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US$102,740median a year
Financial and investment analysts (SOC 2018 13-2051), United States, May 2025.
| Measure | Financial and investment analysts (13-2051) | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | US$63,720 | US$31,200 |
| 25th percentile | US$79,290 | US$37,590 |
| Median | US$102,740 | US$50,980 |
| 75th percentile | US$133,340 | US$80,520 |
| 90th percentile | US$180,860 | US$128,560 |
| Mean | US$116,800 | US$69,770 |
| Employment | 361,980 | 155,495,730 |
Figures: annual wages of wage and salary workers, by where the job is, in US dollars. Occupation data, not the effect of a qualification. Licence: public domain.
Key facts
- US financial and investment analysts (SOC 13-2051): median US$102,740 a year in May 2025; 10th percentile US$63,720, 90th percentile US$180,860 (BLS).
- US financial risk specialists (SOC 13-2054): median US$117,330, and US$139,670 in the New York metro area (BLS, May 2025).
- UK full-time finance and investment analysts and advisers (SOC 2020 2422): median £53,940 for the tax year to April 2026, £71,471 in London (ONS, provisional).
- The BLS figures leave out year-end bonuses; the ONS figures cover full-time employees in the same job for more than a year.
- Occupation data, not the effect of a qualification: neither survey records who holds the CFA® charter or the FRM® certification.
How is the result calculated?
A percentile is the pay below which a given share of jobs falls: the 25th percentile is the pay that a quarter of jobs in the occupation stay below, the median the middle job. The explorer shows the percentiles each agency publishes and nothing in between – the US survey publishes the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th, the UK survey every tenth plus the 25th and 75th, as long as the estimate is reliable enough.
If you enter your salary, the explorer finds the two published percentiles it lies between. Between the -th and the -th percentile means that more than and fewer than of the jobs pay less. It does not draw a curve between the points to name an exact percentile, because the agencies do not publish one. The only number it calculates is your salary as a share of the median:
Each table comes from one agency, in its own currency: US dollars from the BLS, pounds from the ONS. The explorer does not convert between them, because the surveys count pay differently and an exchange rate says nothing about tax or living costs. For a metro area or region, the comparison column shows the same occupation in the whole country; for the country, it shows all jobs.
Worked example
1. An analyst in the US on US$95,000
Among US financial and investment analysts, US$95,000 lies between the 25th percentile and the median (US$79,290 and US$102,740): between 25% and 50% of these jobs pay less. As a share of the median:
In the New York metro area, where the median is US$128,930, the same salary lies between the 10th percentile and the 25th percentile – only 74% of the local median.
2. An analyst in the UK on £60,000
Among full-time finance and investment analysts and advisers in the UK, £60,000 lies between the median and the 60th percentile (£53,940 and £60,578), 111% of the median. For London, ONS publishes only the median, £71,471: the same salary is below the median, 84% of it.
3. A risk specialist in the US on US$140,000
Nationally, US$140,000 lies between the median and the 75th percentile for financial risk specialists (US$117,330 and US$158,250), 119% of the median. In the New York metro area it is between the median and the 75th percentile, 100% of the local median of US$139,670. The same pay reads very differently depending on where the job is.
How do finance occupations compare in the US?
| Occupation (SOC 2018) | Employment | 10th percentile | Median | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial and investment analysts (13-2051) | 361,980 | US$63,720 | US$102,740 | US$180,860 |
| Financial risk specialists (13-2054) | 63,850 | US$64,820 | US$117,330 | US$196,110 |
| Personal financial advisors (13-2052) | 266,800 | US$50,190 | US$105,070 | US$357,020 |
| Credit analysts (13-2041) | 64,390 | US$56,250 | US$83,510 | US$169,230 |
| Accountants and auditors (13-2011) | 1,449,500 | US$56,020 | US$83,680 | US$144,090 |
| Financial managers (11-3031) | 841,710 | US$94,310 | US$166,570 | US$323,270 |
| All occupations | 155,495,730 | US$31,200 | US$50,980 | US$128,560 |
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, read through its Public Data API (BLS, OEWS May 2025). BLS data are in the public domain.
