Lexington ranks sixth in country in efficiency: Wallethub

Steve Rogers,

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – It’s the kind of ranking that’s likely to end up in a variety of promotional materials. And with all the region has been through since March, it’s the kind of good news that makes the community want to puff out its chest a little.

That’s especially true for local leaders who are having to balance the demand for services and difficult health and safety decisions with trying to please a restless public that’s been cooped up for more than three months.

And he larger the city, the more complex it becomes to manage. That often means not everyone’s needs can or will be met.

To make matters worse, it’s often not easy to measure the effectiveness of local leadership. Wallethub, the online financial advice and analysis site, has tried by developing a matrix to evaluate a city’s operating efficiency.

That means reviewing how well city officials manage and spend public funds by comparing the quality of services residents receive against the city’s total budget.

Using that approach, WalletHub compared the operating efficiency of 150 of the largest U.S. cities to reveal which among them are managed best. The site constructed a “Quality of Services” score made up of 38 metrics grouped into six service categories, which we then measured against the city’s per-capita budget, according to a company press release announcing a new survey which ranks Lexington sixth overall in the country.

To determine the effectiveness of local leadership, WalletHub compared 150 of the largest U.S. cities based on their operating efficiency. For each city, WalletHub constructed a “Quality of City Services” score – comprising 38 key performance indicators grouped into six service categories – that was then measured against the city’s total per-capita budget.

Based on the metrics, Lexington ranked:

  • 56th – Financial Stability
  • 16th – Education
  • 49th – Health
  • 45th – Safety
  • 140th – Economy
  • 138th – Infrastructure & Pollution
  • 4th – Total Budget per Capita
  • 18th – WalletHub “States Offering the Most Coronavirus Support” Score

The totals led to the sixth-place overall ranking. The top 150 are:

Overall Rank (1=Best) City ‘Quality of City Services’ Rank ‘Total Budget per Capita’ Rank
1 Nampa, ID 74 1
2 Boise, ID 5 2
3 Provo, UT 4 3
4 Las Cruces, NM 30 9
5 Durham, NC 37 10
6 Lexington-Fayette, KY 69 4
7 Missoula, MT 55 6
8 Fort Wayne, IN 46 12
9 Virginia Beach, VA 2 40
10 Nashua, NH 15 30
11 Sioux Falls, SD 20 28
12 Greensboro, NC 65 16
13 Lewiston, ME 56 18
14 Cedar Rapids, IA 29 26
15 Billings, MT 93 11
16 Chesapeake, VA 11 36
17 Columbus, GA 109 7
18 Huntington Beach, CA 1 59
19 Rapid City, SD 87 13
20 Oklahoma City, OK 82 14
21 Louisville, KY 78 17
22 Raleigh, NC 33 32
23 Fargo, ND 26 34
24 Mesa, AZ 67 22
25 Albuquerque, NM 117 5
26 Lincoln, NE 14 51
27 Salt Lake City, UT 25 41
28 Arlington, TX 49 33
29 Salem, OR 75 27
30 Madison, WI 21 54
31 Aurora, IL 40 39
32 Bismarck, ND 8 65
33 Portland, ME 9 64
34 Phoenix, AZ 63 38
35 Warren, MI 88 29
36 Grand Rapids, MI 31 53
37 Tulsa, OK 113 19
38 Tucson, AZ 111 20
39 Manchester, NH 44 48
40 El Paso, TX 66 42
41 Topeka, KS 107 23
42 Warwick, RI 57 46
43 Corpus Christi, TX 83 37
44 St. Petersburg, FL 62 47
45 Reno, NV 68 48
46 Las Vegas, NV 39 58
47 Charleston, SC 23 67
48 Huntington, WV 131 15
49 Worcester, MA 45 61
50 Aurora, CO 36 69
51 Fort Worth, TX 80 57
52 Wichita, KS 125 24
53 Spokane, WA 58 63
54 Dover, DE 101 45
55 Fairbanks, AK 92 55
56 Colorado Springs, CO 64 66
57 Springfield, MA 99 50
58 Des Moines, IA 59 68
59 Fort Smith, AR 122 31
60 Eugene, OR 41 73
61 Baton Rouge, LA 139 21
62 Mobile, AL 123 35
63 Portland, OR 12 96
64 Rutland, VT 50 78
65 Boston, MA 3 104
66 Dayton, OH 95 62
67 Santa Ana, CA 47 79
68 St. Paul, MN 24 84
69 Gary, IN 141 25
70 Hialeah, FL 48 80
71 Little Rock, AR 128 43
72 Houston, TX 89 71
73 Omaha, NE 42 87
74 San Diego, CA 17 107
75 Anchorage, AK 90 75
76 Fremont, CA 6 117
77 Akron, OH 106 70
78 Austin, TX 16 110
79 Frederick, MD 7 119
80 Tallahassee, FL 81 83
81 Charleston, WV 134 52
82 Jackson, MS 148 8
83 Miami, FL 38 100
84 Casper, WY 79 85
85 Burlington, VT 18 113
86 Montgomery, AL 142 44
87 Toledo, OH 130 60
88 Tampa, FL 35 109
89 Minneapolis, MN 28 111
90 Columbia, SC 120 72
91 San Jose, CA 13 123
92 Orlando, FL 54 102
93 Providence, RI 116 77
94 Columbus, OH 86 92
95 Norfolk, VA 97 89
96 San Antonio, TX 73 103
97 Bridgeport, CT 103 91
98 Richmond, VA 71 108
99 Dallas, TX 104 93
100 Bakersfield, CA 102 97
101 Indianapolis, IN 110 90
102 Garland, TX 84 105
103 Jacksonville, FL 129 74
104 Fort Lauderdale, FL 61 116
105 Anaheim, CA 32 124
106 Nashville, TN 115 94
107 Shreveport, LA 147 56
108 Cincinnati, OH 77 113
109 Lubbock, TX 112 101
110 Kansas City, MO 119 98
111 Milwaukee, WI 126 86
112 New Orleans, LA 137 81
113 Charlotte, NC 52 126
114 Seattle, WA 10 139
115 Pittsburgh, PA 60 127
116 Fresno, CA 132 88
117 Buffalo, NY 91 121
118 Stockton, CA 144 76
119 Wilmington, DE 108 118
120 Denver, CO 53 132
121 Knoxville, TN 76 128
122 Birmingham, AL 138 95
123 Syracuse, NY 93 125
124 Sacramento, CA 72 133
125 Modesto, CA 114 122
126 Long Beach, CA 27 141
127 New Haven, CT 118 120
128 Baltimore, MD 127 111
129 Riverside, CA 98 134
130 Rochester, NY 96 136
131 Yonkers, NY 51 142
132 Atlanta, GA 100 135
133 Kansas City, KS 145 106
134 Los Angeles, CA 43 144
135 Philadelphia, PA 121 130
136 Cheyenne, WY 105 140
137 Tacoma, WA 85 143
138 Memphis, TN 146 115
139 Cleveland, OH 133 131
140 St. Louis, MO 150 82
141 Flint, MI 140 129
142 Chicago, IL 136 137
143 Detroit, MI 149 99
144 Oakland, CA 70 147
145 Hartford, CT 143 138
146 New York, NY 19 148
147 Chattanooga, TN 124 145
148 Gulfport, MS 135 146
149 San Francisco, CA 22 149
150 Washington, DC 34 150
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