I can tell you this, Berkshire County friends and neighbors. I do NOT envy any local government representatives. They have a lot of migraine-worthy issues to deal with whether it's crime, inflation, unemployment, regional debt, etc.

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Despite sharing many of the same issues, certain cities across the country are much better maintained and run than others. How do some cities fare better than others when it comes to battling certain issues?

Recently, our good friends at WalletHub, the personal finance pros, conducted a study on this year's best- and worst-run cities in America and they finally released their report. Guess what? Massachusetts has three cities that ranked in the top 100!

For the study, the WalletHub team looked at 149 of the largest cities in the country and compared them based on their operating efficiency. For each city, they looked at several key metrics grouped into 6 main categories such as violent crime rates, unemployment rates, long-term debt outstanding per capita, road quality, percentage of the population living in poverty, etc.

Sadly, the Commonwealth did not place any cities in the top 20 but we should be proud of landing three cities in the top 100. I'll make mention of those in a moment. First, here are WalletHub's Top 10 Best-Run Cities in America for 2023:

  1. Nampa, Idaho
  2. Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky
  3. Nashua, New Hampshire
  4. Boise, Idaho
  5. Provo, Utah
  6. Lincoln, Nebraska
  7. Fort Wayne, Indiana
  8. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
  9. Las Cruces, New Mexico
  10. Missoula, Montana

Great job to each and every one of those cities and it's nice to see New England represented with New Hampshire in there at #3! Now, onto the Bay State. The city of Springfield was the lowest out of the three Massachusetts cities ranking at #72. Still, a very respectable showing.

Next up, Beantown came in at #63. Mad props, Boston! Finally, the highest "best-run" Massachusetts city performed very well ranking at #37! That city just happens to be Worcester. Congrats to all three cities for landing in the top 100.

It's a pretty comprehensive study. For the full rankings, visit WalletHub's website here.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.

LOOK: What major laws were passed the year you were born?

Data for this list was acquired from trusted online sources and news outlets. Read on to discover what major law was passed the year you were born and learn its name, the vote count (where relevant), and its impact and significance.

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