#  Study: LA Fails the ‘Efficient Spending of Taxpayer Money’ Test … Would You Believe, Ranked 55th

     Details    Beth Cone Kramer   ![logo](https://mail.citywatchla.com//templates/ja_teline_v/images/logo.png)         April 07 2016      [  ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2016/029e.png)    ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/10870-study-la-fails-the-efficient-spending-of-taxpayer-money-test-would-you-believe-ranked-55th)

  [LOS ANGELES](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles)   - [  Previous Article **What will Angelenos Feeling-the-Bern Do After November 9?** ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10872:what-will-angelenos-feeling-the-bern-do-after-november-9&catid=312)
- [  Next Article **‘Stop Trump’ Forces Lining Up in California** ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10869:stop-trump-forces-lining-up-in-california&catid=312)

  ###### Typography

- [](# "Smaller Font")  ****Smaller** **Small** **Medium** **Big** **Bigger****  [](# "Bigger Font")
- [](# "Previous Font Style")  ****Default** **Helvetica** **Segoe** **Georgia** **Times****  [](# "Next Font Style")

- [ Reading Mode](# "Reading Mode")

> <a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a><a class="a2a_button_print"></a>[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
>
>  [Comments](#disqus_thread)

>
>
>
> HERE’S WHAT I KNOW-The consumer financial site *WalletHub* has released a study assessing how efficiently some of America’s largest urban centers apply taxpayer money on key expenditures and LA is at the bottom of the list. WalletHub analysts compared 78 cities for Return of Investment (ROI) on Adjusted Education, Adjusted Law Enforcement, and Parks &amp; Recreation ROI. LA ranked at 55.

 How did the analysts come up with the ranking? The Adjusted Education and Law Enforcement ROI metrics were based on previous studies. Both categories were adjusted for statistics like poverty and unemployment rates. The education ROI scores also took into account single parent households and families where English is a second language. Parks &amp; Recreation ROI was assessed by dividing “Total Parkland Acreage within City Limits” by “Total Parks &amp; Recreation Expenditures.”

LA scored a respectable 14 on Parks &amp; Rec ROI. Houston ranked #1. Education and Law Enforcement didn’t fare nearly as well.

Why did LA miss the grade on education and law enforcement? WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez explains, “Los Angeles is spending a lot of money on education, $1,801 per capita, but the average percentage of students who scored at or above passing level is quite low at just 42.73% (reading and math, standardized tests – 8th grade.) Thus, the taxpayers’ dollars are not being spent efficiently.”

Gonzalez adds, “The same can be said of police spending. Los Angeles has a lower crime rate than several other cities, but the city is also spending a lot more money to reach it, at $594 per capita."

Spending alone may not directly correlate to improved test scores or low crime rates, as there are additional variables. However, Gonzalez notes, “The public spending efficiency impacts the quality of life in a city, as it shows what type of services it offers in return for higher or lower tax rates. Generally, residents are happier with their tax rate if they feel they’re receiving quality services in return.”

What are some practices in the cities that perform better in education and law enforcement spending? “Cities that perform well in education and law enforcement have low expenditures per capita, high percentages of students completing standardized tests while maintaining a low dropout rate, and low crime rates."

While Los Angeles may have a way to go in terms of improving the ROI on public schools and law enforcement, we can be happy with the Parks &amp; Rec. LA ranks way above Sacramento (60), San Francisco (62), and Las Vegas (60.)

See more at WalletHub’s [2016 Cities with the Most Efficient Spending](https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-with-the-most-efficient-public-spending/20492/).

*(Beth Cone Kramer is a successful Los Angeles writer and a columnist for CityWatch.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.*

