PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Salem is one of the best-run cities in America, according to a recently released report.
WalletHub, a personal-finance website, published its report Tuesday on 2022’s Best- & Worst-Run Cities in America.
For its research on the effectiveness of local leadership, WalletHub compared 150 of the largest U.S. cities based on their operating efficiency. Each city received a “Quality of City Services” score, which was determined by 38 key performance indicators that were grouped into six service categories.
Those categories include financial stability, education, health, safety, economy, and infrastructure and pollution. Each of the 38 metrics in these categories was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest quality of service.
That score was then measured against the city’s total per-capita budget.
With all factors considered, Salem, Oregon was ranked as the 18th best-run city in America.
Salem received a “Quality of City Services” score of 24 and its total budget per capita ranked 26th among the 150 cities.
Salem scored highest in the categories of financial stability and education.
Eugene ranked 51st in the list of cities and Portland ranked 67th.
The full report, including a detailed description of the methodology, is available to read at WalletHub.com.
Below are the top 20 best-run cities, according to the report:
- Nampa, ID
- Boise, ID
- Fort Wayne, IN
- Nashua, NH
- Lexington-Fayette, KY
- Lincoln, NE
- Las Cruces, NM
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Missoula, MT
- Durham, NC
- Virginia Beach, VA
- Rapid City, SD
- Raleigh, NC
- Billings, MT
- Provo, UT
- Chesapeake, VA
- Sioux Falls, SD
- Salem, OR
- Manchester, NH
- Mesa, AZ