Best- & Worst-Run Cities in America in 2025

The past year has been a true test of the effectiveness of local leadership. City leaders have had to deal with economic difficulties like high inflation, as well as other issues such as mass shootings with over 500 reported in 2024, keeping gun crime in the political spotlight.

Even during less difficult times, 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 the services residents receive against the city’s total budget.

Using that approach, WalletHub compared the operating efficiency of 148 of the largest U.S. cities to reveal which among them are managed best. We constructed a “Quality of Services” score made up of 36 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.

In-Depth Look at the Best-Run Cities

Provo, UT

Provo, UT, is the best-run city, and the reasons for that are that the city is experiencing business growth of around 5.2%, alongside a high school graduation rate of nearly 91%, a combination that signals a strong foundation for the future.

Provo is also a city that is safe and keeps its infrastructure well-maintained. It has the fourth-lowest violent crime rate in the country, the seventh-lowest property crime rate, and the 22nd-best road quality in the country.

Finally, with median household income growing at nearly 8.4% and an impressively low unemployment rate of 2.8%, eighth-lowest in the U.S., Provo’s economic momentum is hard to ignore.

Nampa, ID

Nampa, ID, is the second-best-run city in America, and one reason for that is that its government debt level is extremely low. The city’s long-term outstanding debt per capita is just $478 – compare that to the top cities where the number is in the $23k-$33k range.

Nampa is also a safe city, with the lowest property-crime rate and the 25th-lowest violent crime rate in the country.

To top things off, Nampa does very well economically. It has the 19th-highest median annual income growth in the country, at over 7%. It’s also among the top cities when it comes to growth in the number of businesses and has the 13th lowest poverty rate in the country.

Manchester, NH

Manchester, NH, is the third-best-run city, and one way that shows it is in how clean the environment is with the seventh-lowest air pollution. Its residents are also doing very well financially. For example, the city has the seventh-highest forecasted 1-year change in the median home value, and a low share of residents living below poverty.

In addition, Manchester is a safe city, with the 15th-lowest property crime rate and 28th-lowest violent crime rate in the country. It also has the seventh-smallest traffic congestion, and the 15th-lowest unemployment rate in the country.

Detailed Breakdown by City

Notes: *No. 1 = Best-Run
With the exception of “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 U.S. 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 are the areas that need improvement when it comes to cities’ emergency preparedness and response?
5. How can local policymakers reduce racial tensions in the wake of recent movements?

Ask the Experts

Luke Fowler
Professor, School of Public Service - Boise State University
Read More

John L. Campbell
Class of 1925 Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology - Dartmouth College
Read More

Chad R. Miller
Ph.D., Professor of Economic Development, Master of Science of Economic Development Program, College of Business & Economic Development - University of Southern Mississippi
Read More

Don Vaughan
Adjunct Professor of Law and Attorney and Counselor at Law, Donald R. Vaughan and Associates - Wake Forest University - School of Law
Read More

Ronald O. Loveridge
University of California, Riverside Political Science Department (1965-); Mayor of Riverside (1994-2012); President of California League of Cities (2004) and National League of Cities (2010); Fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration (2010)
Read More

Cleopatra Charles
Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration – Rutgers University
Read More

More Experts

Methodology

In order to determine the best- and worst-run cities in America, WalletHub compared 148 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 36 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.

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 (~6.67 Points)
• Average Life Expectancy (in Years): Quadruple Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Hospital Beds per Capita: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)
• Quality of Public Hospital System: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ ranking of public hospital systems.

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 2023 versus in 2022.
• Annual Job Growth Rate (Adjusted for Population Growth): Double Weight (~2.08 Points)
  Note: Growth compares the number of employed civilian population in 2025 versus in 2024.
• 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 2022 versus in 2021.
• Change in Housing Prices: Full Weight (~1.04 Points)
  Note: Change compares the price in 2024 versus in 2020.
• 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 2021 to 2023.

Infrastructure & Pollution – Total Points: 16.67

• Quality of Roads: Quadruple Weight (~3.03 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the share of major roads in poor and mediocre 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 “Best & Worst Cities for Recreation” 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 as of April 28, 2025 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 and WalletHub research.

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