Average Wall Street bonuses surged last year, with the total pool for payouts jumping to a record $47.5 billion as industry profits soared.
The average annual bonus rose by almost a third, to $244,700, the first significant increase since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to estimates by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The total pool is the largest since at least 1987, when records began, as revenue gains from trading and underwriting fueled a near-doubling of profits.
“This financial-market strength is good news for New York’s economy and our fiscal position, which relies on the tax revenue it generates,” the comptroller said in a statement Wednesday.
“However, increasing uncertainty in the economy amid significant federal policy changes may dampen the outlook for parts of the securities industry in 2025,” DiNapoli added.
Wall Street accounted for 19% of New York State’s tax revenue between 2023 and 2024, and DiNapoli estimated that 2024 bonuses will generate $600 million more in state income tax revenue and $275 million more for New York City compared to 2023.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget assumed bonuses in the state’s broader finance and insurance sector would increase by 16.4% for this fiscal year, and based on DiNapoli’s estimate, tax revenue from the securities industry payouts should meet or exceed those expectations.
New York City and state officials face potential budget gaps created by cuts to federal funding. The Trump Administration’s recent threats to stop New York’s congestion pricing program would also leave a multibillion-dollar crater in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s budget.
DiNapoli said Wall Street securities employment reached its highest annual level in roughly 30 years, at 201,500 workers, exceeding the previous peak in 2000.
Financial firms are leading a return-to-office push in New York City, and also represent a bigger share of new leasing activity since the pandemic, stoking New York City property development.
New York City’s share of securities industry jobs nationally has declined to 18% from about 33% in 1990, as financial firms move jobs to other regions to drive down costs, DiNapoli said.
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