SOCIETY & CULTURE NEWS

San Francisco, New York still among the worst-run cities in America

by Chris Melore
June 18, 2024

WASHINGTON — Whether you’re on the East Coast or the West Coast, a new survey has found one thing in common: the biggest cities are some of the worst-run places in America. In an updated study of how efficiently the country’s biggest metropolitan areas are operating, the nation’s biggest and most famous cities continue to finish near the bottom of the list.

According to researchers at WalletHub, San Francisco, California ranks as the worst-run big city in the United States. The analysis of America’s 148 largest cities looked at several factors that measure the efficiency and prosperity of an entire city. This includes looking at the quality of city services, the budget local leaders have available for each resident, crime, pollution, education quality, road quality, and even the debt cities are carrying.

America�s most famous cities hit rock bottom

San Fran finished last in terms of budget per capita, debt per capita, and was among the worst cities in the country in terms of road quality. Moreover, it turns out that anywhere you go in California, you�ll likely have a bumpy ride. The six cities with the worst roads in WalletHub�s report are all in the Golden State (Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, Anaheim, Long Beach, and Los Angeles).

Oakland, California (147th), Gulfport, Mississippi (146th), New York City (145th), and Flint, Michigan (144th) round out the bottom five in the 2024 rankings. Other notable big cities near the bottom include Los Angeles (139th), Philadelphia (138th), Chicago (137th), and Baltimore (126th).

The news is particularly bad for San Francisco and New York, which are still among Wallethub�s worst-run cities for the third straight year. In 2022, the two cities finished in the bottom three, just ahead of Washington, D.C. � which was not part of this year�s survey.

Other cities dealing with poverty and pollution

When it comes to poverty, the survey finds cities near the middle of the country have been hit the hardest. Flint, Michigan has the highest percentage of the population living in poverty. Flint was followed by Gary, Indiana, Detroit, and Cleveland.

As for air pollution, states out west may want to stay indoors. Researchers say Riverside, California has the worst air pollution in the country, followed by Phoenix, Arizona; Mesa, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Las Vegas; and Denver.

Who�s the best at running cities?

At the opposite end of the spectrum, smaller cities seem to produce bigger results for their residents. Nampa, Idaho, finished the 2024 survey as the best-run city in America. Researchers found that Nampa has the highest median annual income growth in the country, at 17%. The city also has the sixth-lowest property crime rate and the 22nd-lowest violent crime rate.

Rounding out the top five best-run cities in 2024 are Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky (2nd), Boise, Idaho (3rd), Nashua, New Hampshire (4th), and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (5th).

�The best-run cities in America use their budgets most effectively to provide high-quality financial security, education, health, safety, and transportation to their residents. Many of the top cities also have a very low amount of outstanding government debt per capita, which can prevent financial troubles in the future,� explains WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe in a statement.

