Investment banker salary in the US
What investment bankers are paid in the US, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with how your own pay compares. Figures from the BLS OEWS release dated May 2025.
Median annual pay
$102,740
Middle half earn
$79,290 to $133,340
People in this job, US
361,980
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Financial and Investment Analysts, national, annual pay, May 2025
- 10th percentile
- $63,720
- 25th percentile
- $79,290
- Median
- $102,740
- 75th percentile
- $133,340
- 90th percentile
- $180,860
BLS has no separate investment banking code; this is the closest published match and understates bonus-heavy pay.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 13-2051. Percentiles across everyone employed in the occupation, not experience levels.
At a glance
What investment bankers earn across the US
- About 361,980 people are employed in this occupation across the US.
- Pay varies widely within the job: the 90th percentile earns 2.8 times the 10th.
Worked from BLS OEWS, May 2025. Not adjusted for the cost of living.
Skills
What employers look for in an investment banker
The skills our investment banker resume example leads with, written for US employers.
- Financial modeling
- LBO modeling
- DCF valuation
- Comparable company analysis
- Precedent transactions
- Merger models
- Due diligence
- Pitch book preparation
- Confidential information memoranda
- Capital structure analysis
See the full investment banker resume example, with bullets and keywords.
Negotiating
Using these numbers
Below $79,290 puts you in the bottom quarter for investment bankers in the US. That is worth raising, with evidence of what you deliver.
The median, $102,740, is the middle of the market, not a ceiling. An offer at or near it is a fair starting point to negotiate from.
Asking for $133,340 or more puts you in the top quarter, so it needs a reason an employer will accept: a wider scope, a competing offer, or a skill that is hard to hire for.
Percentiles are not experience levels. They describe everyone doing the job, so a senior hire can sit at the median of a market full of senior people.
About the numbers
What these figures are
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys employers for its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and these figures are from the release dated May 2025. They cover wage and salary workers in Financial and Investment Analysts, a category that is often broader than a single job title. Self-employed people are not included.
They are base pay: bonuses, equity and overtime are not included, and they are not adjusted for the cost of living.
Questions
Questions about investment banker pay in the US
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