Missoula Named 2020’s 7th Best-Run City in America

It's a tough time to be an elected official right now. The COVID-19 pandemic has us facing issues that most of us have never seen before. Unemployment, businesses affected with restrictions, throw in the recent protest situations.......it seems like government leaders are in an unenviable situation.

It's a good thing they don't base these kind of surveys off the comments we see on our social media pages - our local leaders are always getting beat up in the comment sections. But that's probably a safe bet regardless of wherever you live, not just in Missoula. On a positive note, a report from WalletHub on 2020’s Best- & Worst-Run Cities in America listed Missoula at #7 on the list. Top ten - not bad at all!

This isn't just some narrowed down list of cities either! It's packed with the big boys - Seattle, Orlando, Phoenix, Denver.

Here's how they break it down for rankings:

To determine the effectiveness of local leadership, WalletHub compared 150 of the largest U.S. cities based on their operating efficiency.

For each city, WalletHub constructed a “Quality of City Services” score – comprising 38 key performance indicators grouped into six service categories – that was then measured against the city’s total per-capita budget.

There's some good and some bad when it comes to Missoula. Were a little rough in places, coming in at 114th in financial stability and 83rd in health. But we redeem ourselves with a #7 placement when it comes to education and #6 in total budget per capita.

Cities in Idaho took the top two spots on the list with Nampa and Boise coming in at #1 and #2. Outside of Missoula, Billings also had a respectable showing at #15.

See the complete rankings, categories and breakdowns HERE.