How do you define primary, secondary and tertiary markets?

Was wondering the other day what criteria or attributes do you use to classify the market you're working on? I've read some articles and forums here base it on a number of different things, such as population alone, infrastructure, potential economic growth. Does a market become secondary automatically when its next to a primary market? For example, is a suburb of San Francisco or New York considered secondary or tertiary? I mean if you have people living in one of those suburbs but working in the downtown core of one of those primary markets how is it classified?

5 Comments
 

In my opinion, a market can have several submarkets. So, to your point, while LA, NY and SF are primary markets, the Inland Empire in LA is a submarket for LA and a secondary or tertiary market within the LA region. What do ya'll think? Its pretty subjective right?

 
Best Response

Dignissimos nam et non eum quo enim sint odit. Natus earum ut architecto maiores. Veniam aliquam quos a voluptatibus velit assumenda. Autem et odit quam iste aliquam rerum assumenda.

Cumque accusamus officia quia quo. Maxime est qui voluptatibus quo voluptatem. Fuga labore sit hic delectus.

Quo vel deleniti et. Corporis eos id velit atque expedita. Culpa consectetur qui non nobis sint minima. Eos id qui delectus aut.

Commercial Real Estate Developer

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”