Atlanta ranked No. 62 on WalletHub’s list of best and worst managed cities

ATLANTA – Personal finance site WalletHub has revealed its rankings of the best and worst managed cities in America for 2024.

To assess the effectiveness of local leadership, WalletHub analyzed 148 of the largest U.S. cities based on their operational efficiency. Each city received a “Quality of Municipal Services” rating, derived from 36 key performance indicators grouped into six service categories. This score was then compared to the city’s total per capita budget.

Managing a large city presents significant challenges. Local leaders must balance diverse public interests with limited resources. They face difficult decisions about which services are most essential, which agency budgets to adjust, and how much local taxes to levy, among other considerations.

The six categories:

Financial stability – Total points: 16.67

Education – Total points: 16.67

Health – Total points: 16.67

• Health looked at the infant mortality rate, average life expectancy in years, hospital beds per capita and the quality of the public hospital system.

Safety – Total points: 16.67

• Safety looked at the violent crime rate, property crime rate, motor vehicle-related deaths per capita, share of sheltered homeless and perception of safety.

Economy – Total points: 16.67

• The economy looked at unemployment rate, underemployment rate, median annual household income, median annual income growth rate, annual employment growth rate, share of population living in poverty, growth in the number of businesses, changes in housing prices, Zillow home values ​​over 1 year. , Growth in building permits.

Infrastructure and pollution – Total points: 16.67

• Infrastructure and Pollution looked at road quality, average travel time, transit access shed, traffic congestion, walking score, cycling score, transit score, friendliness of leisure activities, the share of residents with access to the Internet, water quality, air pollution, greenhouse gases. Emissions per capita and share of parks.

Atlanta ranked 62nd overall:

Top 10 best managed cities

1. Nampa, Indiana

2. Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky

3. Boise, Idaho

4. Nashua, NH

5. Oklahoma City, OK

6. Durham, North Carolina

7. Provo, UT

8. Fort Wayne, Indiana

9. Sioux Falls, South Dakota

10. Wichita, Kansas

Top 10 worst managed cities

1. Los Angeles, California

2. Detroit, Michigan

3. Denver, Colorado

4. Tacoma, Washington

5. Cleveland, Ohio

6. Flint, Michigan

7. New York, New York

8. Gulfport, Mississippi

9. Oakland, California

10. San Francisco, California

The best against the worst

• Nampa, Idaho: Outstanding long-term debt per capita is the lowest, 57.5 times lower than San Francisco, California, which has the highest.

• Warwick, Rhode Island: Fewest violent crimes per 1,000 residents, 31.9 times less than Memphis, Tennessee, which has the most.

• Miami and Hialeah, Florida: Lowest unemployment rate, 6.4 times lower than Flint, Michigan, which has the highest unemployment rate.

• Fremont, California: Proportion of population living in poverty lowest, 6.3 times lower than Flint, Michigan, which has the highest.

Other Georgia Ranking Stories

These rankings highlight the varying degrees of success cities have in managing their resources and providing services to their residents.