A market area has a range and a threshold that determine the profitability of the economic activity that is generating it. The threshold is the minimal market area an activity must have to stay in operation. It represents the spatial threshold of profitability where spatial attributes such as population density and income have an important influence in its assessment. The range is the effective market area of an activity from which it draws its customer base. On graph A, activity p will be profitable since its threshold is inferior to its range R(A). On graph B, activity p is not profitable because its range is inferior to its threshold.