Living up to its Happy Valley nickname, State College was ranked the No. 1 safest small city, according to a poll published on MSN's Web site this weekend.

Sperling's BestPlaces, a research group in Portland, Ore., collected the data from an annual FBI crime report.

The statistics were gathered from 331 metropolitan areas and separated into large, medium and small categories.

The small category includes cities with a population of less than 200,000. State College was ranked safest of all 117 small metropolitan areas.

Bert Sperling, Sperling's BestPlaces president, explained that a metropolitan area consists of a town of at least 50,000 and the surrounding area, meaning the university's crime statistics were included in the report.

"State College very often ranks well," Sperling said.

"It's a very livable town, and the college makes it a very exciting and vibrant community."

Mayor Bill Welch said he is skeptical of all such polls but was happy the poll mentioned State College in a positive light.

"I think it helps put into perspective the more visible incidents our community has been experiencing," Welch said.

The rankings are determined from seven crime categories: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft.

State College ranked particularly low in burglary and auto theft.

The No. 1 title for safety leaves some hesitant, however.

Diana Chiang (junior-journalism) said she was skeptical to believe State College was really ranked as the safest small city.

"Given all the recent assaults, I'm not sure if that is really accurate, especially since so many rapes go unreported," Chiang said.

Lt. Diane Conrad of the State College Police Department said the area's crime rate is low compared to other college towns.

"There's a lot of good communication in our area, which is a good thing," Conrad said. "But when you hear about incidents all the time, you might think the crime rate is higher than it really is."

Bill Moerschbacher of the Penn State University Police said the safety rating was something to be proud of, but members of the community should still make cautious decisions.

"We should be happy with the rating, but these things can create a false sense of security," Moerschbacher said.

This poll comes just months after one published by Morgan Quitno Press ranked State College the ninth safest metropolitan area, regardless of size.

"I believe that most people feel safe in this community," Welch said.