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- Cities remain at the forefront of economic growth.
- Six US cities have been ranked as having world-leading economic vitality by the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index.
- But while they perform well on economic factors, the cities fall down on governance and quality of life.
News of the housing crises, worker exoduses, and budget slashing tells a tale of the slow decline of US cities.
However, according to the latest Global Cities Index from research group Oxford Economics, six US cities are still the leading "engines of the global economy."
New York, Los Angeles, San Jose, Seattle, San Francisco, and Dallas topped the index's economics category.
The index, produced annually by the economic advisory firm Oxford Economics, ranks the largest 1,000 cities by five categories: economics, human capital, quality of life, environment, and governance.
The prosperity of cities is often viewed through the lens of their busy financial centers, with New York, London, Singapore, and Hong Kong typically leading global rankings.
However, Oxford Economics' index purposefully assesses cities by a range of factors contributing to overall economic vitality and the potential for sustained growth and development.
GDP growth, employment growth, economic stability, GDP per person, and economic diversity were all measured in addition to overall GDP size.
"The cities topping the Economics category are the engines of the global economy. In this category, American cities dominate," the report states.
New York excelled in the economics category with a perfect score of 100, followed closely by Los Angeles. San Jose, the largest city in Silicon Valley, came in third place and was highlighted as having the highest GDP per person globally.
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A less expected entrant in the top 10 was Dallas, which ranked sixth globally for economic vitality.
The Texan city has experienced the largest numerical population increase of any US metro area in recent years, and more than 175 companies have moved their headquarters there since 2010, setting it up as one of the economic powerhouses of the South.
London, Paris, and Tokyo are the only three non-American cities to crack the top 10. They trail the US cities due to lower levels of GDP per person, according to the report.
Chicago also made it onto the list for its economic vitality, coming in eighth after London.
However, while the six US cities may score high in economics, they barely appear in the top rankings across the other four categories: human capital, quality of life, governance, and environment.
Cities in Europe, New Zealand, and Brazil bettered them on factors like income equality, life expectancy, air quality, civil liberties, and business environment.
Nonetheless, the report noted that "cities in North America are all clumped at the higher end of the rankings."
New York, San Jose, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco ranked in the top 10 of Oxford Economics' overall list of top global cities, with New York coming out on top.