California Cities Rank Low in New Study of U.S. Metropolitan Areas

A recent study has placed several major California cities near the bottom of the rankings for well-managed urban areas in the U.S.

WalletHub analyzed 148 of the largest metropolitan areas, evaluating how effectively local governments operate these cities.

This analysis produced a ‘quality of service’ score, based on a set of 36 indicators across six critical domains: financial stability, education, health, safety, economy, infrastructure, and pollution.

Notably, no California cities made it into the top 25. Six, however, were found in the bottom 15, with San Francisco coming in dead last, marking its lowest ranking since last year.

Following San Francisco was Oakland at 145th, Fresno at 141st, Long Beach at 140th, Stockton at 137th, and Los Angeles at 136th.

Additional California cities that fared poorly include Riverside (131), Sacramento (128), San Jose (127), Bakersfield (125), Anaheim (118), Santa Ana (115), Modesto (114), San Diego (110), and Fremont (88).

Interestingly, the only California city to rank in the upper half of the list was Huntington Beach, which stood at No. 38.

The study compared each city’s service quality score against per capita budget allocations.

San Francisco, while ranked 41st for service quality, was last in per capita budget and overall ranking.

In addition, San Francisco holds the lowest positions on various metrics, like long-term debt per capita (tied with Salt Lake City, Denver, and Oakland), and is ranked last in high school graduation rates.

In contrast, both Anaheim and Huntington Beach tied for fourth place regarding the highest high school graduation rates, whereas San Francisco had the highest infant mortality rate, with Huntington Beach, Anaheim, and Santa Ana tying for the third slot.

Oakland also tied for the lowest violent crime rates alongside cities like Baltimore, Little Rock, Detroit, and Memphis.

Fremont excelled in two notable areas: median household income adjusted for cost of living and the percentage of people living in poverty, with Huntington Beach tied for third and San Jose in fifth.

On the flip side, a number of cities, including Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, Anaheim, Long Beach, and Los Angeles, were rated poorly for road quality.

Air quality rankings were similarly unimpressive, with Riverside taking the bottom position, followed by Santa Ana, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Huntington Beach. Yet, it’s worth noting that Fremont, Oakland, and San Francisco were tied for the highest ranking in terms of air pollution.

For the best-run cities overall, the top five included Provo, Utah; Nampa, Idaho; Manchester, New Hampshire; Boise, Idaho; and Nashua, New Hampshire.