Aurora's Rise: A Smaller City In The Best-Run Cities List

Every year, WalletHub ranks the Best-Run Cities in America, and in classic Illinois fashion, we've somehow managed to mostly sit this one out. Out of 148 cities measured for how well they're managed (think: services vs. spending, infrastructure, safety, and more), only one Illinois city cracked the top 100.

WalletHub Ranks the Best-Run Cities in America for 2025

Running a city has never been easy, but 2024 put local leaders around the country through the wringer. High inflation, tight budgets, and over 500 mass shootings last year forced city governments to make tough decisions about safety, services, and spending.

To see who handled it best, WalletHub compared 148 of the largest U.S. cities using 36 key performance metrics, including everything from infrastructure and education to financial stability and safety. The goal? Measure how efficiently each city delivers quality services relative to its per-capita budget.

These 10 Cities Are Leading the Way

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Here are the 10 best-run cities in America in 2025:

Provo, UT
Nampa, ID
Manchester, NH
Boise, ID
Nashua, NH
Dover, DE
Sioux Falls, SD
Lincoln, NE
Virginia Beach, VA
Fort Wayne, IN

Many of these cities deliver strong services while keeping costs impressively low, an increasingly rare balance.

Only One Illinois City Made the Top 100

Despite having several major metros in the mix, only one Illinois city made WalletHub's Top 100, and it's not the one most people would guess. It wasn't Chicago, Naperville, or even Springfield.

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It was Aurora, ranked #58 overall.

Aurora's strong showing is a reminder that effective local leadership isn't always loud, and sometimes it comes from places that aren't typically in the spotlight.

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View the full WalletHub report here.

MORE: 5 Most Expensive Places to Live In Illinois