OBJECTIVE BANKING CITIES TIER LIST
TIER1 - NYC, SF
TIER2 - CHI, LA
TIER3 - DC, MIA, CLT, BOS, HOU
TIER4 - MIN, DEN, RIC, DAL
TIER5 - EVERYONE ELSE
EDIT: decided to be international T1 - LON T2 - TOK, HK, SG T3 - DUB T4 - AUS
TIER1 - NYC, SF
TIER2 - CHI, LA
TIER3 - DC, MIA, CLT, BOS, HOU
TIER4 - MIN, DEN, RIC, DAL
TIER5 - EVERYONE ELSE
EDIT: decided to be international T1 - LON T2 - TOK, HK, SG T3 - DUB T4 - AUS
| +95 | [2026 - October] Unbiased Prestige Rankings | 58 | 1h |
| +88 | Who is the final boss in Houston Energy? (GS, JEFF or EVR) | 23 | 5h |
| +81 | You should probably leave IB | 27 | 8h |
| +46 | Why Do We Turn Comments? | 11 | 2h |
| +43 | Tomorrow Will Be Better | 5 | 4d |
| +41 | Moelis PCA vs Lower tier BB Coverage | 30 | 1d |
| +29 | Banking (Un)fortunately Still Needs You: My Case for Bankers in the AI Era | 5 | 1m |
| +26 | Lateraling as Analyst | 25 | 1h |
| +24 | How much should you ask questions / seek feedback as an intern? | 9 | 14h |
| +24 | UBS IB #24 in US M&A in 2026 | 10 | 11h |
Career Resources
How about London/HK/Tokyo/SG/Australia/Dubai
Sorry idk know where those places are RAHHH 🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅🦅
Honestly I'd move LA down to Tier 3. There are a couple of great shops and groups there, but the media industry is very concentrated now, and finance isn't seen as prestigious as working in media there (if that prestige is something that's important to you)
Facts but it’s LA
Prestige is very important to me. Thinking about lateraling from M&A at a tier 2 BB (BAC/Citi/Barclays) to janitor at Centerview. Thoughts? Will this impress more girls at The Spaniard?
Buddy’s never been to LA
I love WSO tier lists what would I do without them
Bump
HTX Tier 2 fr
too much dealflow to ignore
Upside to SF is tech deal flow
Downside to SF is you're living in SF
Tier 1 - NYC, London
Tier 2 - HK, SF
Tier 2.5 - LA, SG, Tokyo
Tier 3 - Paris, Toronto
Tier 4 - Houston, DC, Boston, Melbourne
Tier 5 - Charlotte, Salt Lake City
Forgot Frankfurt
but why does everyone from london want to move to NY but not the other way around?
London in it own tier 1.5
salary is generally higher in NY and with more opportunities in general
Put some respect on Charlotte
Being French and having lived in Tokyo for the past two years, you guys don't know what you are talking about when it comes to Japan.
M&A analysts here make 8-9 million yens base salary working in a Japanese IB environment, so IB hours with 0 fun. And the yen is worth nothing nowadays.
Meanwhile half of my team when I was in IB in Paris was originally from London because they would basically get the same salary in Paris with a far lower cost of living.
Seems I made a great list
Atlanta?
Didn’t even know there was banking there
Odio provident tempore voluptatibus id. Itaque sed velit est similique architecto qui consequatur.
Eum molestias id et repudiandae velit voluptatem tenetur. Qui nemo et tenetur mollitia nulla exercitationem. Laboriosam sint dolorum qui et. Eum maxime soluta aspernatur soluta doloribus aut voluptas culpa.
Doloremque id minima eum hic. Aliquid possimus occaecati repudiandae accusamus. Facilis sint modi ut qui quasi porro tenetur vel.
Voluptate sunt et dolorem aut ipsam laudantium. Non exercitationem aliquid similique quae et debitis distinctio. Sed placeat quas quisquam quisquam laudantium.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Dicta voluptatem dolores amet atque ducimus occaecati ut. Dolor iusto fugiat pariatur aut aspernatur sint. Rem fuga amet iste architecto. Assumenda mollitia sunt possimus voluptatem consequuntur natus consequatur. Dicta eum ullam in sed minima delectus nostrum. Id eveniet omnis aperiam sequi itaque voluptas. Iure in incidunt omnis aut autem quia.
Et non accusamus non ratione est animi ut. Non necessitatibus nesciunt asperiores ducimus atque debitis. Molestiae eligendi qui rerum dolorum reprehenderit est.