In New York, the State Comptroller’s annual look at Wall Street compensation shows a sharp rebound in 2025 payouts despite swings in markets. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said Thursday that the average bonus for securities industry employees working in New York City rose to $246,900, the highest figure in his estimate of payouts tied to Wall Street performance.
DiNapoli’s office also estimated that the overall Wall Street bonus pool reached a record $49.2 billion in 2025. He said the year’s gains reflected a rise of more than 30% in Wall Street profits, which he pegged at $65.1 billion for 2025.
DiNapoli said in a prepared release that Wall Street “saw strong performance for much of last year, despite all of the ongoing domestic and international upheavals.” He pointed to the contrast between major stock-market drops at times—spurred by concerns ranging from President Donald Trump’s tariffs to interest rates and a potential artificial-intelligence bubble—and an eventual year that rewarded investors who stayed in the market.
The comptroller noted that Wall Street remained a “major driver” of New York City’s economy and an important source of tax revenue for both the city and the state. In his estimate, the 2025 bonuses were expected to generate $199 million more in state income tax revenue and $91 million more for New York City compared with the prior year.
Industry compensation experts said the figures fit longer-running trends in Wall Street pay. Chris Connors, a managing director at the compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates, said the bonus estimates were no surprise and that 2025 was “a great year, probably the best year since 2021 for many firms on Wall Street,” adding that trading “had an exceptional year.”
Connors said bonuses account for a significant share of pay in financial services, where compensation systems rely heavily on incentives. He described the results as aligning with the strong market performance and profits that helped drive higher payout levels.
DiNapoli also warned that the outlook for the financial sector remains more uncertain than the bonus totals might suggest. He said his estimate came as his office was “seeing slower job growth,” and as geopolitical conflicts with global repercussions pose “extraordinary risks for the short- and long-term outlook” for financial markets and broader economic conditions.
Across the year, large moves in major benchmarks supported the compensation story, including returns from S&P 500 index funds that, according to DiNapoli’s estimate, returned nearly 18% in 2025 and set a record high on Dec. 24. With that backdrop, DiNapoli’s report portrayed a 2025 in which profit gains translated directly into record bonus payouts for Wall Street workers in New York City.