With districts voting for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives this year and major mayoral elections coming up in cities like San Francisco and Washington, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2018’s Best- & Worst-Run Cities in America.
To determine the effectiveness of local leadership, WalletHub compared 150 of the largest U.S. cities based on their operating efficiency. For each city, WalletHub constructed a “Quality of City Services” score – comprising 35 key performance indicators grouped into six service categories – that was then measured against the city’s total per-capita budget.
| Top 20 Best-Run Cities in America | |||||
| 1 | Nampa, ID | 11 | Las Cruces, NM | ||
| 2 | Provo, UT | 12 | Greensboro, NC | ||
| 3 | Boise, ID | 13 | Cedar Rapids, IA | ||
| 4 | Lexington, KY | 14 | Huntington Beach, CA | ||
| 5 | Missoula, MT | 15 | Billings, MT | ||
| 6 | Sioux Falls, SD | 16 | Raleigh, NC | ||
| 7 | Durham, NC | 17 | Rapid City, SD | ||
| 8 | Lewiston, ME | 18 | Fort Wayne, IN | ||
| 9 | Nashua, NH | 19 | Fargo, ND | ||
| 10 | Oklahoma City, OK | 20 | Virginia Beach, VA | ||
Best vs. Worst
- Casper, Wyoming, has the lowest long-term debt outstanding per capita, $657, which is 33.3 times lower than in Washington, the city with the highest at $21,862.
- Rutland, Vermont, has the fewest violent crimes (per 1,000 residents), 0.50, which is 40.9 times fewer than in Detroit, the city with the most at 20.47.
- Fargo, North Dakota, has the lowest unemployment rate, 2.1 percent, which is 4.9 times lower than in Flint, Michigan, the city with the highest at 10.3 percent.
- Fremont, California, has the lowest share of the population living in poverty, 5.3 percent, which is 7.9 times lower than in Flint, Michigan, the city with the highest at 41.9 percent.
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-run-cities/22869/
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