A couple of cities in Missouri are among the worst run cities in the country based on a new report ranking U.S. cities' local governmental efficacy.
WalletHub looked at nearly 150 of the country's largest cities to see which are well-run machines that are best at serving its constituents and which could use a bit of work. According to the site:
"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."
These are the Missouri cities that made the list and where the ranked among the rest:
- No. 100: St. Louis
- No. 102: Kansas City
Both cities fared about the same, both ranking among the worst run cities in the country after receiving low marks in quality of city services. Additionally, St. Louis has some of the highest rates of violent crime in the U.S., based on the report, tying with cities like Detroit and Memphis.
Here are the 10 best run cities in the U.S.:
- 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
To determine the list, WalletHub compared 149 cities using six factors: financial stability, education, health, safety, economy and infrastructure & pollution. These factors were then evaluated across 36 relevant metrics, including outstanding long-term debt per capita, high school graduation rate, infant mortality rate, average life expectancy (in years), quality of public hospital system, violent crime rate, shared of sheltered homeless persons, unemployment rate, share of population living in poverty, quality of roads, traffic congestion, walk score, water quality, air pollution and many more.
Check out WalletHub's full report to see more of the best and worst run cities in the country.