Tokyo has taken the top spot as the world’s wealthiest city in 2025, with a gross domestic product of $2.55 trillion built on decades of technological innovation, ahead of a group dominated by American cities, according to CEOWORLD magazine.
The world’s largest cities “form the economic backbone of the global economy—commanding capital, innovation and influence on an unparalleled scale,” the magazine said in its survey of 300 cities.
Urban wealth is a reflection of “innovation density, institutional strength and capital fluidity,” not just a measure of population size or physical infrastructure, CEOWORLD said in its annual report released last week.
The economic power of Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is built on decades of innovation in technology, automotive engineering and precision manufacturing, the magazine said.
“The city remains a benchmark for operational excellence, technological sophistication and disciplined economic governance. Japan’s capital integrates innovation with infrastructure like few others – its transportation systems, financial networks and industrial supply chains operate with unparalleled precision,” she said.
The New York metropolitan area, which ranked second in the survey, is at the center of global finance and a dynamic startup ecosystem, while Los Angeles, ranked third, has an entertainment economy complemented by a rapidly growing tech and space sector, CEOWORLD said.
“Together, the top 10 cities alone represent nearly a third of global GDP, demonstrating how economic power is increasingly concentrated in urban centers that drive innovation, capital flows and global competitiveness,” it said, among other things.
U.S. cities dominated the top 25, with Chicago ranking seventh, followed by the San Francisco Bay Area (9), Washington (12), Dallas-Fort Worth (13), Houston (14), Boston (15), Seattle (18), Philadelphia (19), Metro Atlanta (20) and Silicon Valley (24).
Asia’s dominance in the 2025 rankings reflects a broader shift in global economic gravity, the magazine said.
Seoul is the fifth richest city in the world, highlighting South Korea’s advances in technology, electronics, and digital innovation.
