Ranking It

Here's where Houston ranks among the best-run cities in America

Houston lands right in the middle of a new ranking of the country's best-run cities. Photo by Shobeir Ansari, Getty Images

While the spotlight might be on national politics, most people see the work of the government best at the local level. It's in that spirit that a new study ranks the best- and worst-run cities in the country, placing Houston in the middle of the pack.

Personal finance website WalletHub compared 150 of the largest cities in the U.S. to determine which are the best and worst managed for 2019, ranking Houston 73rd nationally.

The site measured each city's operating efficiency by looking at its total budget per capita and the quality of its city services (broken down into six categories). Houston comes in at No. 71 for budget and No. 86 for services.

Among the individual quality of service categories, H-Town ranks 44th in education, 59th in health, 61st in infrastructure and pollution, and 67th in economy. But it's near the bottom for safety (106th) and financial stability (117th).

The best-run city in Texas is Arlington at No. 27, followed by Fort Worth at No. 51. Texas' other major cities land lower. Austin ranks 72nd nationwide, just ahead of Houston, while San Antonio comes in at No. 89 and Dallas places at No. 93. When looking only at the quality of city services, however, Austin ranks first in Texas and 10th in the nation.

The best-run city in the country is Nampa, Idaho. Last on the list, ironically, is Washington, D.C.

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This story originally appeared on CultureMap.

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