How do finance occupations compare in the UK?
| Occupation (SOC 2020) | Jobs (indicative) | 10th percentile | Median | 80th percentile | Median is |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finance and investment analysts and advisers (2422) | 183,000 | £29,743 | £53,940 | £83,299 | precise (3.8%) |
| Actuaries, economists and statisticians (2433) | 50,000 | £36,117 | £60,263 | £85,856 | reasonably precise (7.4%) |
| Chartered and certified accountants (2421) | 57,000 | £28,314 | £50,745 | £71,953 | reasonably precise (7.9%) |
| Financial accounts managers (3534) | 109,000 | £31,948 | £49,830 | £77,658 | reasonably precise (5.8%) |
| Financial managers and directors (1131) | 343,000 | £35,570 | £80,000 | £150,029 | precise (3.5%) |
| All full-time employee jobs | 18,184,000 | £25,288 | £40,911 | £62,500 | precise (0.2%) |
The last column is the ONS quality grade of the median by its coefficient of variation: up to 5% precise, up to 10% reasonably precise, up to 20% acceptable; estimates above 20% are withheld as unreliable, which is why the 90th percentile of these occupations is missing (ONS, ASHE 2026 provisional, Table 14). Source: Office for National Statistics, under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How much more do jobs in New York, Boston and London pay?
| Occupation | United States | New York metro area | Boston metro area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial and investment analysts (13-2051) | US$102,740 | US$128,930 | US$117,520 |
| Financial risk specialists (13-2054) | US$117,330 | US$139,670 | US$132,580 |
| Personal financial advisors (13-2052) | US$105,070 | US$170,050 | – |
| Credit analysts (13-2041) | US$83,510 | – | – |
| Accountants and auditors (13-2011) | US$83,680 | US$105,650 | – |
| Financial managers (11-3031) | US$166,570 | US$221,010 | – |
| Region | Finance and investment analysts and advisers (2422) | Actuaries, economists and statisticians (2433) | Chartered and certified accountants (2421) | Financial accounts managers (3534) | Financial managers and directors (1131) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | £53,940 | £60,263 | £50,745 | £49,830 | £80,000 |
| London | £71,471 | £69,673 | – | £68,376 | £121,504 |
| South East | £49,060 | £52,532 | £57,782 | £50,579 | £72,244 |
| East of England | £47,469 | – | – | £45,118 | £63,645 |
| South West | £46,753 | – | £50,701 | £47,369 | £62,906 |
| West Midlands | £45,072 | – | – | £39,042 | £71,027 |
| East Midlands | £42,408 | – | £43,458 | £41,813 | – |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £53,891 | – | – | £46,284 | £57,561 |
| North West | – | – | – | £43,338 | £64,763 |
| Wales | £37,503 | – | – | £47,008 | – |
| Scotland | £54,349 | – | – | £52,669 | £70,212 |
A dash means the agency does not publish the figure – for UK regions because the estimate would be unreliable – or that the area is not part of this explorer. The New York and Boston metro areas are defined by their CBSA codes 35620 and 14460 (BLS, OEWS May 2025); the UK figures are by the region where people work. Of the regional medians here, ONS grades 13 reasonably precise and 19 acceptable (ONS, ASHE 2026 provisional, Table 15).
What do the surveys count as pay?
- US (BLS): a survey of employers covering wage and salary workers, not the self-employed (BLS, OEWS overview). Wages include commissions and production bonuses but not year-end and other non-production bonuses; annual figures assume 2,080 hours, a full-time year (BLS, OEWS questions and answers).
- UK (ONS): a 1% sample of jobs from HM Revenue and Customs' PAYE records, weighted to the population. Annual pay covers employees on adult rates who have been in the same job for more than a year, for the tax year ending 5 April 2026. The 2026 figures are provisional and revised a year later, and the job counts are indicative only (ONS, ASHE 2026 provisional, Table 14).
Why is there no figure for the CFA® charter or the FRM® certification?
Occupation data, not the effect of a qualification. Neither survey records which qualifications people hold, so neither can say what the CFA® Program or the FRM® Exam adds to pay. A comparison of holders with non-holders would mix in experience, employer, city and role. To weigh a qualification against your own expected pay rise, use the finance certification ROI and payback calculator.
How do you use percentiles in a pay conversation?
- Pick the occupation by the work, not the job title. A “risk analyst” in a bank may sit with financial risk specialists in the US data; the UK figures here have no separate group for risk work.
- Pick the area where the job is. The New York and London medians are far above the national ones.
- Compare like with like. Set your base pay against the US figures, which leave out year-end bonuses.
