New York City holds the greatest number of high net worth individuals in the US, in fact, more than Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington DC combined, the latest US Metro Wealth Index by Capgemini shows.

The population of HNW individuals - defined here as those with over $1 million in investable assets - in the top tep US metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) identified by the index reported a 17.5 per cent rise in 2009, or the highest rate of growth over the last four years. Those MSAs with the highest growth in the year were also those that had the largest drop in 2008.

New York led the list with an 18.7 per cent rise, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Houston and San Jose. In this latest study, Philadelphia moved up to the number six spot, pushing Boston to number seven, while Houston also rose to number nine, pushing San Jose to ten.

"In today’s volatile market, the Metro Wealth Index serves as a resource for advisors and wealth management firms who are looking to understand the trends affecting high net worth individuals in specific US markets," Edward Merchant, solutions leader, Capital Markets for Capgemini Financial Services, said in a statement.

The Capgemini US Metro Wealth Index is designed to help wealth management firms understand the scale and potential of different markets in order to identify new growth opportunities or adjust an existing footprint in specific regions.