Lincoln Is the 9th Best-Run City in America 2026

Lincoln, Neb., is the 9th best-run city in America, according to a new study by WalletHub comparing what 148 of the largest U.S. cities deliver to residents versus what each takes via tax dollars. The study included 36 metrics in six key categories: financial stability, education, health, safety, economy and infrastructure.

Local officials must balance competing community priorities with limited financial resources. This often means making difficult trade-offs—deciding which services are most essential, which departments should receive more or less funding, and whether taxes need to be adjusted.

“The best-run cities in America spend their tax dollars efficiently to provide high-quality financial security, education, health, safety and transportation to their residents,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “Many of the top cities also have a very low amount of outstanding government debt per capita, which can prevent financial troubles in the future.”

In-Depth Look at Lincoln

Lincoln demonstrates that its a well-run city by registering the seventh-least traffic congestion in the country and the eighth-lowest air pollution. It also has the 12th-lowest unemployment rate.

However, Lincoln has room for improvement in other areas. For example, the city has the 18th-highest infant mortality rate. In addition, it only ranks 114th when it comes to the number of hospital beds per capita.

How Lincoln Ranks In Key Categories

• Second for financial stability
• 94th for education
• 113th for health
• 14th for safety
• 23rd for the economy
• 110th for infrastructure

This puts Lincoln in ninth place out of the 148 cities in WalletHubs study.

Best-Run Cities in America

The methodology can be found on the full version of the article on WalletHub.