World Data Lab

Category

Health

Built for health teams deciding where spending out of pocket is growing, which age bands will be carrying it, and what that means for pricing and access.

COICOP 6

Start the shortlist where the category is bought.

Every country to 2050, all 9,400+ cities to 2040. One model, one shared scale for a market and a city.

The category down to its 7 lines. Each with its own size, growth and cohort, never one blended average.

Every figure by age band and spending tier. A target cohort is only a filter on the same numbers.

Priced against what each market can afford. The share of a city that can buy at your price, and when.

USD 6.78T

Spending in 2026

USD 11.60T

Spending in 2036

+USD 4.82T

Added by 2036

5.52%

Annual growth to 2036

USD 830

Per person a year

9.6%

Share of the global wallet

nominal USD, current prices

Where the category is bought

World

 

 

The 20 largest published city markets for health, spending in 2026 in nominal USD billions. Source: World Data Intelligence.
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Health: top 20 city markets by spending in 2026
CityCountry2026 (USD bn)2036 (USD bn)Annual growth (%)
New York CityUnited States230.3356.64.47
Los AngelesUnited States195.2326.55.28
San FranciscoUnited States122.6203.65.20
MiamiUnited States89.9145.84.96
ChicagoUnited States72.5108.34.09
WashingtonUnited States58.497.15.21
SeattleUnited States46.981.45.68
HoustonUnited States46.185.16.31
DenverUnited States41.469.25.26
BostonUnited States37.557.34.34
PhoenixUnited States35.562.25.77
DallasUnited States32.753.14.96
San DiegoUnited States32.256.55.78
PhiladelphiaUnited States28.344.44.63
Las VegasUnited States28.143.64.51
TokyoJapan27.842.54.35
SeoulSouth Korea26.246.25.85
DetroitUnited States25.937.83.82
Portland, OregonUnited States24.540.05.02
SacramentoUnited States23.441.15.81

Time entry to the year a city reaches your price.

Annual consumer spending on health, 2000 to 2040.

2026
  1. New York City: USD 230bn in 2026
  2. Los Angeles: USD 195bn in 2026
  3. San Francisco: USD 123bn in 2026
  4. Miami: USD 90bn in 2026
  5. Chicago: USD 73bn in 2026
The five largest city markets in the 2026 race snapshot, nominal USD billions. Source: World Data Intelligence.
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Health: city race in 2026
CityCountry code2026 (USD bn)
New York CityUSA230.3
Los AngelesUSA195.2
San FranciscoUSA122.6
MiamiUSA89.9
ChicagoUSA72.5

Aim the range at the cohort that is arriving.

By spending tier

Spending in 2026Added by 2036Rich50.9%61.5%Upper middle13.7%12.7%Core middle19.2%15.7%Lower middle13.4%9.7%Poor2.8%0.4%
  • Rich: 50.9% of spending in 2026, 61.5% of the spending added by 2036
  • Upper middle: 13.7% of spending in 2026, 12.7% of the spending added by 2036
  • Core middle: 19.2% of spending in 2026, 15.7% of the spending added by 2036
  • Lower middle: 13.4% of spending in 2026, 9.7% of the spending added by 2036
  • Poor: 2.8% of spending in 2026, 0.4% of the spending added by 2036

By age band

Spending in 2026Added by 203665 and over29.5%40.4%45-6527.9%25.8%30-4517.8%14.2%15-3013.3%11.4%0-1511.5%8.2%
  • 65 and over: 29.5% of spending in 2026, 40.4% of the spending added by 2036
  • 45-65: 27.9% of spending in 2026, 25.8% of the spending added by 2036
  • 30-45: 17.8% of spending in 2026, 14.2% of the spending added by 2036
  • 15-30: 13.3% of spending in 2026, 11.4% of the spending added by 2036
  • 0-15: 11.5% of spending in 2026, 8.2% of the spending added by 2036
Share of 2026 spending and share of spending added by 2036, by spending tier and age band. Source: World Data Intelligence.
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Health: spending tiers and age bands
CohortDimension2026 spending (%)Added by 2036 (%)Annual growth (%)
PoorSpending tier2.80.40.98
Lower middleSpending tier13.49.74.25
Core middleSpending tier19.215.74.69
Upper middleSpending tier13.712.75.19
RichSpending tier50.961.56.40
0-15Age band11.58.24.19
15-30Age band13.311.44.87
30-45Age band17.814.24.60
45-65Age band27.925.85.20
65 and overAge band29.540.47.04

Weight the portfolio to the lines that are moving.

