My philosophy:
Whatever handgun is carried in an area of greater anticipated threat (bad area) - strive to carry that everywhere.
(Yes, even walking the dog in a "good area")
I don't do good vs bad area carry; I carry based on what
handgun I would prefer to defend myself with, regardless of location, wherever.
For example, Would a 5 shot snub be preferred to defend myself? No it would not.
Would a Glock 19 or 22 be preferred to defend myself? Yes, that would be a preferred handgun.
What criteria makes a handgun preferred? Easy to shoot quick & accurate, speed of follow up shots, capacity and concealability are all factors.
I'm safe to assume that for some the main criteria they use to select a gun for carry is pocketability and/or convenience.
They won't say as much, what typically gets posted is statistics, averages and "good area".