The National League of Cities (NLC) recently released the 2023 State of the Cities report which is an annual review of mayoral priorities throughout the United States. The report states that infrastructure at the top of the list for mayors.

 

The top four priorities identified include infrastructure, budget and management, public safety, and economic development. The report goes on to show that mayors overall remain positive over the near future of their communities. Cities, however, are seeing notable amounts of federal funding.

"The priorities highlighted here show that the state of America's cities is strong, with our local leaders making strategic investments in programs and services that deliver benefits to all of their residents," said NLC CEO and Executive Director Clarence Anthony. "We hope that this year's State of the Cities report not only paints a clear picture of mayors' priorities today but can help inform their municipal strategies moving forward as well."

Cities are focused on connecting top issues and their relationship with each other, for example, public housing and health and human services are interconnected systemically. Mayors, however, make decisions differently based on size and type of municipality. NLC also shows that median housing costs as a percentage of income based on location are connected to housing affordability, homelessness, supply, evictions, etc. Meanwhile, NLC also mentions the median unemployment rates which can reflect development due to availability and quality of jobs in a region.