Provo ranked as one of the best-run cities in America

Scott Lewis
·2 min read
2

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — By looking at metrics like the quality of city services and total city budget per capita, Wallethub ranked Provo, Utah, as the seventh best-run city in America in a study released June 18.

The only other Utah city to make the list was Salt Lake City, which ranked 130th. A pair of Idaho cities, however, topped the list. Nampa, Idaho, was named the best-run city in America, while Boise, Idaho, came in third.

Source: WalletHub

“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,” said Wallethub analyst Cassandra Happe. “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.”

WalletHub compared 148 of the largest U.S. cities based on their operating efficiency. For each city, WalletHub calculated a “Quality of City Services” score – comprising 36 key performance indicators grouped into six service categories – and compared that score against the city’s total per-capita budget.

Cities were ranked on the list according to the following criteria:

  • Financial stability (Provo’s ranking: 27th)

    • Moody’s City Credit Rating

    • Outstanding long-term debt per capita

  • Education (Provo’s ranking: 24th)

    • K-12 school system quality

    • High school graduation rate

  • Health (Provo’s ranking: 34th)

    • Infant mortality rate

    • Average life expectancy in years

    • Hospital beds per capita

    • Quality of public hospital systems (based on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rankings)

  • Safety (Provo’s ranking: 6th)

    • Violent crime rate

    • Property crime rate

    • Motor vehicle fatalities per capita

    • Share of sheltered homeless persons

    • Perception of safety

  • Economy (Provo’s ranking: 64th)

    • Unemployment rate

    • Underemployment rate

    • Median annual household income (adjusted for cost of living)

    • Median annual income growth rate

    • Annual job growth rate

    • Share of the population living in poverty

    • Growth in the number of businesses

    • Change in housing prices

    • Zillow home values

    • Building permit growth

  • Infrastructure & Pollution (Provo’s ranking: 62nd)

    • Quality of roads

    • Average commute times

    • Transit access shed (total area of land easily accessible from any point by public transportation

    • Traffic congestion

    • Walk Score (measuring pedestrian friendliness)

    • Bike Score

    • Public transit score

    • Recreation friendliness

    • Share of residents with access to the internet

    • Water quality

    • Air pollution

    • Greenhouse Gas emissions per capita

    • Share of park land

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