  - [  Previous Article **What will Angelenos Feeling-the-Bern Do After November 9?** ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10872:what-will-angelenos-feeling-the-bern-do-after-november-9&catid=312)
- [  Next Article **‘Stop Trump’ Forces Lining Up in California** ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10869:stop-trump-forces-lining-up-in-california&catid=312)
<div data-id="1" 
	class="eb-inst eb-hide eb-emailform eb-1 eboxContentLocker"
	data-options='{"trigger":"onPageLoad","trigger_selector":"","delay":3000,"early_trigger":true,"scroll_depth":"percentage","scroll_depth_value":80,"firing_frequency":1,"reverse_scroll_close":true,"threshold":0,"close_out_viewport":false,"exit_timer":1000,"idle_time":10000,"close_on_esc":false,"animation_open":"slideInDown","animation_close":"fadeOutDown","animation_duration":400,"disable_page_scroll":true,"test_mode":false,"debug":false,"ga_tracking":true,"ga_tracking_id":"G-P16BQ7X1SW","ga_tracking_event_category":"EngageBox","ga_tracking_event_label":"Box #1 - Global Email Signup Form","auto_focus":false}'
	data-type='popup'
	>

	<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-outside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>
	<div class="eb-dialog eb-formVer" role="dialog" aria-modal="true" id="dialog1" aria-label="dialog1">
		
		<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-inside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>	
		<div class="eb-container">
						<div class="eb-content">
				
<form action="https://citywatchla.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=34d69f33624fd058ee9b56516&amp;id=4bfa422f51&amp;f_id=00d6c2e1f0" class="eb" method="post" id="mcform-1" name="mcform-1" target="_blank">
			<div class="eb-form-header"><p><img src="/images/2023/06/be-a-city-watcher.png" alt="be a city watcher" width="350" height="97" loading="lazy" data-path="local-images:/2023/06/be-a-city-watcher.png"></p>
<p>Sign up to receive our special e-news blasts on Monday and Thursday evenings!</p></div>
	
					<div class="eb-field-row">

			
			
			
			<input class="eb-input" type="email" name="EMAIL"  placeholder="Email address"  id="EMAIL" value="" required>

			
		</div>
										
	<div class="eb-footer">
    	<button class="eb-btn" type="submit" name="subscribe" style="background-color:rgba(93, 183, 93, 1);color:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)">
    		Sign up    	</button>
    </div>
</form>			</div>
		</div>
	</div>	
</div>
<div data-id="3" 
	class="eb-inst eb-hide eb-yesno eb-3 "
	data-options='{"trigger":"onScrollDepth","trigger_selector":"","delay":0,"early_trigger":false,"scroll_depth":"percentage","scroll_depth_value":80,"firing_frequency":2,"reverse_scroll_close":false,"threshold":0,"close_out_viewport":false,"exit_timer":1000,"idle_time":1000,"close_on_esc":false,"animation_open":"fadeInUp","animation_close":"fadeOut","animation_duration":300,"disable_page_scroll":false,"test_mode":false,"debug":false,"ga_tracking":true,"ga_tracking_id":"G-P16BQ7X1SW","ga_tracking_event_category":"EngageBox","ga_tracking_event_label":"Box #3 - Yes \/ No Donation Popup Box","auto_focus":false}'
	data-type='popup'
	>

	<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-outside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>
	<div class="eb-dialog " role="dialog" aria-modal="true" id="dialog3" aria-label="dialog3">
		
		<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-inside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>	
		<div class="eb-container">
						<div class="eb-content">
				
<div class="ebox-yes-no">
	<div class="ebox-yn-text">
		
		
		<div class="ebox-yn-headline" style="font-size:22px;color:#888888">
			<p>If you only give once a month, would you consider giving to CityWatch?</p>
<p>Your support fuels our mission to promote and facilitate civic engagement and neighborhood empowerment, and to hold area government and its politicians accountable.</p>
<p>Would you like to help? Even if you can only give $5, it will make a difference.</p>		</div>
			</div>
	
	<div class="ebox-ys-buttons" style="font-size: 16px;">
		
<a
					data-ebox-prevent="0"
		data-ebox-cmd="close"
				target="_self"
		href="https://www.citywatchla.com/donate"
		rel="noopener"
	
	
	
	
	class="ebox-ys-btn"
	style="background-color:#2ec664;color:#ffffff;min-width:100px">
	Yes
	</a>
<a
	
	
			data-ebox-cmd="close"
		href="#"
	
	
	class="ebox-ys-btn"
	style="background-color:#ef2345;color:#ffffff;min-width:100px">
	Not Right Now
	</a>	</div>

	</div>			</div>
		</div>
	</div>	
</div>