Cities across the country have come a long way since the last recession, which put enormous pressure on local budgets and led to massive cuts in public services. Even so, some cities continue to fare far better than others.
Last month, the Fiscal Times released its own analysis of the cities in the best financial health this year. The Fiscal Health Index was compiled by looking at 116 U.S. cities with populations over 200,000 using 2015 financial data. The five main factors considered were ratio of a city’s general fund balance to expenditures; ratio of long-term obligations to total government-wide revenues; ratio of pension contributions to total revenues; changes in the local unemployment rate; and changes in property values.
The good news? The top 6 cities were all in California. Similarly, 9 out of the top 20 healthiest cities were in the Golden State. Even Stockton, just two years out of bakruptcy, made the list at No. 18.
Be sure to check out the full analysis and rankings here. Below is a list of the top 10 cities in the best fiscal health, according to the Financial Times.
1. Irvine, California
2. Fontana, California
3. Moreno Valley, California
4. Huntington Beach, California
5. Santa Ana, California
6. Glendale, California
7. Boston, Massachusetts
8. Fayetteville, North Carolina
9. Washington, District of Columbia
10. Boise, Idaho
Data is compiled and reported by the Fiscal Times. Report does not reflect statistics on all U.S. cities.