Tennessee cities among the worst run U.S. cities in 2018, study says

Dustin Barnes | Nashville Tennessean

A study ranking the best and worst run cities in the country for 2018 scored Tennessee's four largest municipalities among the lowest.

Of the 150 cities included in this WalletHub report, the highest charting Tennessee city was Nashville at No. 111, followed by Knoxville at No. 125.

Memphis ranked at No. 135, beating some of the country's largest cities such as Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

More: Nashville's population growth drops below 100 people a day

The lowest Tennessee city on the Best and Worst Run list? Chattanooga at No. 144.

Debt and crime were cited among the reasons that dragged Tennessee cities to the bottom of the survey.

Nashville was tied (in the US) for having the highest, long term, outstanding debt per capita, according to the study.

Memphis was knocked down for having the third-highest violent crime rate for cities in the study.

As for Chattanooga, it was a bit of 'all of the above' as debt, crime and safety dragged the city down toward the bottom of the rankings.

The study measured the quality of services for residents against the cities' overall budgets.

More: Tennessee ranked angriest, most hateful state in nation

More: To stop people from leaving, Memphis must work harder to fix what's driving them away

The 10 worst run U.S. cities for 2018

Washington, D.C. Detroit New York San Francisco Gulfport, Mississippi Oakland Chattanooga Flint, Michigan Cleveland Hartford, Connecticut

WalletHub's Worst Run Cities in the U.S.