4 percent
• Safest City Over 200,000 Rank in 2011: #4

#6 Henderson, Nev.

As a southern suburb of Las Vegas, Henderson enjoys a solideconomic base due to the gaming and tourism industries. The localmurder rate of 0.15 per 100,000 is very low, making for a safe,secure community.

• Violent Crime Rate: 168.90 per 100,000 people
• Population: 263,469
• Murder Rate: 0.15 per 100,000 people
• Officer to Population Ratio: 1: 803
• Median Household Income: $66,606
• Unemployment Rate: 17.06 percent
• Safest City Over 200,000 Rank in 2011: #7

#5 Scottsdale, Ariz.

With a local population that's 89.27% white and over the age of45, Scottsdale is the most homogeneous city on this list, but it isalso home to a number of large employers, a large police force anda vibrant local economy, making it a very safe place to live.

• Violent Crime Rate: 147.25 per 100,000 people
• Population: 223,432
• Murder Rate: 0.13 per 100,000 people
• Officer to Population Ratio: 1: 557
• Median Household Income: $71,564
• Unemployment Rate: 7.52 percent
• Safest City Over 200,000 Rank in 2011: #6

(Downtown San Jose, which is near Fremont.)

#4 Fremont, Calif.

Think of Fremont as “Silicon Valley Lite.” It's located justeast of San Jose, making it a slightly more affordable alternativefor start-up companies and tech workers, but it's proximity to thebuzzing local economy makes for a very stable and secure workfoce.According to Law Street Media, Fremont also has the lowest policeoffice to population ration of any city on its list, but it remainsa very safe city.

• Violent Crime Rate: 139.77 per 100,000 people
• Population: 218,927
• Murder Rate: 0.09 per 100,000 people
• Officer to Population Ratio: 1: 1251
• Median Household Income: $92,655
• Unemployment Rate: 7.6 percent
• Safest City Over 200,000 Rank in 2011: #5

(Wow, we're running out of photos of Texas. But there areprobably longhorns near Plano, right?)

#3 Plano, Texas

Another Texas city makes the list. This one is north of downtownDallas and also home to a number of large employers, includingFrito-Lay, JC Penney and Perot Systems, making for a strongeconomic base.

• Violent Crime Rate: 130.74 per 100,000 people
• Population: 214,264
• Murder Rate: 2.33 per 100,000 people
• Officer to Population Ratio: 1:807
• Median Household Income: $83,239
• Unemployment Rate: 9.45 percent
• Safest City Over 200,000 Rank in 2011: #3

#2 Gilbert, Ariz.

Gilbert employs just one police officer for every 965 people inthe city, but that small force is apparently enough because itexperienced just 205 violent crimes and five murders in 2012.

• Violent Crime Rate: 95.68 per 100,000 people
• Population: 214,264
• Murder Rate: 2.33 per 100,000 people
• Officer to Population Ratio: 1:965
• Median Household Income: $80,090
• Unemployment Rate: 5.3 percent
• Safest City Over 200,000 Rank in 2011: #2

#1 Irvine, Calif.

With the lowest number of violent crimes by population, Irvingis a regular on these “safest cities” lists, and with good reason.The city saw only 110 violent crimes in 2012. According to LawStreet Media, Irvine's reputation as a safe place to live comesdown to two important factors: “its overall economic prosperity andrelative homogeneity of its residents; and city's unique designthat further reinforces community development and integration.”

• Violent Crime Rate: 50.57 per 100,000 people
• Population: 217, 528
• Murder Rate: 0.92 per 100,000 people
• Officer to Population Ratio: 1:1083
• Median Household Income: $85,615
• Unemployment Rate: 5.7 percent
• Safest City Over 200,000 Rank in 2011: #1