Best-Run Cities in America

Overall Rank* City Quality of City Services Rank Total Budget per Capita Rank
1 Nampa, ID 45 1
2 Lexington-Fayette, KY 41 2
3 Boise, ID 4 4
4 Nashua, NH 3 13
5 Oklahoma City, OK 58 6
6 Durham, NC 16 20
7 Provo, UT 6 29
8 Fort Wayne, IN 49 11
9 Sioux Falls, SD 29 16
10 Wichita, KS 98 5
11 Raleigh, NC 12 33
12 Columbus, GA 83 8
13 Warwick, RI 37 19
14 Las Cruces, NM 85 7
15 Missoula, MT 59 15
16 Billings, MT 87 9
17 Huntington, WV 105 10
18 Manchester, NH 38 27
19 Bismarck, ND 25 35
20 Baton Rouge, LA 139 3
21 Madison, WI 14 41
22 Virginia Beach, VA 1 53
23 Grand Rapids, MI 33 31
24 Lincoln, NE 27 34
25 Mesa, AZ 51 28
26 Rapid City, SD 115 12
27 Greensboro, NC 70 23
28 Aurora, IL 32 40
29 Tulsa, OK 81 25
30 Warren, MI 69 30
31 Tucson, AZ 112 17
32 Chesapeake, VA 8 61
33 Phoenix, AZ 55 38
34 Topeka, KS 109 24
35 Cedar Rapids, IA 47 42
36 St. Petersburg, FL 36 50
37 Albuquerque, NM 119 22
38 Worcester, MA 28 57
39 Reno, NV 52 48
40 Lewiston, ME 93 37
41 Salem, OR 46 55
42 Jacksonville, FL 68 45
43 Mobile, AL 94 39
44 Corpus Christi, TX 86 43
45 Portland, ME 10 80
46 Colorado Springs, CO 61 54
47 Las Vegas, NV 35 66
48 El Paso, TX 42 61
49 Fort Worth, TX 80 46
50 Arlington, TX 48 60
51 Columbia, SC 44 67
52 Little Rock, AR 123 32
53 Charleston, SC 7 91
54 Bridgeport, CT 91 47
55 Eugene, OR 34 73
56 Louisville, KY 104 49
57 Casper, WY 90 51
58 Hialeah, FL 18 88
59 Fargo, ND 64 64
60 Providence, RI 95 52
61 Frederick, MD 5 100
62 Miami, FL 15 93
63 Montgomery, AL 126 36
64 Toledo, OH 141 21
65 Huntington Beach, CA 2 110
66 Tallahassee, FL 65 71
67 Boston, MA 9 103
68 Dover, DE 82 69
69 Aurora, CO 89 65
70 Spokane, WA 66 74
71 Garland, TX 60 79
72 Omaha, NE 50 83
73 Columbus, OH 73 76
74 Springfield, MA 108 68
75 Anchorage, AK 88 72
76 Fort Smith, AR 135 44
77 Fairbanks, AK 120 56
78 Shreveport, LA 143 26
79 San Diego, CA 13 116
80 Des Moines, IA 67 86
81 Portland, OR 22 111
82 Tampa, FL 20 114
83 Gary, IN 146 18
84 Santa Ana, CA 43 99
85 Houston, TX 102 75
86 Rutland, VT 122 63
87 Orlando, FL 21 115
88 Akron, OH 92 82
89 Austin, TX 11 122
90 St. Paul, MN 56 102
91 Jackson, MS 147 14
92 Milwaukee, WI 133 58
93 Indianapolis, IN 111 78
94 San Antonio, TX 63 101
95 Richmond, VA 101 90
96 Minneapolis, MN 54 112
97 Dallas, TX 107 95
98 Norfolk, VA 121 85
99 Cincinnati, OH 106 98
100 Fremont, CA 19 128
101 Burlington, VT 71 113
102 Atlanta, GA 62 117
103 Dayton, OH 118 89
104 Anaheim, CA 78 109
105 Lubbock, TX 97 106
106 Wilmington, DE 99 105
107 Charleston, WV 132 81
108 Birmingham, AL 129 84
109 Buffalo, NY 76 119
110 Bakersfield, CA 125 92
111 San Jose, CA 23 134
112 Syracuse, NY 84 120
113 Charlotte, NC 26 135
114 Pittsburgh, PA 40 132
115 Kansas City, MO 127 94
116 Modesto, CA 96 121
117 New Haven, CT 128 96
118 Knoxville, TN 72 125
119 Stockton, CA 137 87
120 New Orleans, LA 140 77
121 Fort Lauderdale, FL 53 131
122 St. Louis, MO 145 59
123 Seattle, WA 17 140
124 Nashville, TN 117 118
125 Cheyenne, WY 77 126
126 Baltimore, MD 130 108
127 Rochester, NY 75 129
128 Hartford, CT 136 104
129 Fresno, CA 114 123
130 Salt Lake City, UT 39 141
131 Kansas City, KS 138 107
132 Yonkers, NY 31 142
133 Riverside, CA 110 133
134 Memphis, TN 142 97
135 Long Beach, CA 74 139
136 Sacramento, CA 100 137
137 Chicago, IL 131 124
138 Philadelphia, PA 124 130
139 Los Angeles, CA 57 144
140 Detroit, MI 148 70
141 Denver, CO 79 143
142 Tacoma, WA 113 138
143 Cleveland, OH 134 136
144 Flint, MI 144 127
145 New York, NY 30 147
146 Gulfport, MS 116 145
147 Oakland, CA 103 146
148 San Francisco, CA 24 148
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.

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.

Researchers 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.