Most Productive Cities

The Brooking Institution recently issued a report that compared per-capita gross domestic product and changes in employment data from 2010 to 2011 in 200 of the world’s largest metropolitan areas. The report found these areas produced 48 percent of global output despite accounting for only 14 percent of the world’s population and employment.

In other findings: Ninety percent of the fastest-growing economies were outside North America and western Europe; U.S. metropolitan areas outperformed the national average when it came to income growth; and global metropolitan areas that specialized in business services, financial services and commodities showed the strongest performance.

”If you have a high level of worker productivity, typically you enjoy a higher standard of living,” said Alan Berube, senior fellow at Brookings and co-author of the Global Metro Monitor Volatility, Growth and Recovery report.

Click ahead to see which were the most productive cities in the Brookings Institution’s study.

By Daniel Bukszpan
Posted 28 February 2012

Per-capita GDP: $58,783

San Francisco isn’t just where Tony Bennett left his heart. It’s the cultural center of Northern California’s Bay Area and a favorite destination of tourists from all over the world. A Sept. 3, 2010, article in the San Francisco Chronicle described the tourism industry as the city’s largest private-sector employer and estimated its worth at $7.8 billion per year.

Since the 1990s, San Francisco’s economy also has been positively affected by its proximity to Silicon Valley. During the late 2000s, the city attracted thousands of technology industry professionals. The year-round mild climate couldn’t hurt either.

Per-capita GDP: $60,074

Boston is the capital of Massachusetts as well as the Bay State’s largest city. It’s home to such institutions of higher learning as Harvard, Boston University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The students who attend its schools account for $4.8 billion of the city’s annual economy, according to “Leadership Through Innovation: The History of Boston’s Economy,” a report published by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Boston is also home to such profitable companies as Liberty Mutual, Gillette and Bain Capital, the former workplace of Republican presidential candidate — and former Massachusetts governor — Mitt Romney.

Per-capita GDP: $61,458

Stockholm is the capital and largest city in Sweden. As the country’s financial center, it’s home to such major national banks as Handelsbanken, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken and Swedbank, as well as such insurance companies as Skandia and Trygg-Hansa.

Of all the venture capital investments in Sweden, more than one-third are in Stockholm. While most of these are in the areas of electronics and information technology, the largest individual investments are in biotechnology, chemicals and industry, according to a Johns Hopkins University study. But who cares about all that when H&M has its headquarters there?

Per-capita GDP: $62,943

For Washington to appear on this list is nothing short of remarkable, given the city’s recent history. Not that long ago it the crack epidemic led to a crime wave in the nation’s capital, making Washington known as the “murder capital” of the U.S. However, the crime rate has dropped steadily, and in 2011 the homicide rate reached its lowest point since 1963.

All three branches of the U.S. government are located in the city, and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are headquartered there. The government is one of the largest employers in the city, and its payroll accounts for more than a quarter of the jobs. The presence of the federal government is also indirectly responsible for the high number of lobbying firms that have their headquarters there. The five largest nonpolitical employers are Georgetown University, George Washington University, Washington Hospital Center, Children's National Medical Center and Howard University.

Per-capita GDP: $63,236

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland. It’s home to some of the world’s biggest financial institutions, including Credit Suisse and UBS. Its low tax rate exerts an irresistible pull on foreign companies, including Google, Microsoft and IBM, which have offices there.

The city has one of the world’s highest standards of living. Zurich was surpassed only by Vienna in the Mercer 2011 Quality of Living Survey. It is also home to the Swiss Stock Exchange, one of the most prominent stock exchanges in the world.

Per-capita GDP: $63,555

The most populous city in Connecticut is Bridgeport, with a population exceeding 144,000, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Its place in popular trivia is assured, as it is both the birthplace of the Frisbee and the location of the first Subway restaurant, according to the 2005 book “One Hundred Great Businesses And The Minds Behind Them” by Emily Ross and Angus Holland.

The city’s medical sector is an important source of revenue. In fact, three of its five top employers are in the medical sector. The top employers in the city are St. Vincent's Medical Center, Bridgeport Hospital, People's United Bank, University of Bridgeport and Bridgeport Health Care Center.

Per-capita GDP: $63,859

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates and the only Middle Eastern city on this list. Situated on an island in the Persian Gulf, the city was responsible for generating almost 55 percent of the GDP generated by the U.A.E. in 2007.

Abu Dhabi is the site of such financial institutions as the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. It’s also the largest oil producer in the U.A.E., with a production of 2.3 million barrels per day in 2010.

Per capita GDP: $68,141

San Jose is California’s third-largest city, but it has the state’s highest per-capita GDP. Located in the southern portion of the San Francisco Bay, the city was at the epicenter of the technology boom in the 1990s, and today "The Capital of Silicon Valley" is still its unofficial nickname.

The city is close to bursting with technology companies. Adobe and Cisco Systems are headquartered there, and Hewlett-Packard, IBM and TiVo have major offices in the city. Kaiser Permanente and eBay are among the city’s other major employers.

Per capita GDP: $74,057

Oslo is the capital of Norway. It was founded almost 1,000 years ago by King Harald III and nearly destroyed by fire during the 17th century. In 2010 and 2011 it ranked as the world’s second most-expensive city, behind only Tokyo.

Oslo’s seaside location makes ideal for companies in the maritime sector, and any Norwegian merchant vessels whose crews want to do business have to first get the approval of Stiftelsen Det Norske Veritas, a classification society based outside of the city. Oslo is also home to the Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research, which employs 2,100 people, making it the Scandinavia’s largest independent research organization.

Per capita GDP: $75,086

Hartford is the capital of Connecticut and with a per capita GDP of over $75,000, it’s the most productive city on this list. It’s home to some of the largest insurance companies in the U.S., including Aetna, Uniprise and Travelers. The presence of these companies has earned the city the not particularly flashy nickname of “The Insurance Capital of the World.”

Hartford has taken a little bit of a hit in recent years, as several major insurance companies including MetLife and CIGNA, have left the city to set up shop in its less expensive suburbs. However, it hasn’t affected the Hartford’s standing with respect to per-capita GDP, and in this respect Hartford tops the list as the most productive city in the world.