Boise is second best-run city in US, study says. Another Idaho city beat it for first

Boise’s no stranger to topped rankings lists — but it has yet to knock another Idaho city off the top of this one.

WalletHub has released its latest rankings of the “Best- & Worst- Run Cities in America”, and the results look similar to the past two years.

Two Idaho cities secured the top two spots, but Boise is the runner-up. Nampa claims the title of “best-run city” in the country, according to WalletHub.

The personal finance website looked at 150 of the largest cities in the country to determine which were being “managed best.”

Experts analyzed 38 metrics that were grouped into six categories: financial stability, education, health, safety, economy, and infrastructure and pollution.

Nampa ranked best in the country for having the lowest long-term debt outstanding per capita. Boise was third on that ranking.

Boise, however, ranked much higher than Nampa when it came to the quality of city services. Boise was third in that category, while Nampa ranked 21st.

This isn’t the first time these Idaho cities have topped this list. In 2020, the two cities were the best-run in the country, according to WalletHub. The same happened in 2021.

In 2017 and 2018, Nampa was named the best-run city in America, and Boise was third.

This year, the two Idaho cities were joined by Fort Wayne, Indiana; Nashua, New Hampshire; and Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky, in the top five.

Coming in at 150 — the worst-run city — was Washington, D.C.

This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 10:01 AM.