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Quant salary
With 1 to 3 years of experience, a quant trader in the US earns an estimated $330,000 to $560,000 a year, a quant researcher $355,000 to $600,000 and a quant developer $310,000 to $520,000. Each figure is a base salary plus a yearly bonus. The best-paying firms start graduates on a $300,000 base.
Updated 28 September 2026From job ads, US salary filings and company accountsHow we estimate
What quants earn in the US
Every figure is a base salary plus a yearly bonus, before tax. The base is set by the firm and the city and moves little over time. The bonus is set each year from how the firm traded and what you contributed, so it differs widely between people and between years. Each column runs from an ordinary year at an ordinary firm to a strong year at the best-paying firms, and a standout performer in an exceptional year earns more. How quant pay works explains each part.
to $560k$330k to $560k$197k
to $600k$355k to $600k$213k
to $520k$310k to $520k$200k
What quants do, and why the pay is so high
A quant uses maths, statistics and code to make trading decisions. At a trading firm or a hedge fund there are three main roles. A quant trader prices and trades markets and manages the risk in real time. A quant researcher looks for patterns in data and turns them into strategies. A quant developer builds the fast, reliable systems that run those strategies.
Traders were long the best-paid of the three. As more trading has moved to models and automated systems, researchers and developers have closed much of the gap: Jane Street now starts graduate traders, researchers and software engineers on the same $300,000 base. Later in a career, traders and researchers still pull ahead through the bonus.
It is one of the best-paid jobs a graduate can get, and one of the hardest to get into. The pay is high because the work is tied directly to profit: a small team at a trading firm trades very large amounts every day, so one good trader, one better model or one faster system is worth a great deal. The firms hire only a few people each year, test them hard and compete for the same graduates, and they pay most of the reward as a yearly bonus linked to what the firm and the team earn.
Who pays graduates the most
We rank by the graduate base because it is the one figure every firm publishes on the same terms; bonuses are set person by person and never published. The firms with the highest base are usually the most profitable and pay the largest bonuses too. Treat the ranking as a guide to total pay, not a promise: a strong year at a firm further down can beat an ordinary one at the top.
Hudson River Trading, Jane Street and SIG pay graduates the highest base: $300,000.
DRW, Citadel and Citadel Securities advertise ranges up to the same figure. Jump Trading pays interns at that yearly rate.
Hudson River Trading$300k$300,000
Jane Street$300k$300,000
Jump Trading$300k$300,000
SIG$300k$300,000
DRW$250k to $300k$250,000 to $300,000- Citadel$235k to $300k$235,000 to $300,000
- Citadel Securities$235k to $300k$235,000 to $300,000
IMC$250k$250,000- Optiver$200k$200,000
Two Sigma$165k to $190k$165,000 to $190,000
Flow Traders$175k$175,000
Work at one of these firms, or hold an offer?
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Getting the offer
Every one of these offers is decided in the interviews
These firms hire few people, and their interviews test mental maths, probability and how you reason under pressure. Tradermath’s practice follows each firm’s rounds, from the online assessment to the technical interviews.
Quant salary by role and city
Where you work moves pay more than which role you do. Traders, researchers and developers start close together, while base pay and tax differ widely from city to city. Each role and city below opens its own guide, with pay by firm, by years of experience and after tax.
Estimated total pay with 1 to 3 years of experience: a year, before tax, in the city’s currency.
US
- US quant salary: All USTrader$330k to $560kResearcher$355k to $600kDeveloper$310k to $520k
- Quant salary in New YorkTrader$335k to $565kResearcher$370k to $620kDeveloper$345k to $535k
- Quant salary in ChicagoTrader$295k to $560kResearcher$335k to $565kDeveloper$310k to $520k
- Quant salary in MiamiTraderNo estimate: too few salaries filedResearcher$370k to $620kDeveloper$265k to $520k
Europe
APAC
Interns earn $2,880 to $8,600 a week. Intern pay by firm
How much do quants make?
In the US, our estimate for a quant trader is $290,000 to $450,000 in the first year and $390,000 to $930,000 with 4 to 6 years of experience. Almost all of the rise is bonus.
| Experience | Quant trader | Quant researcher | Quant developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $290k to $450k | $310k to $450k | $295k to $510k |
| 1 to 3 years | $330k to $560k | $355k to $600k | $310k to $520k |
| 4 to 6 years | $390k to $930k | $420k to $930k | $325k to $545k |
| 7 years or more | $590k to $1.38m | $640k to $1.49m | $400k to $900k |
At the very top, averages run far higher: Jane Street paid its staff an average of $2.68 million each in 2025.
How much do quant interns earn?
Graduate rates for the weeks they work: up to $8,600 a week at SIG.
Many firms state the figure. SIG pays Master’s and PhD interns $8,600 a week, Hudson River Trading $5,800 a week in New York with housing and meals, and Citadel $4,500 to $5,800 a week. Jane Street states a $300,000 yearly base for interns, about $5,770 a week. The internship guide gives weekly pay by firm.
- Firms’ own job ads
- US salary filings
- The accounts firms file
- Recruiter surveys
- What employees report
- Reportedpay that employees report
- Estimatebase plus an estimated bonus
Tell us what you earn, anonymously. We use reports to check our figures and never publish yours.