Bloom Consulting is proud to share its newest study, the first ever to quantify the economic impact of city perception in North America.
It is the third chapter in a research series that has, step by step, set the stage for this moment. The first study developed the Perception Elements and the Country and City Brand Taxonomy Models ©, defining what actually shapes how countries and cities are perceived. The second broke new ground, quantifying for the first time the impact of Nation and Place Brands on local and global economies.
This study goes further still, measuring that impact for North American cities individually, and the results are striking: City perception drives an estimated US$178 billion in economic activity across North American cities every year, roughly 1.2% of the combined GDP of the cities studied.
Why did Bloom Consulting conduct a dedicated study on North American cities?
The second study, on the impact of Nation and Place Brands on the local and global economy, surfaced an anomaly its worldwide model could not fully explain: North American cities behaved as structural outliers, their economies operating at a scale and complexity that model was not built to capture.
Rather than treating this as a limitation, Bloom Consulting built a dedicated regional study from the ground up. This technical report focuses specifically on 44 cities across the United States and Canada, selected based on metropolitan GDP. Data on tourism spending, capital investment flows, and net migration was sourced city by city. The findings were presented publicly for the first time at City Nation Place Americas 2026 in Vancouver.
“North American cities consistently appeared as outliers in our global model, not because the findings did not apply to them, but because their economies demanded a dedicated framework. This study gives city authorities a concrete, evidence-based tool to quantify the value of their City Brand and justify investment in managing it. What began as an ambitious and largely uncharted endeavour has become one of the most meaningful bodies of work Bloom Consulting has produced.”
– Jose Filipe Torres, CEO, Bloom Consulting
What is the economic impact of City perception?
The data reveals a clear and consistent relationship between City Brand perception and its impact on economies of North American cities. City Brand perception accounts for 25% of capital investment flows, 31% of talent net migration, and 22% of tourism spending in US cities and 67% in Canadian cities. The higher Canadian share likely reflects a greater dependency on international tourism, given a smaller domestic market and a more concentrated urban structure, where perception plays a proportionally larger role in driving visitor flows. For context, the dollar-value breakdown is presented in the graph below.
For every $1,000 a North American city generates, between $210 and $670 traces back to City perception. For capital investment, that is $250 in every $1,000. For talent, $310 per expat in average economic contribution. Tourism shows the widest range: $220 per $1,000 in US cities and $670 in Canadian cities.
The study also quantifies what a shift in perception is worth. On average, a 0.1-point improvement on the perception scale corresponds to:
- a 23% increase in capital investment flows,
- a 26% increase in net migration, and
- a 34% increase in tourism spending for US cities and 42% for Canadian cities.
These are not marginal gains. Understanding how perception drives economic outcomes is the first step; the next is acting on it.
How can cities use these findings?
These results have direct implications for city authorities, Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs), and investment promotion agencies. Bloom Consulting recommends three actions:
- Treat perception as a core performance indicator. Perception scores should sit alongside visitor numbers, investment volumes, and employment rates in standard dashboards. This study shows the relationship with all three economic dimensions is measurable and significant.
- Use the City Brand Taxonomy Model © to map and prioritise the 12 Perception Elements that shape how a city is seen. Without a structured framework, City Brand investment is diffuse and hard to measure.
- Build cross-sector coalitions. A 0.1-point perception shift cannot be achieved by a single agency or campaign. It requires coordinated action across public institutions, the private sector, cultural organisations, universities, and civic leaders.
Why does City perception matter for North American cities?
The cumulative message of this study is straightforward: City perception is not a communications vanity metric. It accounts for an estimated US$178 billion in economic activity annually. That exceeds the size of the entire US semiconductor industry and rivals the global video game sector.
For city governments and their partners, this study offers more than a headline figure: it provides both the evidence and the formula to quantify how much a City Brand contributes to a city’s economy, and to predict the return on improving it. The question is no longer whether perception pays, but how much a city stands to gain by managing it deliberately. The full report shows how.
Download the full report: The Impact of City Brands on the North American Economy
Cite article: Bloom Consulting (2026): The impact of City Brands on the North American Economy. Bloom Consulting Journal, 7 July. Available at: https://www.bloom-consulting.com/journal/the-economic-impact-of-city-brands-in-north-america/
Frequently asked questions
What is City Brand?
A City Brand is the perception a city holds in the minds of the people who matter to it (residents, visitors, investors, and talent). It is shaped by the city’s identity, actions, and communication and, unlike a logo or slogan, it can be measured and actively managed over time.
Which cities were included in the research?
The study covers 44 metropolitan areas across the United States and Canada, selected based on metropolitan GDP, spanning cities of every size, from New York and Toronto to Seattle, Salt Lake City, Ottawa, and Raleigh. See the full list of cities in the Scope and Methodology chapter of the report.
What is Bloom Consulting City Brand Taxonomy Model ©?
The Bloom Consulting City Brand Taxonomy Model © is a framework developed with Place and City Branding practitioners and academics to identify the specific Perception Elements (see “What are Perception Elements?”) that shape how a city is perceived. It offers a standardised way to measure the effectiveness of branding efforts and to guide the policies and actions that build a city’s overall perception (a tool for Brand Managers, practitioners, and academics alike). Read more about City Brand Taxonomy Model © and 12 Perception Elements here.
What are Perception Elements?
Perception Elements are the distinct areas that together constitute how a city is perceived (12 in total in the Bloom Consulting City Brand Taxonomy Model ©). Each is evaluated on a standardised scale, from extremely negative to extremely positive, that guides the actions and policies needed to improve a city’s overall perception.
