The article discusses the features of the development of the largest cities in Russia on the example of 16 cities with a population of more than 1 million people. The assessment of their contribution to the socio-economic development of the country is given. A comparative analysis of the levels of development of social infrastructure and the consumer market in millionaire cities is carried out, a number of directions in reducing significant differences in the development of these areas are considered. The possibilities of formation and the current state of development of innovative clusters in the fields of healthcare and education are shown.