You can answer that Q by using Searchfunder's data. Go to the directory on the left hand side of the page. Select Search Funds. You will see the city where each searchfund is domiciled, and can also look at where prior searchers have transacted/searched from. That's a pretty good starting point. Traditional search funds are, of course, a subset of all searchers out there. So, if you want to understand where the self funded crowd is hunting, that's a lot harder to do, but one proxy is to look at SBA originations (redacted. In a nutshell, searchers are largely hunting in major metropolitan city centers, with the biggest hubs being near the most popular ETA schools. Fewer searching in the middle of the country, smaller population centers, or in rural areas.

NYC metro area seems to be very competitive, from my anecdotal experience. I have to imagine the reason why is because there are so many "corporate refugees" (like me) here, grinding for long hours in PE/IB or Consulting and looking for an escape route, but also fearful of uprooting themselves geographically or buying a 1st business out of state. Luckily I'm also considering DC/VA/MD metro area. But I do think being able to easily visit owners in person makes a big difference in how much they take you seriously. It also doesn't help that the PE/IB folks know exactly how to value and transact deals already.