Fremont Places Last in Survey of Best Run Cities

WalletHub has completed a survey of the Best Run Cities in America, scoring 65 US cities on three key expenditure categories - education, police, and parks and recreation. The news is bad for Fremont - it placed dead last. 

According to WalletHub, “We define the best-run city as one that yields the highest returns on all of its public-spending investments.” Data was crunched from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the Trust for Public Land and WalletHub Research. 

Cheryl Golden, Communications Manager for the City of Fremont, urges residents to maintain perspective when hearing about rankings, “The data used to compile these rankings emphasize different expenditure sources and economic factors, which are going to ebb and flow year-to-year. Consider that Fremont was ranked No. 2 and No. 4 by 24/7 Wall St. on a similar ’Best and Worst Run Cities in America’ list in 2014 and 2012. Expenditures on areas such as education, police and parks and recreation which caused the unfavorable ranking call for context over time. Regardless of how we rank in a given year, the City of Fremont is proud of our excellent police department and top notch parks, recreational and educational programs.” 

One economist issued a stern warning about fiscal choices. “If a city is providing low value for money (taxes and fees paid) compared to its competitors, it will see its tax base eroded over time, and may see its expenditure needs for residents left behind rise,” noted Howard A. Chernick, economics professor at Hunter College in New York. “In this case, spending increases per capita would become unsustainable.” 

WalletHub reports that public transportation and health expenditures were not included in the analysis because comparative data was not available. 

View the methodology and complete report here.

2015’s Best & Worst Run Cities in America

1. Lubbock, TX
2. Philadelphia, PA
3. El Paso, TX
4. Dallas, TX
5. Pittsburgh, PA
6. Corpus Christi, TX
7. San Antonio, TX
8. Garland, TX
9. Houston, TX
10. Fort Wayne, IN

61. Kansas City, MO
62. New York, NY
63. Riverside, CA
64. Long Beach, CA
65. Fremont, CA

--Image by NASA via WikiMedia