"We'll get more than a million visitors to our Web site today from all over the world," Morgan said.

And on Monday, the Safest City Awards called Phoenix the 59th most dangerous city in the United States.

The rankings compare 371 cities with populations greater than 75,000. Then, using FBI statistics on crime rates per 100,000 people from 2005, the latest year for which statistics were available, the cities are ranked.

Six crime categories were considered: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and vehicle theft.

Phoenix came in as the 313th safest, or 59th most dangerous, out of the 371, which is not bad, considering that it's the fifth-largest city in the country.

However, the largest city, New York, was the 145th safest and 227th most dangerous, substantially "safer" than Phoenix.

The FBI's 2005 report on crime in the United States shows that in raw numbers, New York City reported 54,623 violent crimes, and Phoenix reported 10,691 violent crimes for the same time period.

Because of the way they report their crime data, major cities such as Chicago and New Orleans are not included.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon was not impressed.

"Using the same statistics, Phoenix has been ranked third-, fourth- and fifth-safest," Gordon said. "It just proves that these numbers can be used to make two plus two equal five."

He said that what really mattered is that "Phoenix is a safe city, that the violent crime rate has been cut in half over the past decade and that we spend over 60 percent of our budget on public safety."

Morgan Quitno Press makes its profit by selling crunched data to university researchers and law enforcement agencies. Earlier this month, the company published its educational rankings and pronounced Arizona the dumbest state in the nation.

Morgan said that there are many different ways of measuring crime and that the purpose of the rankings is relative.

Brick Township, a city on the New Jersey shore, was rated the safest city in the rankings, while St. Louis was ranked the most dangerous.

Other Arizona cities turn up on the list: Scottsdale came in as 82nd safest, Chandler at 105, Peoria 108, Mesa 191, Yuma 215, Tempe 241 and Glendale 253.

Glendale Councilwoman Joyce Clark said that her city likes to promote the many positives, but the latest rankings are a reminder of areas that need work.

"Parts of town are in dire need of police protection and a more effective way to fight crime."

Gilbert was ranked the safest in Arizona and 22nd overall, which its mayor, Steven Berman, said was logical given the city's high per-capita income and high school graduation rates.

Berman took particular glee in the survey.

"I loved it," he said. "When I ran for office a year and a half ago, my opponent ran on a platform of how dangerous Gilbert is."