14 CA Cities Among 'Worst,' 'Best' Run In U.S.: Report

CALIFORNIA — Fourteen California cities ranked among WalletHub's list of best and worst-run cities in the U.S. during a year that put local governments and leaders to the test in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic.

The financial advice site used several factors to measure how well cities are managed. WalletHub's analysts constructed a "quality of services" score of 38 different metrics grouped into six categories, which were measured against the city's per-capita budget, according to the report.

"Even when the U.S. isn't in a time of crisis, running a city is a tall order," WalletHub researchers wrote in a report. "But how do we measure the effectiveness of local leadership? One way is by determining a city's operating efficiency."

None of the Golden State cities on the list scored particularly high except for Huntington Beach, which snagged the last spot on the Top 20 Best-Run Cities in America. The city ranked high (no. 4 in the U.S.) for having a low percentage of its population living in poverty.

Fremont didn't rank very high (no. 77), but the Bay Area city received high marks (no. 1) for having the lowest percentage of its population in poverty, 4.3 percent, compared to Flint, Mich., the city with the highest at 38.8 percent, according to the report. The city also ranked among the top five cities in the U.S. with the lowest violent crime rate.

Anaheim and Santa Ana also ranked among the top five cities with the lowest infant mortality rate.

What's more, Fresno, Huntington Beach Long Beach and Riverside were all ranked among the six cities with the most air pollution.

California's two main metropolitan cities — San Francisco and Los Angeles — were ranked among the worst of the worst with the Northern California hub coming in at no. 149 and the Southland's largest city at no. 134.

Here's how California cities ranked:

• No. 20 Huntington Beach
  
• No. 63 Santa Ana
  
• No. 77 Fremont
  
• No. 94 San Jose
  
• No. 102. Anaheim
  
• No. 108 Bakersfield
  
• No. 116 Modesto
  
• No. 117 Stockton
  
• No. 120 Sacramento
  
• No. 123 Riverside
  
• No. 126 Fresno
  
• No. 127 Long Beach
  
• No. 134 Los Angeles
  
• No. 149 San Francisco

See the full list here.