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Mar 23, 2022 - Economy

Wall St. bonuses reached record average $257,500 last year

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Data: NYS Dept. of Labor’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) via NY State Comptroller; Chart: Axios Visuals
Data: NYS Dept. of Labor’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) via NY State Comptroller; Chart: Axios Visuals

Wall Street bonuses reached a record average $257,500 last year in New York, new estimates show.

Driving the news: State comptroller Thomas DiNapoli published the projection in an annual report today. The figure includes cash bonuses for 2021 and recently paid bonuses from prior years that were cashed in.

The big picture: Including bonuses, the average salary in the city’s securities industry grew by 7.7% in 2020 (the latest data available) to $438,370, which was about five times higher than the average salary for the rest of the private sector, $92,315. 

Yes, but: The number of people employed in the industry last year (180,000) was 10% smaller than its peak in 2000.

  • And while the city and state continue to be the center of the American securities industry, the region’s total share of jobs has declined to 18% last year from 33% in 1990.

Go deeper: Why big bonuses came back last year

Go deeper