Best- & Worst-Run Cities in America (2023)

The past year has been a true test of the effectiveness of local leadership. City leaders have had to facilitate the transition from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic back to a state much closer to normal, including loosening restrictions and distributing the vaccine.

Even when the U.S. isn’t dealing with a pandemic, running a city is a tall order. The larger the city, the more complex it becomes to manage. In addition to representing the residents, local leaders must balance the public’s diverse interests with the city’s limited resources. That often means not everyone’s needs can or will be met. Leaders must carefully consider which services are most essential, which agencies’ budgets to cut or boost and whether and how much to raise taxes, among other decisions.

But how do we measure the effectiveness of local leadership? One way is by determining a city’s operating efficiency. In other words, we can learn how well city officials manage and spend public funds by comparing the quality of services residents receive against the city’s total budget.

Using that approach, WalletHub compared the operating efficiency of 150 of the largest U.S. cities to reveal which among them are managed best. We constructed a “Quality of Services” score made up of 38 metrics grouped into six service categories, which we then measured against the city’s per-capita budget.

Main Findings

Best-Run Cities in America

Notes: *No. 1 = Best-Run
The columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the highest quality of city services, and the smallest budget per capita, respectively.

Detailed Breakdown by City

Notes: *No. 1 = Best-Run
With the exception of the “Quality of City Services” score, all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

Ask the Experts

A well-run city isn’t just the product of efficient budgeting or lots of resources. It is the fruit of countless other decisions, too. For more insight into why some cities perform better than others, we turned to a panel of local-government, economic and diversity experts. Click on the panelists’ profiles to read their bios and thoughts on the following key questions:

1. In your opinion, what are the most important issues facing US cities today?
2. What can citizens do to increase the transparency and accountability of local government?
3. In evaluating how well a city is run, what are the top 5 indicators?
4. What can be learned from cities' responses to the COVID-19 crisis? What, in your opinion, are the areas that need improvement?
5. How can local policymakers reduce racial tensions in the wake of recent movements?

Methodology

In order to determine the best- and worst-run cities in America, WalletHub compared 150 of the most populated cities across six key categories: 1) Financial Stability, 2) Education, 3) Health, 4) Safety, 5) Economy and 6) Infrastructure & Pollution.

We evaluated those dimensions using 38 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest quality of service.

Next, we calculated an overall “Quality of City Services” score for each city based on its weighted average across all the metrics. Finally, for each city, we divided the “Quality of City Services” score by the “Total Budget per Capita” (dollar amount) in order to construct a “Score per Dollar Spent” index — displayed as “Overall Rank” in the Main Findings table above — which we then used to rank-order the cities in our sample.

The metrics used do not create a disadvantage for DC, despite its unusual status as a city/state, with the exception of the Outstanding Long-Term Debt per Capita metric. However, even with that metric removed, DC still ranks last. Thus, the District was included in this report.

Financial Stability – Total Points: 16.67

• Moody’s City Credit Rating: Quadruple Weight (~13.33 Points)
• Outstanding Long-Term Debt per Capita: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)

Education – Total Points: 16.67

• K–12 School-System Quality: Double Weight (~11.11 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the share of public schools rated by GreatSchools.org with above average score.
• High School Graduation Rate: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)

Health – Total Points: 16.67

• Infant Mortality Rate: Quadruple Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Average Life Expectancy (in Years): Quadruple Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Hospital Beds per Capita: Full Weight (~1.19 Points)
• Quality of Public Hospital System: Full Weight (~1.19 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ ranking of public hospital systems.
• Average Daily COVID-19 Deaths in the Past Week per Capita: Double Weight (~2.38 Points)
• Average Daily COVID-19 Cases in the Past Week per Capita: Double Weight (~2.38 Points)

Safety – Total Points: 16.67

• Violent Crime Rate: Quadruple Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Property Crime Rate: Quadruple Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Motor Vehicle Fatalities per Capita: Quadruple Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Share of Sheltered Homeless Persons: Full Weight (~1.19 Points)
• Perception of Safety (Safety walking alone during daylight/night): Full Weight (~1.19 Points)
  Note: These data are based on perceptions of visitors of numbeo.com website in the past 3 years.
  If the value is 0, it means it is perceived as very low, and if the value is 100, it means it is perceived as very high.
  

Economy – Total Points: 16.67

• Unemployment Rate: Triple Weight (~3.13 Points)
• Underemployment Rate: Full Weight (~1.04 Points)
• Median Annual Household Income (Adjusted for Cost of Living): Double Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Median Annual Income Growth Rate: Double Weight (~2.08 Points)
  Note: Growth compares the income level in 2020 versus in 2019.
• Annual Job Growth Rate (Adjusted for Population Growth): Double Weight (~2.08 Points)
  Note: Growth compares the number of employed civilian population in 2022 versus in 2021.
• Share of Population Living in Poverty: Double Weight (~2.08 Points)
• Growth in Number of Businesses: Full Weight (~1.04 Points)
  Note: Growth compares the number of businesses in 2019 versus in 2018.
• Change in Housing Prices: Full Weight (~1.04 Points)
  Note: Change compares the price in 2021 versus in 2014.
• Zillow Home Value 1-year Forecast: Full Weight (~1.04 Points)
  Note: The Zillow Home Value Forecast is Zillow's prediction of what the Zillow Home Value Index will be one year from now.
• Building-Permit Growth: Full Weight (~1.04 Points)
  Note: Growth spans 2018 to 2020.

Infrastructure & Pollution – Total Points: 16.67

• • Quality of Roads: Quadruple Weight (~3.03 Points)
    Note: This metric measures the share of pavements in poor condition.
  • Average Commute Time (in Minutes): Full Weight (~0.76 Points)
  • Transit Access Shed: Full Weight (~0.76 Points)
    Note: “Transit Access Shed” is the total area of land that is easily accessible from any point via public transportation.
  • Traffic Congestion: Full Weight (~0.76 Points)
  • Walk Score: Triple Weight (~2.27 Points)
    Note: “Walk Score” measures pedestrian friendliness by analyzing population density and road metrics such as block length and intersection density.
  • Bike Score: Full Weight (~0.76 Points)
    Note: “Bike Score” measures whether an area is good for biking. The Bike Score is calculated by measuring bike infrastructure (lanes, trails, etc.), hills, destinations and road connectivity, and the number of bike commuters.
  • Transit Score: Half Weight (~0.38 Points)
    Note: “Transit Score” is a patented measure of how well a location is served by public transit.
  • Recreation-Friendliness: Quadruple Weight (~3.03 Points)
    Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “” ranking.
  • Share of Residents with Access to Internet: Half Weight (~0.38 Points)
  • Water Quality: Full Weight (~0.76 Points)
  • Air Pollution: Full Weight (~0.76 Points)
  • Greenhouse-Gas Emissions per Capita: Full Weight (~0.76 Points)
  • Share of Parkland: Triple Weight (~2.27 Points)

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Council for Community and Economic Research, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Moody's Investors Service, GreatSchools.org, County Health Rankings, Health Resources and Services Administration, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Chmura Economics & Analytics, Zillow, The Road Information Program, Center for Neighborhood Technology, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Walk Score, The Trust for Public Land, INRIX, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, Numbeo, The New York Times and WalletHub research.

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