TL;DR - US Quant Salaries at a Glance
| Role | Graduate (0-2 yrs) | Mid-Level (3-5 yrs) | Senior (6-10 yrs) | Lead / PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Developer | 300K | 550K | 900K | 1.5M+ |
| Quant Trader | 500K | 900K | 2M+ | 10M+ |
| Quant Analyst (bank) | 220K | 380K | 550K | 800K |
| Quant Researcher | 475K | 900K | 2M+ | 5M+ |
All figures are total compensation (base plus sign-on plus bonus) for US-based roles. The top of each range reflects firms like Jane Street, Citadel Securities, Two Sigma, Hudson River Trading and Jump Trading; banks and asset managers cluster toward the bottom.
Estimate caveat: every number below is assembled from levels.fyi entries, recruiter commentary and candidate reports. None of it is employer-confirmed, and individual offers vary by a wide margin.
What Do Quants Earn in the US?
Quant pay in the United States is the highest in the industry globally, and the gap between a bank quant analyst and a top-tier prop trading researcher is enormous even at the graduate level. A first-year quant analyst at a mid-tier bank might clear 400,000 in the same year, for a similar academic background.
This guide breaks down US quant compensation by role, seniority and firm for 2026, and compares the three main hubs - New York, Chicago and remote. If you are weighing a US offer against a UK one, our UK quant salary guide covers the equivalent picture in London for a direct comparison.
Quant Researcher Salary in the US
Quant researchers design and test the statistical signals and models that systematic strategies trade on. This is the most competitive and typically the highest-paid quant role in the US, concentrated at hedge funds and prop trading firms rather than banks.
Salary by Experience Level
| Level | Base Salary | Sign-on / Bonus | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate / Junior (0-2 years) | 200,000 | 275,000 | 475,000 |
| Mid-Level (3-5 years) | 225,000 | 675,000 | 900,000 |
| Senior (6-10 years) | 250,000 | 1.75M | 2M+ |
| Lead / PM-track | $250,000+ | 4.75M+ | 5M+ |
Most graduate quant researcher seats sit in Chicago (Citadel, Jump, DRW) or New York (Two Sigma, DE Shaw, Point72), and a PhD in a quantitative field is close to a baseline requirement at the top firms. Our quant researcher salary guide breaks this role down in more depth across firm types.
Quant Trader Salary in the US
Quant traders run systematic or semi-systematic strategies and carry direct P&L responsibility, which is why their compensation curve is the steepest of any quant role. A trader whose strategy has a strong year can out-earn a researcher or developer at the same firm by a wide margin.
Salary by Experience Level
| Level | Base Salary | Bonus / PnL Share | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate / Junior (0-2 years) | 200,000 | 300,000 | 500,000 |
| Mid-Level (3-5 years) | 250,000 | 650,000 | 900,000 |
| Senior (6-10 years) | 300,000 | 1.7M+ | 2M+ |
| Portfolio Manager | 350,000 | 9.65M+ | 10M+ |
At multi-strategy firms such as Millennium, Citadel and Point72, portfolio managers are typically paid a percentage of the P&L their book generates, which is why the top of this range has no practical ceiling. In a flat or losing year, the same PM's bonus can fall close to zero.
Quant Developer Salary in the US
Quant developers build the infrastructure - execution systems, backtesting engines, data pipelines and risk tooling - that researchers and traders depend on. Pay is lower on average than for researchers and traders, but the ceiling at the top firms is still well above general software engineering.
Salary by Experience Level
| Level | Base Salary | Sign-on / Bonus | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate / Junior (0-2 years) | 200,000 | 225,000 | 300,000 |
| Mid-Level (3-5 years) | 225,000 | 550,000 | 550,000 |
| Senior (6-10 years) | 250,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 |
| Staff / Principal (10+ years) | 300,000 | 1.75M+ | 1.5M+ |
C++ and low-latency systems experience commands a clear premium over general Python-only roles, particularly at market makers where execution speed is a direct source of edge. Our quant developer career guide covers how this track differs from research day to day.
Quant Analyst Salary in the US (Bank Roles)
Quant analysts at investment banks build pricing, valuation and risk models, and their compensation is meaningfully lower than the buy-side roles above at every level, though it comes with more predictable hours and career structure.
Salary by Experience Level
| Level | Base Salary | Bonus | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate / Junior (0-2 years) | 150,000 | 70,000 | 220,000 |
| Mid-Level (3-5 years) | 220,000 | 160,000 | 380,000 |
| Senior (6-10 years) | 300,000 | 250,000 | 550,000 |
| Director / Head of Desk | 400,000 | 400,000 | 800,000 |
Bulge bracket banks (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley) sit at the upper end of this range; regional banks and smaller asset managers sit toward the bottom. The trade-off for lower pay is generally steadier hours and clearer promotion timelines than the buy-side.
NYC vs Chicago vs Remote
The three main US quant hubs pay differently, and the differences are not purely about cost of living.
New York hosts the largest concentration of quant employers - Jane Street, Two Sigma, Point72, Millennium, DE Shaw, most bank quant desks - and pays the highest nominal salaries across the board. Expect New York total comp to run 5-15% above Chicago for an equivalent role and level.
