New York, Tokyo, London and Seoul continue to be the world’s most resilient cities, while San Francisco has moved up to fifth from eighth place, in Savills Resilient Cities Index. However, the international real estate advisor says that locations in regions such as southern Europe and parts of the US are swiftly progressing up the rankings, demonstrating the way that more mid-sized cities are able to pivot and adjust quickly to macro trends
In analysis in its Impacts thought leadership programme, carried out in February 2026, Savills measured 490 cities’ resilience based on their economic growth, knowledge economy and tech; infrastructure investment; attractiveness to real estate investors and occupiers; liveability; and the measures its taken to adapt to climate change. Together, these indicate a city’s ability to cope with future challenges.
While still largely mid-Index, cities in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece have together, on average, risen by 36 places since the last Index in 2024, says Savills, although it is Spain’s main cities which have moved up most dramatically. Madrid is now in 34th place (2024: 77th) and Barcelona 47th (2024: 85th), this is largely due to Spain’s economic strength through record tourism, a shift to a higher-value-service economy, and unemployment below EU averages, plus these cities’ strong student populations, retail and tourism markets, says Savills.
North American cities are also moving swiftly up the table, with US cities, ranging from growth hubs located in the sunbelt to advanced tech-driven centres, rising six places on average compared to 2024, again mainly based on their economic outperformance and recovery in commercial transaction volumes. San Francisco is now 5th (was 8th) Dallas 12th (2024: 15th), Houston 15th (2024: 22nd), Miami 17th (2024: 23rd), Seattle 20th (2024: 29th), and Phoenix 22nd (2024: 39th).
Paul Tostevin, Head of Savills World Research, comments: “While there is little movement right at the top of our Index, as the big powerhouse cities sustain growth, benefit from agglomeration effects, and adapt their built environment for modern business needs, further down we see some interesting trends. Some mid-tier cities have been able to quickly adapt to environmental, tech and economic change and build on more niche strengths or skills specialisms to deliver solid improvement and greater growth, and are therefore swiftly heading up the charts. For real estate investors, the Index determines cities where investments will be secure and future growth potential exists. For business, it represents markets where demand for goods and services will be resilient and the employee base robust.”