6 Ohio Cities Named Among The 'Worst Run' Cities In The U.S.
By Sarah Tate
June 26, 2023
Several cities in Ohio 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 Ohio cities that made the list and where the ranked among the rest:
- No. 80: Akron
- No. 92: Columbus
- No. 103: Dayton
- No. 108: Cincinnati
- No. 112: Toledo
- No. 146: Cleveland
Akron may be the best run Ohio city on the list, but it still ranked in the bottom half of the list. Cleveland, however, is among the worst run cities in the entire country, ranking No. 146 overall out of 149 cities with some of the highest percentage of population in poverty and lowest median annual household income (cost of living-adjusted).
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.