Best- & Worst-Run Cities in the U.S.

Discussion about and reaction to a study ranking the best- and worst-run cities in the U.S. by Wallet Hub. There are many problems with this study that I wanted to address, and I also want to discuss the issue of financial websites giving out geography information and advice.

[BishopBeater]

I have a bachelor's degree in political science and it's so disappointing seeing other political scientists (and even the general public) think they fully understand how important geography ties into political science. These kinds of articles are clearly biased towards one ideology. Thank you for responding in such an effective way, Kyle! :)

[timmytoaster]

No longer the “Geography King”…he is now the “Finance King.” Keep up the good work, Kyle. Love your videos!

[samwill]

Any list made by a website or magazine: Bullshit stats made up through opaque equations, with uneven weighting and an unfairly wide net, all correlated in a shady way to make some kind of point that the magazine/website was going to find a way to make no matter what.

These things are made to sell traffic on the service in which they exist more than anything else. So always make sure to check the sources.

[BnaBreaker]

This has been touched on already by you Kyle and also in other comments, so forgive me for parroting, but I think it's quite telling that the vast majority of the "best run cities, " are quite small and, in some instances, barely even cities at all. Larger cities, naturally, have a far more vast and complex web of social, economic, racial, environmental etc. etc. factors to consider and deal with, so I'm not sure they should necessarily be penalized for that. Nampa, Idaho (where?!) is obviously going to be a lot easier to manage than New York City or Chicago, in the same way that second grade arithmetic is a lot easier to manage than Trigonometry.

[Lght_]

As someone with a degree in city and regional planning, seeing Columbus, OH so low on this list makes me immediately suspicious of this article. Columbus right now is taking immense strides in good city planning policies and has some really amazing leaders who know what they are talking about in planning. I have full confidence in Columbus's ability to run itself in the future because of the things they are doing now to combat the horrible planning of the past. Quite a few of the cities higher on the list don't give a rat's ass about poor people, public transportation, biking, walking, and increased density and provide fewer services than Columbus does.

Also, while I love Dayton since its my home metro, and they are taking some really good steps too, it really has no right to be above Columbus. Its night and day between the cities. This list really is inherently flawed...

[lifeontheland]

As a college student with zero financial stability, I appreciate your financial advice at the end and I will follow it religiously.

[brianarbenz]

Yes, every morning I check my city’s Moody’s credit rating before I decide if I’m going out of the house. It tells all about the quality of life in a city!

[benjaminfortney]

In general one of the things that I thoroughly enjoy about this channel is your hesitance to speak about places in negative terms. I love that you respect the folks who live in a place, and recognize the reason that you did not like this article was that it did not take the time to look at the facts with that same perspective. Cheers, and keep making great content.

[anthrojim]

As a current resident of Jacksonville, FL I would love to see a full video of your take on all their planning failures.

[OuterGalaxyLounge]

Financial publications dabbling into political areas automatically reeks of the stench of agenda. I appreciate you putting this suss-as-hell "study" in its place.

[BurnWithinQT]

I love your sarcastic "investing/retirement tips" at the end! 😂 I love how you title this 25 best & worst cities which is barely (& randomly) relevant because your cogent criticism is of the ranking list, NOT of actual cities (as much). Thanks for taking something dry & statisticky and making it entertaining. 😎 I hope some city planners/politicians reference this brilliant video to show how inaccurate/irrelevant rankings can be. 👍

[rmaihoferii]

While I normally agree with many evaluations, I will need to disagree with some of the concerns. Chicago may produce a higher GDP, but this does not reflect spending. We have a massive unfunded pensions which is solely the responsibility of Chicago. The extra taxes have crippled home values, business growth, etc. this is not a geography issue, it is a management issue.

[warderjack]

Waiting for people in the comments to nominate their own cities as worst

[highbrass]

I think crime rate per capita, unemployment rate, public safety, tax burden, and wages vs cost of living are the best ways to judge city leadership. Thanks for the video.

[michaelmiddleton]

Somebodies grandma is missing a quilt. great stuff Kyle!

[chicagoakland]

I'm glad you mentioned the horror that is Jacksonville, I'm STILL shocked they blew the gift that was Jacksonville Landing. Any other city would have maintained that gem.

[dmike]

Gary, Flint, Stockton, Fresno, & Bakersfield showing up anywhere on this list is pure comedy LOL!! NYC & SFO being ranked below all of those cities is beyond absurd! The authors of this so-called "study" are evidently begging not to be taken seriously.

[noahguild]

Glad you made this video. I saw this list and was shocked at how out of touch the researchers were with what actually matters to ordinary people.

[Hypatia]

Love it! And that's from a History major and according to many, it's the most useless of knowledge. The real topic of this video should be Critical Thought in Action. Can you read a graph? Do you understand what it means? And the top thing you learn as a history major--consider the source. ALWAYS. Are they honest? Did they leave questions and facts out because they didn't like the outcome? What are their biases? Were they honest enough to tell you? This could be a master class in active reading. I salute you!

[dvderek]

Really amazing job breaking down the difference in responsibilities for running suburbs and central cities