Wall Street bonuses climb 31.5% to $244,700 on average in 2024
Wall Street employees are receiving higher bonuses than they did in 2023, which could lead to increased spending on Long Island for second homes on the East End, boats, high-end automobiles and private school education.
The average 2024 bonus is estimated to be $244,700, or 31.5% more than in 2023, state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced on Wednesday.
He attributed the size of the projected bonus pool — $47.5 billion — to strong economic growth nationwide and the soaring profits of the securities industry in New York City last year.
Among the 201,500 people who work at the city’s stock brokerages, about 6% commute from Nassau and Suffolk counties. However, not all employees receive a bonus, said DiNapoli, a Democrat from Great Neck.
"The record high bonus pool reflects Wall Street’s very strong performance in 2024," he said in a news conference. "And the securities industry was expected to see continued strength in 2025 on the expectation of easing financial regulations and continued dealmaking. However, as we've seen, economic uncertainty has risen as questions over tariffs and federal funding have increased — [and] in some folks minds, the probability of a recession."
Still, the unpredictability surrounding 2025 bonus payments doesn't diminish the potential impact of the 2024 bonuses, which were paid between December and this month.
"Folks with higher disposable income will be spending a lot of money in Southampton, Westhampton, Montauk and other places — going to restaurants, for summer rentals, buying a house, a boat, jewelry or other luxury items," DiNapoli said during the news conference, responding to a Newsday question. "That will be a positive in terms of sales tax revenue, real estate commissions and summer rental fees."
Real estate broker Judi A. Desiderio agreed, saying the housing market on the East End would pick up this year because of the bonus payments as it has every year during her three decades in the industry.
"Every time the bonuses go out, they take the [Hampton] Jitney out east and they buy something. ... There is a direct umbilical connection between the two," said Desiderio, managing partner and senior vice president at William Raveis Real Estate.
Restaurants and tourism-related businesses should also benefit as long as consumers remain upbeat about the economic outlook, said John A. Rizzo, an economist and Stony Brook University professor.
"Uncertainty surrounding tariffs, rising inflation concerns and the Trump administration's dismantling of many government agencies is creating a chilling effect on spending and investment, which may incentivize people to hold onto their bonus money," he said.
The 2024 bonus pool is 34% larger than 2023’s $35.4 billion — and the largest since records began to be kept 38 years ago.
Securities firms in the city reported a total profit of $49.9 billion last year, up 90% from 2023’s $26.3 billion. The highest overall profit since 2005 was $58.4 billion in 2021, according to data from the comptroller's office.
The bonus data is only for securities industry employees assigned to work in the city by members of the New York Stock Exchange. The data doesn’t include stock options and other deferred compensation for which taxes haven’t been paid.
The industry’s employment in the five boroughs is the highest it has been in at least three decades, with 3,100 positions created between 2023 and last year. The city’s share of industry jobs nationally was 18%, down from about 33% in 1990, but still more than any other state, the data show.
Among the securities workers who commute into the city from Nassau and Suffolk, 41% earn more than $250,000 per year, according to a report released last fall by the comptroller's office.
On Long Island, there were 1,171 securities firms, including several prominent hedge funds, as of Sept. 30. As a group, they employed about 7,505 people in 2023 with annual pay averaging $376,710, the report said.
Securities jobs, whether in the city or in Nassau and Suffolk, help sustain other sectors, said Matt Cohen, CEO and president of the Long Island Association business group.
The spending of bonus payments serves as a "rising tide to lift all boats in our small business economy and helping dampen the current cloud of economic uncertainty," he said.
Wall Street employees are receiving higher bonuses than they did in 2023, which could lead to increased spending on Long Island for second homes on the East End, boats, high-end automobiles and private school education.
The average 2024 bonus is estimated to be $244,700, or 31.5% more than in 2023, state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced on Wednesday.
He attributed the size of the projected bonus pool — $47.5 billion — to strong economic growth nationwide and the soaring profits of the securities industry in New York City last year.
Among the 201,500 people who work at the city’s stock brokerages, about 6% commute from Nassau and Suffolk counties. However, not all employees receive a bonus, said DiNapoli, a Democrat from Great Neck.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Bonuses paid to Wall Street employees for work done last year averaged $244,700, or a 31.5% increase from 2023, according to estimates from state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
- Long Island’s economy is boosted when bonus recipients purchase second homes on the East End, boats, high-end automobiles, jewelry and other items, economists said.
- The city’s securities industry had 201,500 employees last year and about 6 percent commuted to the city from Nassau and Suffolk counties.
"The record high bonus pool reflects Wall Street’s very strong performance in 2024," he said in a news conference. "And the securities industry was expected to see continued strength in 2025 on the expectation of easing financial regulations and continued dealmaking. However, as we've seen, economic uncertainty has risen as questions over tariffs and federal funding have increased — [and] in some folks minds, the probability of a recession."
Still, the unpredictability surrounding 2025 bonus payments doesn't diminish the potential impact of the 2024 bonuses, which were paid between December and this month.
"Folks with higher disposable income will be spending a lot of money in Southampton, Westhampton, Montauk and other places — going to restaurants, for summer rentals, buying a house, a boat, jewelry or other luxury items," DiNapoli said during the news conference, responding to a Newsday question. "That will be a positive in terms of sales tax revenue, real estate commissions and summer rental fees."
Real estate broker Judi A. Desiderio agreed, saying the housing market on the East End would pick up this year because of the bonus payments as it has every year during her three decades in the industry.
"Every time the bonuses go out, they take the [Hampton] Jitney out east and they buy something. ... There is a direct umbilical connection between the two," said Desiderio, managing partner and senior vice president at William Raveis Real Estate.
Restaurants and tourism-related businesses should also benefit as long as consumers remain upbeat about the economic outlook, said John A. Rizzo, an economist and Stony Brook University professor.
"Uncertainty surrounding tariffs, rising inflation concerns and the Trump administration's dismantling of many government agencies is creating a chilling effect on spending and investment, which may incentivize people to hold onto their bonus money," he said.
The 2024 bonus pool is 34% larger than 2023’s $35.4 billion — and the largest since records began to be kept 38 years ago.
Securities firms in the city reported a total profit of $49.9 billion last year, up 90% from 2023’s $26.3 billion. The highest overall profit since 2005 was $58.4 billion in 2021, according to data from the comptroller's office.
The bonus data is only for securities industry employees assigned to work in the city by members of the New York Stock Exchange. The data doesn’t include stock options and other deferred compensation for which taxes haven’t been paid.
The industry’s employment in the five boroughs is the highest it has been in at least three decades, with 3,100 positions created between 2023 and last year. The city’s share of industry jobs nationally was 18%, down from about 33% in 1990, but still more than any other state, the data show.
Among the securities workers who commute into the city from Nassau and Suffolk, 41% earn more than $250,000 per year, according to a report released last fall by the comptroller's office.
On Long Island, there were 1,171 securities firms, including several prominent hedge funds, as of Sept. 30. As a group, they employed about 7,505 people in 2023 with annual pay averaging $376,710, the report said.
Securities jobs, whether in the city or in Nassau and Suffolk, help sustain other sectors, said Matt Cohen, CEO and president of the Long Island Association business group.
The spending of bonus payments serves as a "rising tide to lift all boats in our small business economy and helping dampen the current cloud of economic uncertainty," he said.
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
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