- Talk about the middle half. The 25th to 75th percentile is a fairer range than one average; the mean is pulled up by a few very high earners.
- Bring the source and the year. “BLS, May 2025, SOC 13-2051” is harder to dismiss than “I read online”.
Which mistakes are common with salary data?
- Reading the median of an occupation as a starting salary: the surveys cover every stage of a career.
- Converting US dollars into pounds and comparing: tax, living costs and what counts as pay all differ.
- Treating a regional median with a high coefficient of variation as exact; it is an estimate from a sample.
- Reading a recruiter's or a qualification body's survey as typical without knowing who answered it.
More context on analyst pay, industries and career stages is in what investment analysts earn.
What this tool covers
- Last updated
- Based on
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, read through the BLS Public Data API (public domain)
- ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Tables 14.7 and 15.7 (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Includes
- Six US and five UK finance occupations with their codes, plus all jobs for comparison
- Published percentiles, mean and employment or indicative jobs
- New York and Boston metro areas (US) and regional medians with their quality grade (UK), where published
- Where your salary sits between published percentiles, and a CSV of the table
- Not included
- Pay by qualification, experience or employer
- Year-end bonuses in the US figures, part-time jobs in the UK figures, the self-employed
- Conversion between US dollars and pounds
- Estimated percentiles between the published ones
Frequently asked questions
What does a financial analyst earn in the US?
In May 2025 the median annual wage of financial and investment analysts was US$102,740, with the middle half between US$79,290 and US$133,340. In the New York metro area the median was US$128,930 (BLS).
What does a risk analyst earn?
US financial risk specialists earned a median of US$117,330 in May 2025, the middle half between US$83,980 and US$158,250 (BLS). The UK figures in this explorer have no separate group for risk work, so compare with the occupation whose tasks are closest to your job.
What do finance professionals earn in London?
For full-time jobs in London, ONS gives a median of £71,471 for finance and investment analysts and advisers and £121,504 for financial managers and directors (tax year to April 2026, provisional). ONS publishes only the median for regions.
What do CFA® charterholders or FRM® certification holders earn?
Neither the BLS nor the ONS survey records qualifications, so neither can say. The explorer shows pay by occupation – occupation data, not the effect of a qualification.
Do the figures include bonuses?
The US figures include commissions and production bonuses but not year-end or other non-production bonuses. The UK figures are gross annual pay for the tax year; ONS publishes incentive pay in a separate table of the same survey.
Why are some UK figures missing?
ONS withholds estimates whose coefficient of variation is above 20% as unreliable. For the occupations here that applies to the 90th percentile, to all regional percentiles and to the medians of some regions.
Can I download and reuse the data?
Yes: the button under the table saves it as CSV, with the source in the first lines. BLS data are in the public domain; ONS data may be reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0 with the source named.
Does the explorer save my salary?
No. The comparison runs in your browser. Your choices appear only in the page address after the # sign, so you can share a result; they are not sent to us.
Related tools and pages
Sources
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain): Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 – national estimates for 13-2051 Financial and Investment Analysts, 13-2052 Personal Financial Advisors, 13-2054 Financial Risk Specialists, 11-3031 Financial Managers, 13-2011 Accountants and Auditors, 13-2041 Credit Analysts and 00-0000 All Occupations, and metropolitan area estimates for CBSA 35620 (New York) and CBSA 14460 (Boston) (employment, mean and percentiles of annual wages, read through the BLS Public Data API) (15 May 2026). Accessed 30 October 2026.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain): OEWS frequently asked questions – what the wage estimates include and exclude, and the 2,080-hour year. Accessed 30 October 2026.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain): Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: overview – coverage of the survey (wage and salary workers; not the self-employed) (15 May 2026). Accessed 30 October 2026.
- Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0): Earnings and hours worked, occupation by four-digit SOC: ASHE Table 14 – 2026 provisional, Tables 14.7a (annual pay, gross), 14.7b (coefficients of variation) and 14.9a (paid hours worked, total), full-time employee jobs, United Kingdom (22 October 2026). Accessed 30 October 2026.
- Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0): Earnings and hours worked, region by occupation by four-digit SOC: ASHE Table 15 – 2026 provisional, Tables 15.7a (annual pay, gross) and 15.7b (coefficients of variation), full-time employee jobs by work region. Accessed 30 October 2026.
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