Investment banking pay in 2026: $500k for 28-year olds on Wall Street
How much do bankers earn? It depends on a few things. What sort of bankers are they? What are their areas of expertise? And, perhaps most importantly, where are they based? Generally speaking, the highest pay is to be found in the cradle of capitalism – Wall Street itself.
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Two recent compensation could shed some light on just how much New York bankers were paid. One, a 2025 compensation report from Prospect Rock Partners, was published in March 2026. The other, from finance influencer Shortsqueez, was published yesterday. Prospect Rock Partners surveyed 806 professionals in its survey. It isn't clear how many Shortsqueez surveyed, but it does note that it has data on "900+" firms.
The surveys offer conflicting perspectives on pay, but suggest that total compensation (salary plus bonus) for analysts was around $160k to $200k. Generally, bankers spend two years as analysts before being promoted. These two years are typically known as the analyst program, and promotion out of an analyst program (or straight after graduating with an MBA) leads to the associate title.
Associates earned between $265k and $438k on average, depending on seniority. First-year MBA associates earned $265k on average, said Prospect Rock Partners, a figure that includes a reduced bonus (called a stub bonus) because they join mid-year. Second year associates, who work a full year and are paid a bonus for a full year, earned total compensation of between around $275k and $440k.
Vice Presidents (VPs) earned between $500k to $650k in total compensation depending on seniority, according to Prospect Rock Partners. These figures were similar at Shortsqueez – between $493k and $620k. VPs are typically aged 28+.
After completing a few years at VP level, a banker will be a director (or executive director), usually with a fixed salary of $300k, according to the H1b database. When bonuses are included, total compensation ranges between $670k and roughly $780k according to both Prospect Rock Partners and Shortsqueez. This is a lot of money, but not a huge step up from VP pay.
Pay explodes, however, at Managing Director (MD) level. At this level, average salaries are typically $400k. Bonuses are huge and variable – and based on performance. Prospect Rock Partners noted that the average MD had a total compensation of around $1.1m depending on seniority. Shortsqueez noted an average total compensation of $1.3m across all MDs.
At the very highest level are the bankers responsible for entire practice areas – such as energy, technology, or perhaps regions (such as the Benelux region). Prospect Rock Partners estimated that the professionals in this ultra-elite category have compensation of $1.75m on average.
The full Prospect Rock Partners report can be downloaded here.
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