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

Photo by Luca Florio from Unsplash

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.

Next, WalletHub calculated an overall “Quality of City Services” score for each city based on its weighted average across all the metrics. Finally, for each city, researchers divided the “Quality of City Services” score by the “Total Budget per Capita” (dollar amount) to construct a “Score per Dollar Spent” index — displayed as “Overall Rank” in the Main Findings table above — which they then used to rank-order the cities in our sample.