The Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metropolitan area is the 17th safest city for children in the United States, according to a detailed statistical analysis conducted by consumer research company ValuePenguin. Barnstable Town, Mass., ranked first as the safest city, followed closely by Trenton, N. J.

The study analyzed 200 cities or statistical metropolitan areas according to 18 key points related to safety, schools and community. Safety factors that were considered included rates of violent crimes and burglaries and the presence of police officers. Schools were evaluated on the basis of enrollments, preschool programs, class sizes and graduation rates. Community characteristics were judged according to the percentage of poverty, availability of health insurance, and access to child care, libraries and cultural and recreation centers.

Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton ranked 17th overall, but 27th in safety, 82nd for schools and 29th for community. Pittsburgh placed next overall among Pennsylvania cities at 29, followed by Harrisburg-Carlisle at 52 and Reading at 69. The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area came in 89th, and Lancaster was the lowest listed Pennsylvania city at 106.

Except for ABE and Pittsburgh, the other six Pennsylvania cities in the study ranked 102 or lower when it came to schools.

In terms of graduation rates, the Bethlehem Press did some research of its own. Based on the five-year cohort report for 2014-15, Pennsylvania, with a high school graduation rate of 87.1 percent, is ahead of the national average of 81 percent. Easton and Bethlehem rates at 85.9 and 85.7, respectively, are higher than the nation, but lower than the entire state.

Allentown’s graduation rate, according to the cohort report, stood at 68.7 percent – well behind the other averages.

Another dimension of the study measured how completely the overall urban environment supports kids, including keeping them free from poverty. In its report, ValuePenquin wrote, “according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 21.7 percent of the population under the age of 18 is living in poverty. That number rises to 24.5 percent for children under age 5. The Census Bureau sets the poverty threshold for a household with two adults and two children at $24,036.”

According to the 2015 census, on which much of the ValuePenguin study is based, the percentage of residents with incomes below the poverty level in Pennsylvania is 17.0 percent. For Allentown, the rate is 34.4 percent; Bethlehem, 19.2 percent; and Easton, 24.5.