Wall Street’s 2025 bonuses reached unprecedented levels in a rollicking year for markets

The average Wall Street bonus rose to a record $246,900 in 2025 amid a surge in profits, New York state’s comptroller reported Thursday.

The average bonus rose 6% - or almost $15,000 higher - from the previous year. Wall Street’s bonus pool reached a record $49.2 billion in 2025, up 9%, according to Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s annual estimate of bonuses paid to securities industry employees who work in New York City.

DiNapoli, a Democrat, said the increases reflect a rise of more than 30% in Wall Street’s profits last year, to $65.1 billion.

“Wall Street saw strong performance for much of last year, despite all of the ongoing domestic and international upheavals,” DiNapoli said in a prepared release.

While there were several historic drops on Wall Street over worries about everything from President Donald Trump’s tariffs to interest rates to a possible bubble in artificial-intelligence technology, it was a good year for anyone with the stomach to stick through the swings.

S&P 500 index funds, which sit at the heart of many savers’ 401(k) accounts, returned nearly 18% in 2025 and set a record high on Dec. 24. It was their third straight year of big returns.

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Chris Connors, a managing director at the compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates, said the bonus estimates were no surprise, given the trends on Wall Street.

“I think 2025 was a great year, probably the best year since 2021 for many firms on Wall Street. Trading, in particular, had an exceptional year,” Connors said.

Connors noted that bonuses make up a significant portion of pay for many professionals in the financial services industry, which relies heavily on incentives.

Wall Street is a major driver of New York City’s economy and a major source of tax revenue for both the city and the state. DiNapoli estimated the 2025 bonuses should generate $199 million more in state income tax revenue and $91 million more for the city, when compared with the previous year.

“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.”