These are the world's best cities for 2025, according to Oxford economists — see how New York fared

New York Post

3 days ago

We're the best around, and nothing's ever going to keep us down.
New York City has been named the best city in the world for 2025 by Oxford Economics' Global Cities Index.
This marks the second consecutive year that the Big Apple has topped the annual list, which features more than 50 major metropolises across the globe.
Naturally, ranking the 'best' city on Earth might sound a bit loaded, but Oxford Economics tried to keep things objective by evaluating 1,000 of the most populous urban jungles on a variety of metrics encompassing five broad categories: economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance.
The metropolises were then given scores out of 100 based on their overall performance.
4 The Big Apple snagged the first spot with a perfect 100 score overall and in the economics sector.
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With that method, Oxford Economics could glean 'a nuanced understanding of each city's strengths and weaknesses,' per the site.
This year, eight of the top 10 cities maintained their spots, which Oxford Economics experts felt demonstrated these hubs' remarkable resilience against current 'trade tensions' and other threats to 'economic growth worldwide.'
4 London ranked second, due in part to its high GDP.
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The Big Apple snagged the 1st spot with a perfect 100 score overall and in the economics sector. Experts attributed this to the city's large gross domestic product (GDP), enviable income per person, and its abundance of corporate headquarters.
NYC didn't perform so well in the governance and environmental sectors — ranking 168th and 161st, respectively — with experts flagging its low economic diversity and high housing expenditures.
Coincidentally, the Big Apple boasts the most billionaires on Earth with a staggering 123 10-figure-plus hotshots worth a collective $759 billion.
4 The Big Apple boasts the most billionaires on Earth, with a whopping 123.
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London, meanwhile, retained its second-place slot in this metropolitan Olympiad with an overall score of 98.5.
The UK powerhouse excelled in the human capital category, notching a perfect 100, which experts felt was due to the city's 'world-leading universities, diverse labor force, and large pool of international headquarters.'
Also enviable was their economic performance — a credit to the city's high GDP.
4 Paris scored high when it came to quality of life due to its 'plethora of world-renowned cultural sites and high life expectancy,' per the Index.
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Rounding out the top five were Paris, France; San Jose, California; and Seattle, Washington, with Oxford gurus noting that all three meccas have top economics scores.
Paris excelled in this regard 'due to the sheer size of its economy,' while 'tech hubs' San Jose and Seattle boasted 'high levels of GDP per person,' per the index.
They were also generally happier, according to the survey.
'While these three cities score slightly lower than New York and London on the human capital front, they outperform the top two cities in terms of quality of life,' the authors wrote.
San Jose and Seattle landed 91.5 and 88.1, respectively, in that area, compared to NYC's 83.8, while Paris nabbed a 93.2 quality-of-life rating.
'Paris benefits from its plethora of world-renowned cultural sites and high life expectancy, while residents of San Jose and Seattle have among the highest average incomes in the world.'
Further, the U.S. had eight cities in the top 20, with Los Angeles, California; Washington, D.C.; and Dallas, Texas, placing 11, 12 and 19, respectively.
Here are the top 10 cities:
New York, US (100) London, UK (98.5) Paris, France (94.4) San Jose, California, US (94.2) Seattle, US (91.8) Melbourne, Australia (90.7) Sydney, Australia (90.6) Boston, US (90.3) Tokyo, Japan (90.3) San Francisco, US (90.3).