Is Your City Well Run? WalletHub Just Ranked 148 of America's Largest Cities | The States

SCOTUS rules against Hawaii's "vampire rule" on guns, best and worst run U.S. cities, state SNAP error rates, California's police accountability database, and veteran support legislation. WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo joined The States to discuss the company's 2026 Best and Worst Run Cities report, which ranked 148 of the nation's largest cities across 36 metrics including financial stability, education, health, safety, economy, and infrastructure. Provo, Utah topped the list, with four of the top five cities coming from Idaho and New Hampshire, while San Francisco ranked last, joined in the bottom ten by Chicago, Detroit, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Lupo noted that a city's performance largely reflects its state's fiscal management, though outliers exist — pointing to Huntington Beach, California, which ranked first in quality of city services despite the state's broader struggles. Also in this episode: - SCOTUS ruled Hawaii's "vampire rule" — which banned public carry unless businesses posted permission signs — violated the Second Amendment - Justice Alito reiterated that laws clashing with the plain text of the Second Amendment are presumptively unconstitutional - States collectively made $10 billion in improper SNAP payments in FY2025, with an average error rate of 10.6% — well above the 6% congressional threshold - Starting FY2027, states above 6% will face higher administrative cost shares; only 10 states currently meet the threshold - California is ending its $6.87 million appropriation to UC Berkeley's Police Records Access Project, with funds expiring at the end of June 2026 - Despite launching in 2025 with 1.5 million pages of records, the database has no data from 2025 or 2026, raising questions about the investment's value - California legislators are advancing bills to expand property tax exemptions for 100% disabled veterans, raise contract award caps for veteran-owned businesses to $350K, and prioritize housing support for service members facing sudden discharge - California has nearly 1.47 million veterans but has been losing them to other states; the bills aim to reverse that trend - Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry vetoed over $12 million in state construction funding for New Orleans, including money for a new city hall, housing projects, and a health care hub - The North Carolina legislature overrode Democratic Governor Josh Stein's vetoes on four bills, including three eliminating DEI in state agencies, public education, and higher education - Athletes and staff for World Cup teams training in California will face the second-highest income tax rates of any host location, behind only Canada Plus, America's Talking: Louisiana - https://www.thecentersquare.com/louisiana/article_febdd307-63cd-4d69-881d-f669d937c0fd.html North Carolina - https://www.thecentersquare.com/north_carolina/article_2e15fe94-e90d-4126-81a8-322d65cbc85f.html Pennsylvania - https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_83bf6c2c-96d5-43d8-923e-d582c39d145c.html California - https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_23b19a79-edbf-429c-b8c7-dc80085bf6f4.html The States delivers taxpayer-focused reporting from around America, powered by The Center Square. ____________ 👉 Read more: https://www.thecentersquare.com 📩 Sign up for the newsletter for daily updates 00:00 Intro 00:36 Gun Ruling 10:55 Break 11:35 Best & Worst Run Cities 19:40 Break 20:26 SNAP Errors 30:09 Break 30:50 Police Accountability 38:49 Break 39:28 Veterans Benefits