Wall Street Bonus Pool Jumps to a Record $49.2 Billion for 2025

(Bloomberg) -- Average Wall Street bonuses jumped to a record last year, with the total pool for payouts rising to $49.2 billion as profits and revenues soared.
The average annual bonus rose 6%, to $246,900, according to estimates by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released Thursday.
The total pool is the largest in records going back to 1987, reflecting a rebound in mergers and acquisitions helped by relaxed regulations under President Donald Trump. DiNapoli also cited strength in trading and underwriting. The figure marked a second consecutive year of record-breaking bonuses for securities industry workers.
“Wall Street saw strong performance for much of last year, despite all of the ongoing domestic and international upheavals,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “However, we are seeing slower job growth, and geopolitical conflicts have global repercussions that pose extraordinary risks for the short- and long-term outlook on the financial sector and for broader economic markets.”
Bankers entered 2026 after a windfall last year that included an upswing in dealmaking and a record $134 billion of trading revenue. Company executives said they expected momentum to continue into this year, but the Iran War and geopolitical tensions have roiled US markets, spurring inflation and painting a more nuanced outlook.
Wall Street accounted for roughly 19% of New York State’s tax revenue between 2024 and 2025, and DiNapoli estimated that 2025 bonuses will generate $199 million more in state income tax revenue and $91 million more for New York City compared to 2024.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget assumed bonuses in the state’s broader finance and insurance sector would increase by 26% for this fiscal year, but DiNapoli said tax revenue from those payouts may fall short of those expectations.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who took office in January, ran on a platform of lowering the cost of living for working-class residents, including proposals to hike taxes on corporations and the wealthy, which drew the ire of some Wall Street leaders. In June, billionaire Bill Ackman raised concern that businesses and wealthy residents would exit the city en masse after former Governor Andrew Cuomo conceded victory to Mamdani in the Democratic mayoral primary.
In his new report, DiNapoli said securities industry job growth has been faster in other parts of the country, with Wall Street employment falling to 198,200 workers, based on preliminary data. That’s down from a 30-year high of 201,500 in 2024 and the lowest tally in the past three years. The comptroller said he expects the figure to be revised higher when annual data adjustments are made, showing modest growth.