Top 3 Cities to Start Your Career In Banking

August 31, 2025

Choosing the wrong city for your banking internship can pigeonhole you for the rest of your career.

You can only choose one & need to decide before end of freshman year -

Because timelines are completely different & your strategy should be tailored to your city of focus.

Everyone thinks New York’s #1 - but that’s not true for everyone.

It all depends on your priorities & long-term goals.

If you’re dead set on tech or value quality of life & cost of living above all else…

Other cities might be a much better fit for you.

Here’s a breakdown of the top three cities to do your first two years as an analyst.

I’ll explain the landscape of each & callout the main selling points each city has to offer.

(#1) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

Over 70% of all banking analysts are based in New York City.

Most banks are headquartered there & it’s well known to be the finance mecca of North America.

I chose to go all-in & focus 100% of my recruiting efforts on NYC.

It’s the most competitive by far, especially from a non-target - but the long-term optionality it gives you is unmatched.

Here’s my view on the three main advantages of NYC.

EXIT OPPORTUNITIES

Like most freshmen - I had absolutely NO CLUE what I wanted to do long-term after banking.

If you’re in the same boat as me, NYC’s your best bet.

It’ll keep doors open to a much wider variety & sheer volume of exit opps.

Starting in another city can make you less competitive for some of the most attractive exits.

For example, if I decided I wanted to end up at a PRESTIGIOUS PE Megafund after banking like

  • Blackstone

  • KKR

  • Carlyle

  • Apollo

  • Bain Capital

  • TPG

  • Warburg Pincus

I wouldn’t stand a chance if I did my two analyst years outside of NYC.

These roles are too competitive & headhunters don’t spend time chasing candidates outside of NYC.

That’s why the director of our academy (former partner at top CHI bank) always told us it’s much easier to start your career in NYC and pivot out than it is to do the opposite.

Starting in NYC also gives you exposure to wider range of industries.

Other cities tend to focus on one vertical. For example, Chicago’s well-known for industrials.

You’ll likely be generalist in NYC - which again just gives you access to more options for that next exit.

NON-WORK ACTIVITIES

As a sheltered, small-town farm boy - I was SHELL SHOCKED moving to NYC for my first internship.

The intense, fast-paced environment was overwhelming at first, but grew on me quick.

If you do get a free weekend in banking - NYC has the most “outside of work” activities by far.

No other city can match it’s world-class assortment of restaurants, sports, theaters, museums, bars, etc.

Here were a few of my favorite ways to enjoy the city during my two summers there.

  • HUNTING FOR THE BEST “NY SLICE” OF PIZZA

    We tried a new spot from Dave Portnoy’s pizza review list every weekend including

    (1) LUCALI - Made an entire day trip to Brooklyn for this one. You have to get there at ~9am & wait in line for an hour to put your name in. We had a good spot in line & still didn’t get a reservation till 9:30pm. It’s a tiny hole-in-the-wall with <15 tables. Super cool brick-oven environment where they make the pizza in front of you. It’s all-cash & BYOB.

    (2) PRINCE STREET PIZZA

    (3) JOHN’S OF BLEEKER STREET

  • ROLLERBLADING CENTRAL PARK LOOP

  • CATCHING A BROADWAY SHOW

    I hate musicals but was laughing the entire time when I went to see Book of Mormon.

  • JOGGING HUDSON GREENWAY

  • WEEKEND TRIPS TO HAMPTONS

TRANSPORTATION

Taking the train / subway in NYC is faster than ubering.

I lived down in Tribeca my first summer & East Village my second summer.

Taking the 6 up to the office in midtown every morning was an absolute breeze.

The train system in CHI is less reliable & doesn’t cover as much ground.

Cities like SF don’t even have systems like these, so everyone drives.

Only problem is they spend all day sitting in traffic - which you never have to worry about in NYC.

(#2) SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

If you’re dead set on working in tech - SF is 100% where you want to be.

They also have a more laid back culture - but it’s still investment banking so the hours will be the same.

Here are the two main selling points of SF.

TECH-DRIVEN ENVIRONMENT

With its proximity to Silicon Valley, SF has the best opportunity for tech exits like VC & startups.

They do the highest volume of tech-related M&A, so every bank bases their tech group in SF.

Three tech groups tend to dominate & consistently win the most high-profile tech deals there including

The next strongest three there are Lazard, Evercore & JP Morgan.

After that it drops off.

The most prestigious VC firms are either based in Cali or have a large presence there including

  • Accel Partners

  • Andreessen Horowitz

  • Sequoia Capital

  • Greylock Partners

Doing your analyst years there gets you embedded in that high-growth / startup world early on -

So if your end goal is to work in a finance role for a big tech firm or startup…

Or even start a company on your own someday - SF is 100% the place to be.

WEATHER / NATURE

SF is the absolute opposite of the cutthroat, fast-paced environment of NYC.

The west coast has a more laid-back culture which can be a nice escape from the intensity of banking.

If you value weather & access to a wide-range of outdoor activities, you’ll love SF.

They have 60 degree year-round weather unlike the humid summers & freezing winters of NYC & CHI.

My friends who work there who spend their free weekends surfing, hiking, skiing & mountain biking.

They also have the ability to do day / weekend trips to places like Lake Tahoe, Vegas & Yosemite.

(#3) CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

I did my banking internship at an elite boutique in NYC & got the offer to return full time -

But decided to start my career back home in the midwest at a middle market PE shop in CHI.

I’m glad I experienced the hustle & bustle of NYC, but knew CHI was where I wanted to be long-term.

Not only was my entire family was still back in Illinois…

But I’d also come to realize I had a passion for the middle market - which CHI is well-known for.

MIDDLE MARKET

When I was growing up, my dad ran a small, family-owned business.

Having exposure to that was a big reason I decided to go into business in the first place.

During my banking internship, I was mostly working with larger, publicly traded companies.

I liked getting that perspective, but found more joy in advising small, family-owned businesses.

It was a risk making this pivot so early on since I’d probably be limiting myself to the middle market for any future opportunities - but a risk I was more than comfortable taking.

Investing in the bigger, well known companies didn’t excite me as much since a lot of the growth story for them has to do with financial engineering.

Chicago is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to the middle market.

All the top middle market banks are based here such as

  • William Blair

  • Lincoln International

  • Baird

  • BMO Capital Markets

  • Houlihan Lokey

Working for one of those will give you access to the highest-profile middle market exit opps like

  • GTCR

  • Vista Equity Partners

  • Audax Group

  • L Catterton

  • Alpine Investors

If you decide to work for a bulge bracket non-HQ office that’s in CHI - BE CAREFUL.

Some bulge brackets treat their non-NYC offices as “pitch factories”.

This means they do all the work to win deals but hand it off to NYC once the real work begins.

Getting reps with live deals is the whole reason you’re doing banking in the first place…

So avoid getting stuck at one of these “pitch factories” at all costs.

It’s not an issue for all bulge brackets here.

For example, I know my friends in the industrials group at Citi spend almost zero time pitching.

QUALITY OF LIFE

My crib in NYC was an absolute shoebox compared to now - but I was paying twice the rent.

CHI is 10x cheaper & cleaner than NYC. The finance scene is also much more relaxed.

It’s not as “hippie” as SF…

But still more laid back in terms of dress code, communication style & on-the-job expectations.

It varies from group-to-group, but you’re much less likely to find the stereotypical “hardo” banker here.

I strongly value that down-to-earth, midwest culture, which was another big reason I came back to CHI.

Cheers 🥂

- Jack