How the World’s Largest City Economies Could Change by 2050
Key Takeaways
- New York is projected to remain the world’s largest city economy in 2050, with GDP reaching $6.4 trillion.
- Shanghai is projected to climb from 12th place in 2025 to third by 2050.
- Three Chinese cities are projected to rank among the world’s 10 largest city economies by 2050, compared with none in 2025.
The world’s largest cities have economies that rival those of entire countries.
By 2050, several are projected to generate more than $3 trillion in annual GDP as Asian megacities climb the global rankings.
Using projections from the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index 2026, this graphic compares the world’s largest city economies in 2025 with how the rankings could look in 2050. Figures are in nominal U.S. dollars.
Today’s Biggest City Economies
In 2025, five cities generated more than $1 trillion in annual GDP. New York ranked first at $2.6 trillion, followed by Tokyo at $1.5 trillion and Los Angeles at $1.4 trillion.
| Rank | City | Country | GDP (2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  New York |
U.S. | $2.60T |
| 2 |  Tokyo |
Japan | $1.50T |
| 3 | Los Angeles |
U.S. | $1.42T |
| 4 |  London |
UK | $1.16T |
| 5 |  Paris |
France | $1.03T |
| 6 |  Seoul |
South Korea | $970B |
| 7 | Chicago |
U.S. | $970B |
| 8 | Dallas |
U.S. | $840B |
| 9 | San Francisco |
U.S. | $840B |
| 10 | Houston |
U.S. | $800B |
| 11 | Washington, DC |
U.S. | $780B |
| 12 |  Shanghai |
China | $780B |
Together, New York, Tokyo, and Los Angeles generated roughly $5.5 trillion in GDP, putting their combined economic output on the scale of the world’s largest national economies.
By 2050, the scale shifts dramatically: every city in the projected top 12 is expected to exceed $2 trillion in annual GDP.
Asian Megacities Climb the Global Rankings
By 2050, China is projected to have three cities in the global top 10, compared with none in 2025. U.S. cities remain prominent, but some of the largest GDP gains are expected in Asia.
| Rank | City | Country | GDP (2050P) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York |
U.S. | $6.39T |
| 2 | Los Angeles |
U.S. | $3.62T |
| 3 | Shanghai |
China | $3.26T |
| 4 | Tokyo |
Japan | $3.25T |
| 5 | London |
UK | $3.17T |
| 6 | Beijing |
China | $2.63T |
| 7 | San Francisco |
U.S. | $2.49T |
| 8 | Dallas |
U.S. | $2.44T |
| 9 | Shenzhen |
China | $2.43T |
| 10 | Chicago |
U.S. | $2.42T |
| 11 | Seoul |
South Korea | $2.41T |
| 12 | Paris |
France | $2.34T |
Shanghai sees the biggest ranking jump among the cities shown. Its economy is projected to grow more than fourfold, from about $780 billion to $3.3 trillion, putting it just behind Los Angeles and narrowly ahead of Tokyo.
Beijing and Shenzhen also enter the top 10, ranking sixth and ninth, respectively. Meanwhile, Paris falls from fifth to 12th, while Houston and Washington, D.C., drop out of the top 12.
Shanghai’s rise as a global financial hub has been decades in the making. Its GDP is expected to surpass San Francisco’s as early as 2027, even though its economy was one-quarter the size of San Francisco’s in 2000.
Still, the gap at the very top widens. New York is projected to reach $6.4 trillion in GDP by 2050, nearly $2.8 trillion more than second-place Los Angeles.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the world’s most populous cities from 1950 through 2100.
