Metropolitan economies are the basic organizing units of competition in the global economy. The geographic concentration of assets, workers, knowledge, and amenities in metro regions shapes their growth and determines prosperity. At City Observatory, we focus on metropolitan areas with populations of one million or more; this includes 52 metropolitan areas accounting for a majority of all US residents.
Because of the concentration of people, productive businesses, and innovative activity in cities, the nation’s economy is increasingly urban. A majority of the nation’s economic output, its gross domestic product (GDP) is produced in large metropolitan areas. This fascinating map prepared for a report by the US Conference of Mayors (see the orginal report here), shows that just 24 metropolitan areas accounted for half of all US GDP.