Chicago is the historic home of systematic trading (Citadel, Jump Trading, DRW, Optiver's US arm, Belvedere) and pays close to New York for researcher and trader roles, with a meaningfully lower cost of living. Many candidates find Chicago offers a better real-terms outcome than the headline numbers suggest.
Remote and hybrid roles are rare at the top tier - most prop trading firms and hedge funds require in-office presence, particularly for trading and research seats where fast, informal communication with a desk matters. Where remote roles exist, they typically pay 10-20% below the equivalent in-office role at the same firm, and are more common in quant development than in research or trading.
Firm-by-Firm Bands (Graduate, Illustrative Estimates)
Approximate first-year total compensation for graduate hires at the highest-paying US quant employers. These are illustrative estimates assembled from public and anecdotal sources, not employer-confirmed figures - see our Jane Street salary guide and Citadel salary guide for firm-specific detail.
| Firm | Role | Year 1 Total Comp (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| Jane Street | Quant Trader | 700,000 |
| Citadel Securities | Quant Trader | 700,000 |
| Citadel (hedge fund) | Quant Researcher | 475,000 |
| Two Sigma | Quant Researcher / Engineer | 400,000 |
| Hudson River Trading | Quant Developer | 500,000 |
| Jump Trading | Quant Researcher / Developer | 450,000 |
| Optiver (US) | Quant Trader | 400,000 |
These bands compress a wide distribution into a single row per firm. Within any one firm, the difference between a strong desk and a quiet one, or a strong personal year and a weak one, can shift an individual's outcome by tens of thousands of dollars even in year one.
How US Quant Packages Actually Work
Three components make up almost every US quant offer, and understanding how they interact matters more than fixating on the base salary alone.
Base salary is the fixed, guaranteed portion, typically 250,000 at the graduate level across the firms in this guide. Base varies less between firms than the other two components, and it is usually the smallest part of total comp at the top firms.
Sign-on and first-year guarantee exists mainly to de-risk the first year for new hires before their individual performance record exists. Many graduate offers at Jane Street, Citadel and similar firms include a guaranteed minimum for year one that removes most of the downside from a quiet first few months.
Bonus is where the real variance lives, and it is usually a mix of firm performance and individual or desk performance. At research and trading roles the individual component grows quickly after year one; at developer and infrastructure roles it stays closer to a fixed percentage tied to firm-wide results.
Negotiating a US Quant Offer
Negotiation room varies enormously by firm and level, but a few patterns hold across most offers.
Graduate offers at the top prop firms are close to standardised. Base and sign-on tend to follow a published or semi-published matrix, so there is limited room to move the headline numbers. Where movement exists, it is usually in the sign-on bonus or the first-year guarantee rather than base.
Competing offers are the single strongest lever. A genuine competing offer from a comparable firm - not a bank offer used to negotiate against a prop firm, which rarely works - is the most reliable way to move a number.
Experienced hires have far more room than graduates. Once you have a performance track record, negotiation shifts from a fixed matrix to something closer to a real conversation, and base, sign-on and even bonus structure can all move.
Ask about the bonus mechanics, not just the number. Understanding whether your bonus is discretionary, formulaic, or tied to a specific book matters more for your long-term earnings trajectory than the year-one figure quoted in an offer letter.
Compensation & recruiting notes
All figures in this guide are illustrative estimates assembled from levels.fyi, public reporting, recruiter commentary and candidate self-reports - not official figures published by any employer. Actual offers vary by role, level, office, individual performance and the firm's overall year. Nothing in this guide guarantees any interview outcome, offer structure or compensation level.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average quant salary in the US?
For a mid-level quant researcher or trader (3-5 years experience) at a top firm, total compensation typically falls between 900,000. Bank-based quant analyst roles pay considerably less at the same experience level, typically 380,000.
Do US quants earn more than UK quants?
Yes, in nominal terms. US total comp at the top firms runs roughly 30-50% higher than equivalent London roles, though the gap narrows somewhat after accounting for US healthcare costs and the absence of free healthcare. See our UK quant salary guide for the full London-side breakdown.
Which US city pays quants the most?
New York pays the highest nominal salaries, with Chicago close behind for research and trading roles at systematic firms like Citadel and Jump Trading. Chicago's lower cost of living often makes it the better real-terms outcome despite slightly lower headline numbers.
Is a PhD required for a high quant researcher salary in the US?
Not universally, but it is close to standard at the top research-focused firms. Quant trader and quant developer roles hire strong candidates with bachelor's or master's degrees more readily than quant researcher roles, where a PhD in maths, physics, statistics or a related field is common among successful applicants.
How much of US quant pay is bonus versus base?
At the top prop trading firms and hedge funds, bonus and sign-on typically make up 50-75% of total compensation even in year one, and that share grows with seniority. Base salary is the smallest and most stable component, which is why quoting only base salary understates total pay substantially.
Do quant salaries differ much between banks and hedge funds in the US?
Significantly. A bank quant analyst and a hedge fund quant researcher can have near-identical academic backgrounds and start with total compensation that differs by a factor of two or more, because bank compensation structures are flatter and less tied to trading performance.
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