Cities are the engines of the global economy. A handful of them produce more wealth than many whole countries. A widely shared ranking by The Data of Everything lists the richest cities in the world by nominal GDP, using 2025 estimates for metropolitan or urban areas. Tokyo sits at the top with $2.55 trillion, just ahead of New York. Here are the top ten, a few next in line and some context for reading the numbers.
Table of Contents
Top 10 Richest Cities in the World by GDP
| Rank | City | Country | Nominal GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tokyo | Japan | $2.55 trillion |
| 2 | New York | United States | $2.49 trillion |
| 3 | Los Angeles | United States | $1.62 trillion |
| 4 | London | United Kingdom | $1.47 trillion |
| 5 | Seoul | South Korea | $1.42 trillion |
| 6 | Paris | France | $1.39 trillion |
| 7 | Chicago | United States | $1.25 trillion |
| 8 | Osaka-Kobe | Japan | $1.19 trillion |
| 9 | San Francisco | United States | $1.15 trillion |
| 10 | Shanghai | China | $1.15 trillion |
Note that the figures are nominal GDP for metropolitan or urban areas, which means they are not adjusted for living costs and depend on how each city’s borders are drawn.
What Stands Out
The United States dominates the list. Four of the top ten are American: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. Further down, the same source also lists Washington, D.C., Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Boston, Seattle, Philadelphia and Atlanta in its top 20, so American metros make up a big share of the ranking.
Japan has two entries. Tokyo leads and Osaka-Kobe is eighth, which shows how large Japan’s urban economies are even after years of slow growth.
Asia is strong beyond Japan. Seoul at fifth, Shanghai at tenth and Beijing just outside the top ten at $1.10 trillion show the weight of East Asia. Singapore appears at 16th with $987.54 billion, a notable showing for a city-state.
Europe has fewer big metros. London (fourth) and Paris (sixth) represent the continent in the top ten, and Moscow shows up at 17th with $975.80 billion in the wider top 20.
How to Read This Ranking
City rankings can change dramatically depending on definitions. Some lists count only the city proper, others use a wider metropolitan area with suburbs and commuter towns. Tokyo, for example, is often measured as a vast urban region, which helps it score highly. A list based on purchasing power or GDP per person would reorder the table, putting smaller wealthy cities higher.
The currency matters too. Nominal GDP in dollars is affected by exchange rates, so a strong or weak yen, won or pound can move a city up or down without any real change in output. That is why economists often compare cities using several measures together. For the wider picture, see the list of cities by GDP on Wikipedia, which explains the main methods.
Where Are the Indian Cities?
No Indian city appears in the top 20 of this particular list, but cities such as Mumbai and Delhi are growing fast, and many forecasts expect them to climb in the coming years as India’s economy expands. Our coverage of India’s economy and its biggest companies, including the GDP tag, follows that story.
What We Cannot Confirm
The figures come from a social media post, and the post does not name its underlying dataset or how metropolitan areas were defined. Other rankings may give different numbers, so use this list as a snapshot, not an official statistic.
Quick Answers
Which city has the highest GDP? Tokyo, at $2.55 trillion in this ranking.
How many US cities are in the top ten? Four.
Is this per person or total? Total nominal GDP, not per person.
