This CT City Is Among Worst Run In The Country: Study

CONNECTICUT — Three Connecticut cities landed on website WalletHub's list of "Best- & Worst-Run Cities in America." The list compares 149 of the country's largest cities to reveal which are managed best.

The news was not good for Connecticut overall, and particularly bad for one city. Hartford ranked toward the bottom of the list at 142.

New Haven wasn't much better at 126. The highest-ranked city in the state was Bridgeport, at 41.

"The past year has been a true test of the effectiveness of local leadership," the study reads. "City leaders have had to deal with economic difficulties like high inflation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other issues like elevated homicide rates."

The report includes a quality of service score "made up of 36 metrics grouped into six service categories, which we then measured against the city’s per-capita budget."

Bridgeport was ranked 92 in quality of service and 36 in total budget per capita. New Haven was 131 in quality of service and 103 in budget. Hartford was 145 in quality of service and 119 in budget.

Breaking down the quality of service score further, Bridgeport ranked very high at 3 in health, but close to the bottom in economy at 146. New Haven was low at 144 in financial stability. Hartford was also near to the bottom in financial stability at 147, and dead last in economy at 149.

The best-run city in the U.S. according to WalletHub is Nampa, ID, a metropolis with a population of 106,186 just west of Boise.

Here's the full top 10:

1. Nampa, ID
2. Lexington-Fayette, KY
3. Nashua, NH
4. Boise, ID
5. Provo, UT
6. Lincoln, NE
7. Fort Wayne, IN
8. Sioux Falls, SD
9. Las Cruces, NM
10. Missoula, MT

Check out the full list and methodology at WalletHub.