The Largest Cities for Wealthy Consumers

According to the most recent metropolitan area household income class data compiled by ISA, there are now nine metropolitan areas in the world that are home to at least two million households that are included among the Class A and B levels of income classes by household (roughly meaning $40,000 and above in terms of disposable income).  As a reminder, ISA breaks down household income levels into five classes (A, B, C, D and E), with Class A being generally considered to be upper class, and Class B typically referred to as upper-middle class. 

It is no surprise that the cities with the highest concentration of wealthy households are found in just a small handful of developed countries.  In fact, the nine metropolitan areas with more than two million Class A and Class B households are located in just five countries, with four of these metropolitan areas found in just one country (the United States), and another three found in one other country (Japan).

While it is clear that the largest number of wealthy households remain concentrated in developed economies, the number of wealthy households in emerging market metropolitan areas has risen substantially in recent years and is forecast to continue to rise in the coming years, particularly in Asia, where expanding metropolitan area populations are combined with fast-rising wealth levels.  At present, the metropolitan areas with the largest number of Class A and Class B households in emerging markets are found mostly in Asia and Latin America.

For now, wealth remains concentrated in the largest metropolitan areas of the world’s larger developed economies, particularly the United States and Japan.  However, emerging market cities are seeing a major influx of talent and investment that is leading to a rapid expansion in the number of wealthier households in these markets.  This will lead to the number wealthier households both growing in absolute terms on a global basis, but also becoming more dispersed.  As such, this will prove to be both an opportunity and a challenge for the businesses that provide goods and services to wealthier consumers, as their target markets become increasingly diverse and dispersed.  Nevertheless, these businesses will welcome the new opportunities provided by the growing number of wealthy households, no matter where they are located in the world.