08/10/2026
New York City has once again been named the world’s top city in Oxford Economics’ 2026 Global Cities Index, securing the No. 1 spot for the second consecutive year among 1,000 cities evaluated worldwide.
The index measures cities across five categories: Economics, Human Capital, Quality of Life, Environment, and Governance. New York received a perfect overall score of 100.0, placing it ahead of London at 98.8 and Paris at 93.4. The city also ranked first in the Economics category with a score of 100.0, supported by what Oxford Economics describes as the world’s largest metropolitan economy.
New York scored 89.5 for Human Capital, 80.8 for Quality of Life, 72.8 for Environment, and 75.7 for Governance. Oxford Economics credited the city’s strong performance to its concentration of major companies, leading universities, highly skilled workers, and high-paying global industries.
Seattle, San Francisco, Dublin, Boston, San Jose, Tokyo, and Zurich also made the top 10. Overall, North American and European cities dominated the rankings, accounting for 78 of the top 100 positions. U.S. cities generally performed strongest in Economics and Human Capital, while leading European cities scored particularly well in Quality of Life, Environment, and Governance.