D A T A REPORT · 2026

The Loca

l

Government KPI

Reali

t

y Repor

t

What Hundreds of City Strategic Plans Reveal About KPI Measurement in 2026 Benchmarks from 100,000+ measures across hundreds of city strategic plans on the ClearPoint platform — and how the 143 recommended KPIs stack up against what's actually tracked.

5,787

100K +

7 0%

CHAPTER 1

The Measur

ement R

e

ality

We analyzed 100 , 000+ measur es acr oss hundr eds of city strategic plans. The data tells a clear story: most cities track far mor e than the y can manage.

694

measur es track ed per city on av erage — but 7 0% go une valuated e v ery r eporting c y cle

40%

of measur es get e valuated at all in an av erage city — the r est sit as phant om KPIs

27%

e valuation rat e f or cities tracking 1, 000+ measur es — blo at is real

7 4%

of metric o wners ne v er update their assigned data — phant om o wnership

Mor e Measur es ≠ Bet ter R esults

Under 50 51. 9% 50–199 50 . 3% 200–499 36 .4% 500–999 29 . 7% 1, 000+ 27%

Sw eet spot: 50–199 measur es. Cities in this range e valuate half their port f olio — double the rat e of cities tracking 1, 000+. Quality ov er quantity .

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Page 2

CHAPTER 2

The 20 KPI Themes,

Ran

k

ed by R

e

al A

doption

We gr ouped 100 , 000+ measur es into 20 themes and measur ed what per centage of activ e local go vernments actually track each one.

UNIVERSAL — > 75% ADOPTION Budget, Rev enue & Expenses 7 9% Citiz en Satisf action 7 8% CORE — 60–70% ADOPTIO N Str eets & R oads 68% Parks & T rails 66% Emer ge nc y R esponse Time 65% Permit s & Inspections 63% Crime & Public Safety 62% Emplo y ee Satisf ac tion 60% COMMON — 50–60% ADOPTION W at er & Utilities 5 8% Housing & Homeles sness 5 5% Emissions & En vir onment 52% EMERGING — 30–40% ADOPTION Absent eeism & R et e ntion 38% Diversity & Inclusion 35% T r aining & De v elopment 33% Debt & Bond R ating 30% UNDERUSED — 15–30% ADOPTION Capital Project Deliv ery 28% Librar y Usage 25% Unemplo yment R at e 22% Po v erty Rate 18% Gr aduation R at e s 15%

Only 2 themes cr oss 7 5% adoption. Half of r ecommended themes sit belo w 40%. The "best practice " list and the "actual practice " list ar e tw o dif f er ent lists.

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CHAPTER 3

The V anity -Metric Gap: De f ined vs. Measu r ed vs . E valuate d Acr oss all 20 themes, only 20% of KPIs that cities define in their plan e v er get e valuat ed against a tar get. Her e's the funnel fr om pr omise to practice (n=9 7 activ e local go v ernments).

THEM E

DEFINE D ( L 1 )

MEASURE D (L2)

E V ALUA T E D (L3)

E V AL RA T E

Permit s / Inspections

3 1%

Emplo y ee / W orkf or ce

3 0%

Budget / Revenue / Expenses

29%

Housing / Homeles sness

26%

Parks & Recr eation

24%

T r aining / De v elopment

24%

W at er / W ast e w at er

24%

Str eets / R oads

23%

Educ ation

22%

Citiz en Satisf action

19%

R esp onse Time

19%

Diversit y / Equit y

18%

Debt / Bond R ating

18%

Cr ime

17%

Librar y

17%

Absent eeism

14%

Capital Pr oject s

13%

Pov erty

Climat e / Emissions

Economic De v elopment

Thr ee le v els of tr acking: L1 Defined = the KPI e xists as a measure in their plan · L2 Measur ed = someone enter ed at least one r eal data value · L3 Evaluated = the data is compar ed to a tar get ( gr een/y ello w/r ed status) A cr oss all 20 themes, the a v erage Ev aluat ed / Defined r at e is 20%.

Theater vs. R eal The 2 biggest gaps betw een pr omise and practice:

Climat e & Emissions: 39 cities pr omise to track it — 2 actually e valuat e it.

→

Economic De v elopment: 42 pr omise — 2 e v aluat e.

→

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THE 143 KPIS

O r ganized by Me asu r ed A doption Tier 1 — Measur ed by 50%+ of A ctiv e Go v ernments 98 KPIs

BUDGET & REVENU E Budgeting R atio R eal Estate Assessment to Sales Ratio (ASR) R eal Estate Coef ficient of Dispersion (COD) Debt per Capit a F ull- Time Emplo y ees per Capita Grant Compliance Violations Emplo y ees T rained in Grant W riting T otal Audit Findings Bond R ating T otal Revenue Generat ed CITIZEN ENGA GEMENT Social Media Subscribers & F ollo w ers T o wn Hall Participants Satisfaction with Appe arance of Municipalit y Satisfaction with Municipality as Place to Liv e Satisfaction of Municipality as W orkplace Satisfaction with Municipal Communic ation Activ e Municipal Mobile App Users V oter T urnout Municipal W ebsite Visit ors Satisf action with Municipal W ebsite STREETS & INFRASTRUCTURE T otal Miles of Municipal Str eets Pa v ed T otal Miles of Side walk Repair ed Bridges with Suf ficienc y Rating ≥50% Cust omer Complaint s per W eek Complaint s Addr essed Within 24 Hours Str eet Lights in Service A v erage Speed on Neighborhood Str eets A v erage Speed on Arterial Str eets A v erage Hours to R emo v e Sno w Commuters Using Public T ransportation W alkability Score R esident Satisf action with T raf fic Commut ers Biking or W alking Driv er Courtesy Satisf action Rating Passenger T rips per Gallon of F uel Public T ransportation Satisfaction W A TER & UTILITIES Number of W ater Line Br eaks W at er Usage per Capita EMPLO YEE MANA GEMENT Number of Applications R eceiv ed Positions Filled Inter nally Emplo y ee Satisf action Inde x Perf ormance Evaluations Completed on Time Emplo y ee R et ention R at e Incidents per 100 , 000 Miles Driv en

