The average Wall Street salary has risen to $422,500


While most Americans see stagnant wages, Wall Street workers are receiving a nice pay raise.
In a report released Monday, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli detailed that the average Wall Street salary increased 13 percent in 2017, to $422,500. This is the highest pay increase the New York City securities industry has seen since the 2008 financial crisis. The pay increase for the average worker, meanwhile, hovers around zero.
Almost 200,000 people in New York hold securities jobs. They have the highest average pay of any occupation in New York City, CNBC reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Wall Street has profited every year since the end of the recession in 2009, and compensation last year reached its highest point since the financial crisis," said DiNapoli. "The industry is on track for another good year absent a major setback later in the year."
Wall Street recorded $24.5 billion in pre-tax profits in 2017. Projections look good again this year, with Wall Street already earning $13.7 billion in the first half of 2018 — an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, per Bloomberg. Read more from the report here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Amari Pollard is the social media editor at The Week and has written for Reader's Digest, Parents, and Inside Lacrosse. She studied journalism at Le Moyne College and can usually be found exploring Brooklyn, thrift shopping, or spending way too much money on brunch.
-
July 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include new TSA rules, FEMA cuts, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy complimenting Donald Trump's new wardrobe
-
5 weather-beaten cartoons about the Texas floods
Cartoons Artists take on funding cuts, politicizing tragedy, and more
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?
The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off