Encinitas earned the highest total score among San Diego County cities on the 2026 Municipal Report Card, the city said in a statement posted Oct. 22, scoring 21 out of 22 possible points for accountability and transparency.

The San Diego County Taxpayers Association, which released the report Tuesday, Oct. 20, listed Encinitas and Carlsbad as the only two cities to earn overall A grades out of 18 jurisdictions reviewed. The city described its grade as an "A+," while the association's press release characterized both cities as earning "A" grades. Whether Encinitas outscored Carlsbad on total points was not specified.

The report card grades cities on fiscal health, accountability and transparency using 25 criteria drawn from audited financial reports, adopted budgets and each city's tax history. The association groups cities by population and measures pension costs, bonded debt per capita, debt service, personnel costs and staffing levels against averages for similarly sized municipalities.

On fiscal health alone, Vista earned the top grade with an A. Encinitas, Imperial Beach and San Marcos followed at A-minus.

At the bottom of the rankings, the City of San Diego and National City both received failing overall grades. San Diego posted the weakest fiscal-health result, earning 3.9 of 11 possible points. National City had the lowest total score at 14 out of 25.

"The Report Card exists to give taxpayers a clear, apples-to-apples look at how their city manages their money," Mark Kersey, president and CEO of the Taxpayers Association, said in the group's press release. "The good news is that many San Diego County cities are managing their finances responsibly and reporting them transparently."

Mike McLaughlin, chairman of the association's board of directors, said in the same release that a strong grade "is not about how much money a city has" but about "discipline, planning and honesty with taxpayers."

The Encinitas recognition builds on a streak of fiscal awards. The city said it received the Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the 32nd consecutive year earlier in 2026. The city's fiscal year 2025–26 budget also reported fully funded reserves and a AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's, according to the city statement.

The full report card and scoring methodology are available at SDTaxpayers.org.