One US City Is Run Much Better Than All the Others

In a fresh scorecard on how city halls across the US are doing their jobs, the Utah metropolis of Provo comes out on top. WalletHub ranked 148 of the nation's largest cities by comparing the quality of key public services with how much each city spends per resident, with those services broken down into six main categories: financial stability, education, health, safety, economy, and infrastructure and pollution. Provo lands in the No. 1 spot, thanks to a blend of economic growth and stability. The city also posts some of the country's lowest violent and property crime rates and keeps commutes short and traffic light—factors that the report says point to effective planning and infrastructure management. Here, the 10 best- and worst-run big cities in America:

Best-Run Cities

1. Provo, Utah
2. Nampa, Idaho
3. Manchester, New Hampshire
4. Boise, Idaho
5. Nashua, New Hampshire
6. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
7. Fort Wayne, Indiana
8. Virginia Beach, Virginia
9. Lincoln, Nebraska
10. Mesa, Arizona

Worst-Run Cities

139. Tacoma, Washington
140. Long Beach, California
141. Fresno, California
142. Baltimore
143. Philadelphia
144. Chicago
145. Oakland, California
146. New York
147. Detroit
148. San Francisco

See how other cities ranked here. (Check out the US cities where first-time homebuyers have the best shot.)