People move to new areas or cities for many reasons, whether for new job opportunities or for better peace of mind. Another emerging factor is how well a city is managed by officials. More and more cities are developing a reputation for how city leaders handle laws, infrastructure, crime, and other pressing issues.
If you're curious about what direction American cities are going, WalletHub compiled a list of the best and worst-run cities. A popular destination in South Florida ranked among the worst ones, and that's Fort Lauderdale. It ranked No. 113 out of 149.
Other Florida cities got some kudos from researchers. Miami and Hialeah were among the cities with the lowest unemployment rates. Meanwhile, Tallahassee was named one of the top cities with great-quality roads and high rates of high school graduation.
Here are the Top 10 best-run cities in America, according to WalletHub:
- Nampa, Idaho
- Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky
- Nashua, New Hampshire
- Boise, Idaho
- Provo, Utah
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Las Cruces, New Mexico
- Missoula, Montana
Researchers also outlined how they determined their rankings:
"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 149 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."