Kraków has been named the second-ranked city in Poland in the Polish Economy Diamonds 2025 ranking, with 1,533 companies based in the city estimated to have a market value of more than PLN 10 million.
Only Warsaw recorded more qualifying businesses, while Wrocław came third with 1,267. The result places Kraków among Poland's strongest urban business centres and highlights the scale of companies operating alongside the city's better-known tourism, cultural and academic economy.
Kraków takes second place nationally
The ranking was prepared by the Instytut Europejskiego Biznesu (European Business Institute) as part of its 18th edition of the Polish Economy Diamonds competition.
Out of 1,026 cities in Poland, 323 received the Brylant Polskiej Gospodarki 2025 title. The qualifying cities were those with at least 10 companies whose estimated market value exceeded PLN 10 million in December 2025.
Kraków recorded 1,533 such companies, placing it second nationally:
Warsaw - 5,753
Kraków - 1,533
Wrocław - 1,267
Poznań - 1,110
Gdańsk - 793
The Institute's published figures are based on publicly available financial information from the Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy (National Court Register).
A strong showing for Kraków
Kraków's second-place position is significant because the ranking is based on the number of companies meeting the Institute's market-value threshold, rather than simply the size of the city.
The city recorded 266 more qualifying companies than Wrocław and 423 more than Poznań.
The result also puts Kraków in a different league from most of the country's 1,026 cities included in the wider comparison. Only four cities recorded more than 1,000 qualifying companies, with Kraków firmly among that group.
For a city widely recognised internationally for its historic centre, universities and tourism, the figures provide a useful reminder of the scale of its contemporary business sector.
Business sits alongside Kraków's established strengths
Kraków has developed a substantial commercial economy alongside its historic and cultural identity.
The city's combination of universities, skilled professionals, international connections and established business infrastructure has helped create an environment in which a large number of companies operate from the city.
The Polish Economy Diamonds result does not attempt to measure all of these factors. It is specifically a count of companies whose estimated market value passed the PLN 10 million threshold. Nevertheless, the number of qualifying businesses offers a useful indicator of the depth of Kraków's corporate base.
For international residents, that business presence is also part of the wider picture of life in the city. Kraków's economy extends beyond tourism, with employment and services connected to companies operating in domestic and international markets.
How the valuation is calculated
The European Business Institute says its estimates are based on public financial information from the National Court Register.
Company market values are estimated using a method comparable to the valuation of Polish companies listed on the Giełda Papierów Wartościowych w Warszawie (Warsaw Stock Exchange). The Institute uses the P/E (price-to-earnings) and P/BV (price-to-book) ratios in its calculations.
This means the ranking should not be interpreted as a league table of city GDP, salaries, employment or tax revenue. Instead, it shows how many companies headquartered in each city meet the Institute's chosen market-value benchmark.
See more: Europe Congress MCE Central & Eastern Europe 2027 to Take Place in Kraków
Source: Europejska Firma
Image credit: Andrzej Otrębski, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
