Memphians want to invest their talent and resources in a city with a future. To secure that future, the city needs to be a careful steward of its financial resources. Bond ratings are assigned by independent ratings agencies and indicate a government's ability to pay its debts. Being able to meet these financial obligations is important for a city's long-term health. Low credit ratings can also make it hard for cities to borrow money to fund public projects. The City of Memphis seeks to maintain bond ratings of AA (S&P) and Aa2 (Moody's), and has met this goal every year since 2010.  

Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) are the two leading agencies that rate the City of Memphis. As part of this process, Moody’s and S&P evaluate more than 20 different elements of a government's finances. The City works directly with them each year to provide this information, and to monitor how the City’s financial decisions may affect its credit rating in the future. This comprehensive assessment serves as a broad-based, high-level measure of a city’s financial stability. The table below presents the City's credit rating by year, and is updated annually.