IDAHO’s Nampa and Boise nabbed the tops spots in a new ranking of the best run cities in the Unites States, while major metropolitan areas like New York City, San Francisco and DC fell short.
The list, put together by WalletHub, compared the operating efficiency of 150 of the largest cities in the country.
Nampa, Idaho, took the top spot on the list of best run cities in the US[/caption]
Washington, DC, came is last place[/caption]
The site defined operating efficiency as “how well city officials manage and spend public funds,” and came up with the list by “comparing the quality of services residents receive against the city’s total budget.”
The best-run cities, according to the ranking, were Nampa and Boise in the top two spots, followed by Provo in Utah, Las Cruces in New Mexico and Durham in North Carolina to round out the top five.
New York City, San Francisco and DC all fell in the bottom five out of the 150 ranked cities, with DC coming in last place.
Major cities Detroit and Chicago both landed in the bottom 10 as well.
The Big Apple didn’t do so hot on the list of best run cities, either[/caption]
To put the list together, WalletHub came up with a “Quality of Services” score – which was made up of 38 metrics divided into six categories.
The six categories – financial stability, education, health, safety, economy and infrastructure & pollution – were then measured against the city’s per-capita budget.
Some of the key metrics WalletHub looked at were long-term outstanding debt per capita, high school graduation rates, infant mortality rates, violent crime rates, unemployment rates, median household incomes, percentages of populations in poverty, quality of roads and air pollution.
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When asked why some cities rank so much higher than others, Christy Smith, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Public Administration at University of New Haven, explained that some cities on the list have greater access to experienced and qualified staff – and that can make a big difference.
“Some of the better-run cities have more financial and administrative capacity – they have greater access to financial resources, and they have sufficient levels of staff that are educated and skilled,” Smith said. “Public organizations often cut staff first when they are faced with budget shortfalls, but having enough staff can be a huge factor in how well the city functions.”
