The average Wall Street bonus fell slightly last year to $176,500 as the industry added employees and took a “more cautious approach” to compensation, New York state’s comptroller reported Tuesday.
The average bonus for employees in New York City’s securities industry was down 2% from $180,000 in 2022. The slight dip came even as Wall Street profits were up 1.8% last year, according to the annual estimate from Thomas DiNapoli, the state’s comptroller.
DiNapoli’s office said the slight decline could be attributed to the compensation approach as more employees joined the securities industry.
Last year, the industry employed 198,500 people in New York City, which was up from 191,600 in 2022.
For 2023, the bonus pool was $33.8 billion, which is largely unchanged from the previous year.
The average Wall Street bonus hit a record high $240,400 in 2021, compared to a relative low of $111,400 in 2011.
Wall Street is a major source of state and city tax revenue, accounting for an estimated 27% of New York state’s tax collections and 7% of collections for the city, according to the comptroller.
“While these bonuses affect income tax revenues for the state and city, both budgeted for larger declines so the impact on projected revenues should be limited,” DiNapoli said in a prepared statement. “The securities industry’s continued strength should not overshadow the broader economic picture in New York, where we need all sectors to enjoy full recovery from the pandemic.”