Area is spending in 2026. USD 6.78T across 7 published lines of the model.

Hospital services

USD 2.07T · 30.6%

Medical services

USD 1.81T · 26.6%

Pharmaceutical products

USD 1.64T · 24.1%

Dental services

USD 549bn · 8.1%

Therapeutic appliances and equipment

USD 365bn · 5.4%

Paramedical services

USD 258bn · 3.8%

  • Other medical productsUSD 94bn
Published lines of health, sized by 2026 spending in nominal USD billions. Source: World Data Intelligence.
See the data
Health: published category lines in 2026
Category line2026 (USD bn)Share of plotted spending (%)Annual growth (%)
Hospital services2070.830.65.19
Medical services1805.826.65.30
Pharmaceutical products1636.324.15.97
Dental services548.98.15.63
Therapeutic appliances and equipment364.65.45.71
Paramedical services258.13.86.29
Other medical products93.51.45.66

Five decisions a health team can settle with this data.

01

Market entry and prioritisation

The cities holding the most health spending today are not the ones adding it fastest. Across the forty largest markets in the model the spread runs from 3.5% a year to 8.7%, which is the difference between a market that transforms by 2036 and one that barely moves. We rank every city on the spending that is forming rather than the spending already there.

02

Pricing and affordability

Spending on health by rich consumers compounds at 6.40% a year, against 0.98% for the poorest. A cheaper range can hold its volume and still be defending a shrinking share of the growth, because the growth is not sitting where the volume is. We map spending power against your own price range in every market you sell in.

03

Category and portfolio strategy

Inside the category, paramedical services compounds at 6.29% a year while hospital services manages 5.19%. Those are two different shelf decisions inside one category averaging 5.52%, and the average is what most portfolio reviews are still built on.

04

Segmentation and targeting

Spending on health by the over-65s compounds at 7.04% a year, against 4.19% for the under-15s. In New York City the over-65s already hold 26% of the category. A pipeline aimed at the wrong life stage is chasing the slower half of the market, and the gap widens every year to 2036.

05

Demand forecasting and sizing

The category adds $4.82 trillion between 2026 and 2036, and none of it arrives evenly. A capacity decision taken now rests on the market that will exist in ten years rather than the one visible today. We project every market and every year to 2050.

FAQ

Questions a health team asks us.

Consumers spend $6.78 trillion on health in 2026, which is 9.6% of all their spending. The market grows 5.52% a year in current dollars and reaches $11.60 trillion by 2036. Between those two years it adds $4.82 trillion.

The fastest-growing subcategory is paramedical services at 6.29% a year and the slowest is hospital services at 5.19%. The category as a whole grows 5.52% a year. The two largest subcategories are hospital services at $2.07 trillion and medical services at $1.81 trillion. Both grow more slowly than paramedical services.

New York City spends the most at $230bn a year, followed by Los Angeles at $195bn and San Francisco at $123bn. We estimate the category for all 9,400+ cities in every year to 2040. The top ten of the 253 cities on this page's map hold 40% of the spending it shows.

Among the largest city markets, Jakarta grows fastest at 8.7% a year and Moscow slowest at 3.5%. The cities adding the most spending by 2036 make a different list, led by Los Angeles at $131bn, New York City at $126bn and San Francisco at $81bn.

Yes, every market and city splits the category into five age bands and five spending tiers. Sizing the cohort you target means filtering those same figures, with nothing extra to commission. Palm Desert has the oldest profile, with 54% of its spending from the over-65s. San Rafael is the most affluent, with 99% from its richest spending tier.

We forecast every country, subcategory and cohort each year to 2050, and every city to 2040. Because one model produces all of them, a market and a city read on the same scale. The method is published and peer reviewed. Our page on how we measure spending sets it out. The average person spends $830 a year on health today.

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How health data can help your planning

Out-of-pocket health spending is USD 6.8T in 2026 and grows by USD 4.8T by 2036. Get the deck on what households buy for their own health, who can pay for it, and where the growth lands - 194 countries and 9,400+ cities, with national forecasts to 2050 and city forecasts to 2040.

PDF slide deck194 countriesNational to 2050 · Cities to 2040
  • Market sizing: USD 6.8T out of pocket in 2026, +USD 4.8T by 2036, USD 830 a head
  • Service mix: medical goods lead in 149 markets, out-patient in 40, hospital in 5
  • Who can pay: Rich consumers pay USD 10,680 a year across five health lines; Vulnerable & Poor consumers pay USD 54

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