P ARKS & RECREA TION R ecr eation Center A tt endance Acr es of Park Land R esidents Satisfied with Parks R ounds of Golf at Public Courses T otal Park A ttendance Miles of T rails Number of Communit y Gardens R esidents Satisfied with R ecr eational Options Pla y gr ounds Inspect ed Parks & Recr eation V olunteer Hours Y outh in Summer & R ecr eational Pr ograms R esidents Within 10-Min W alk of Park Activ e Space in Use A ttendance at F estivals & Cultural Ev ent s Performing Arts Center Perf ormances Performing Ar ts Center Capacit y Filled Ar ena Dat es Book ed Number of F estivals & Cultural Ev ents EMERGENCY RESPONSE & FIR E Fir es per 10 , 000 R esident s Municip al Fire Cost per Capita Fir efighter Injury Rat e per Fir e Civilian Fir e Injuries per 100K R esidents Fir e Prev ention Code Violations Saf ety Education Program A ttendance EMS Incident s per 1, 000 R esident s Emer genc y R esponse Calls Fir e R esponse Time Within 8 Min EMS R esponse Time Within 8 Min Schools with Fir e Drills Conducted CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY Number of R oadwa y Accidents Community R elation Initiativ es by Police F oot and Bik e Patr ol Hours P olice Hours Int eracting with Student s Number of Violent Cr imes Number of Non- Violent Crimes R esidents Who F eel Saf e in Parks FEMA Community Rating (CRS) Scor e Number of Juv enile Arr ests Number of Criminal In v estigations R esidents Who F eel Saf e in Neighborhood PERMITS & DEVELOPMENT V alue of Commer cial Pr oject s Construct ed T otal Number of Permits Issued T otal Number of Inspections Performed T otal Permit Revenue Plans Approv ed Af t er First R e vie w A v erage Da ys to Close Code Violation HOUSING & HOMELESSNES S Af f or dable Housing Units Cr eat ed Housing R elief Distributed R esident s Assist ed in Housing R elief Satisf action with Af f or dable Housing Housing Opportunit y Index Chr onically Homeless Individuals Households Pa ying 30%+ of Income on Housing HUD Eligible First - Time Homebuy ers

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Tier 2 — Gr o wing A doption (25–50%) 14 KPIs

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION Div ersity of Ne w Hires Div ersity of W orkf orce CLIMA TE & ENVIRONMENT Percentage of Hybr id Buses Landfill Div ersion R at e Miles of R oadside Litt er Collected Per centage of Good Air Quality Days

CLIMA TE & ENVIRONMENT (CONT . ) T ons of R ec y cled/Compost ed Materials Gr eenhouse Gas Emissions per Capita Ne w T r ees Plant ed in Public Places F acilities with Ener gy Ef ficient Upgrades C APIT AL PROJECT DELIVERY Capital Pr oject s Complet ed on Time Capital Pr oject s Within Budget Pr oject s Initiat ed Within 12 Months of F unding TRAININ G T otal Hours of T raining A tt ended

Tier 3 — Recommended but Rar ely Measur ed (<25%) 31 KPIs

ABSENTEEIS M Absent eeism R at e LIBRARY T otal Library Use per Capita P O VERTY & INCOME Po v erty Rate Median Household Income EDUCA TION & SCHOOLS R esident s with GED or High School Diploma On- Time Bus Arrivals at School Privat e High School Graduation Rat e R esident s R ating Public Schools Good/Ex cellent R esident s with Bachelor's Degr ee or Higher Public High School Graduation R at e IT & INFRASTRUCTUR E Number of Major Net wor k Outages Repair Calls R esolv ed Within 24 Hours Hours to Complete Service Desk R equest Backup Success R at e IT Cust omer Satisf action R at e

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Unemplo yment R at e Number of Jobs in Municip alit y Real GDP of Municip alit y Commer cial V acanc y Rat e Number of Ne w Businesses Business License R ene wals Number of Ne w Jobs Cr eated Emplo y ers at Municipal Job F airs A ttendees at Municipal Job F airs T otal T ourism T ax Dollars COMMUNITY MEETINGS A ttendance at Neighborhood Meetings Satisfaction with Neighborhood Meetings Historic Preser vation Cost by Municipalit y Change in V alue of Commercial Property PUBLIC HEAL T H Immunization Compliance R at e by Age 2 Ov erw eight/Obese Childr en in Public Schools

Measur ed = at least one actual data value entered in the ClearPoint plat f orm ov er the past 12 months, not just defined in the strategic plan. Tiers based on percentage of activ e local gov ernments meeting this threshold. KPI list sources: ICMA, GFO A, and ClearPoint advisory data.