The Dominican Republic is the Eastern part of the Hispaniola Island, shared with Haiti. This Caribbean paradise is popular with tourists due to its wealth of excellent beaches, great climate, and fun culture. While there is still a lot to ask from the Dominican economy, the island is vastly wealthier than Haiti and has been growing steadily for decades, making it one of the better places to live in the Caribbean. If you have ever wondered what the richest cities in the Dominican Republic are, we have a breakdown:
Santo Domingo Este
Santo Domingo Este is one of the biggest cities in the Dominican Republic and also has some of the most wealth in the country concentrated here. There are three duty-free zones that provide employment for tens of thousands of people. On top of that, there is the New Isabela Industrial Park, which is also great for the economy. Like most of the other cities in the country, Santo Domingo Este relies heavily on tourism. The Los Tres Ojos National Park and the Columbus Lighthouse are some of the most important tourist attractions.
Santiago de los Caballeros
Santiago de los Caballeros is one of the largest cities in the Caribbean and the second largest in the Dominican Republic. Unlike the other cities in the country, Santiago de los Caballeros does not overly rely on the tourism industry but instead has a more diversified economy. The area is rich with fertile lands and some of the most important agricultural products for the Dominican Republic are produced here. Cigars, coffee, alcohol, and lumber are all found here and provide a lot of wealth and employment in the country.
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo is the largest city in the Dominican Republic, as well as in the Caribbean, with around 3 million people living here. Due to its large size, the city is the natural home to most of the government offices, administration, judiciary, and legislature. This provides for a lot of stable jobs and can be lucrative. The great telecommunications infrastructure combined with a large percentage of the population that speaks English has led to a flourishing call-center industry. Those jobs might not sound great to Westerners but pay very well in the Dominican Republic. While there is still poverty around the city, the middle class is growing and the economy is doing well.
