Wall Street salaries decline further from pandemic heights

The average salary including bonuses was $471,370, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s annual report. The 5.2% drop on the prior year was largely due to smaller bonuses, which were $176,500 on average. The decline was starker when adjusted for inflation, which translated to an 8.7% decrease. 

“After record years during the pandemic, Wall Street’s profits were more in line with pre-pandemic levels in 2022 and 2023,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “This year has been very strong so far and profits may continue their upward trajectory, to exceed 2023 levels and boost state and city tax revenues.”

Still, the compensation remained the third highest on record. It was also the highest of any sector in the city and dwarfed the average private sector salary of $98,700, according to the report. It also far exceeds the real median household income in the US more broadly, which was $80,610 last year. 

While many financial firms structure their pay as a base salary plus a bonus, DiNapoli’s report combined the two in its analysis. 

Profit Bump

According to the report, pretax profits of broker dealer operations of New York Stock Exchange members reached $23.2 billion in the first half of 2024, a near 80% increase on the prior year. The profit bump should swell bonuses by 7.4% this year, the report said.

Employment in the securities industry continued to grow in New York state last year, reaching 214,900 jobs — an increase of 15,600 from the 2019 pre-pandemic total. 

And while New York remains the nation’s financial hub, with twice as many securities industry jobs as California last year, employment has grown at a slower pace than other parts of the country. Employment in New York’s securities industry rose by 7.8% from 2019 through 2023, significantly lower than other states such as Texas, at 26.6%, and Utah, with the nation’s highest, at 40.5%.

(Updates with additional information on salary breakdown in fifth paragraph.)