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Study: Pacific Northwest is best region for first responders to live

Nine locations in Oregon and Washington filled the top 20 slots

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FORT MILL, S.C. — GoodCall, a data analytics company, released a study listing the best places for first responders to live in the United States. According to their research, more metropolitan areas from the Pacific Northwest ranked in the top 20 than any other region of the country.

Nearly 1,000 metropolitan areas were analyzed in terms of safety, affordability of housing and pay, among other factors. The top 100 were ranked on their official website. The data came from a combination of the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI crime reports and the job posting site Indeed.com.

The results? Nine locations in the Pacific Northwest made up the top 20 best places to live as a first responder, with the four highest-ranked areas located in Oregon. The region scored high in average and comparative salary, and also boasted moderate-to-low crime rates.

The second best region to live in as a first responder was the Midwest, which tended to score very high in job availability and housing affordability. Many also had extremely low crime rates.

The highest average pay can be found in the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura metropolitan area of California, where first responders make $86,640 per year. Of the 100 best places to work, Mason City, Iowa, paid the least at $33,727 per year.

You can see the full rankings here.

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