3 Arizona Cities Named Among The 'Best Run' Cities In The U.S.
By Sarah Tate
June 26, 2023
Several cities in Arizona are among the best 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 Arizona cities that made the list and where they ranked among the rest:
- No. 26: Mesa
- No. 30: Tucson
- No. 40: Phoenix
Mesa was recognized as being as the best run city in Arizona as well as one of the best run cities in the country, despite having some of the worst air pollution of any city on the list, tying with Phoenix in that same category.
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.