Typical quant base
$165,000 to $213,000
Traders, researchers and developers, all levels
Graduate base, IMC and DRW
$250,000 to $300,000
Traders and researchers, in the firms’ Chicago ads
Quant trader, first year
EstimateAbout $255,000 to $450,000
Base plus bonus, before tax
Intern pay, yearly rate
$250,000 to $300,000
IMC, DRW and Jump, paid for the weeks you work
A quant in Chicago typically earns a base salary of $165,000 to $213,000, a little less than in New York. Graduate ads in the city start at $250,000 for traders and researchers, and Illinois taxes income at a flat 4.95%, with no city income tax on top.
Chicago is the second quant hub in the US, after New York. DRW is headquartered there, IMC hires its US graduate traders, researchers and engineers there, and Akuna Capital, Belvedere Trading and Radix Trading are based there too.
How much do quants make in Chicago?
A quant trader in Chicago typically earns a $162,000 to $203,000 base, a quant researcher $165,000 to $246,000 and a quant developer $175,000 to $200,000. Each range is the middle half of the base pay firms file for the role in the city, at every firm and every level.
That typical base sits below the $250,000 IMC advertises to graduate traders and the $250,000 to $300,000 DRW advertises to graduate researchers. It covers every firm and every stage of a career, not only the best-paying graduate offers. And a firm that files a range counts at the middle of it, while the lower end of such a range is often the legal minimum.
Typical base pay in Chicago, July 2025 to June 2026
| Role | Typical base | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Quant trader | $162,000 to $203,000 | $175,000 |
| Quant researcher | $165,000 to $246,000 | $200,000 |
| Quant developer | $175,000 to $200,000 | $200,000 |
The middle half of the base firms file, across every firm and every level. Graduates at the best-paying firms start higher, and the bonus is paid on top.
What does a Chicago quant earn with the bonus?
With the bonus, our estimate for a first-year quant trader in Chicago is $255,000 to $450,000 a year before tax. With 4 to 6 years of experience the estimate rises to $345,000 to $930,000, and from 7 years to $525,000 to $1,225,000.
The low end of each range is an ordinary year at an ordinary firm, and the top is a strong year at the best-paying firms. The base moves little over those years. IMC’s ads say the base is only one part of total pay, and that every full-time permanent role is eligible for a discretionary bonus.
At a $200k base, quant researchers in Chicago make an estimated $295k to $450k in the first year and $600k to $1.4m after 7 years. The base barely moves with the years; the bonus does the growing, and in a strong year at the best-paying firms it takes total pay to about 7 times the base.
Typical range of base filed for the role: $165k to $245k.
- Researcher, Year 1: base about $200k, estimated total pay $295k to $450k.
- Researcher, 1 to 3 years: base about $200k, estimated total pay $335k to $565k.
- Researcher, 4 to 6 years: base about $200k, estimated total pay $395k to $930k.
- Researcher, 7 years or more: base about $200k, estimated total pay $600k to $1.4m.
Senior pay goes well past this chart: for a senior trader or researcher, the bonus can be several times the base.
A year, before tax, not counting a sign-on bonus. The low end of each column is an ordinary year at an ordinary firm; the top is a strong year at the best-paying firms. † Set by Tradermath from what senior people earn in the market, because too few of them report their pay.
How this estimate is worked out
The base is the one on the slider, within the range firms file for the role in their US salary filings. The bonus is the share of base that people in the role report at each stage, from the lower quarter of reports to the top tenth. The top of a column is at least what the best-paid tenth of employees report in total, because the best-paying firms also pay the highest base. The top firms state $300,000 for graduates. The bonus stays the same share when you move the slider, so a higher base brings a larger bonus.
Estimated total pay in Chicago, base plus bonusEstimate
| Experience | Quant trader | Quant researcher | Quant developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | About $255,000 to $450,000 | About $295,000 to $450,000 | About $295,000 to $510,000 |
| 1 to 3 years | About $295,000 to $560,000 | About $335,000 to $565,000 | About $310,000 to $520,000 |
| 4 to 6 years | About $345,000 to $930,000 | About $395,000 to $930,000 | About $325,000 to $545,000 |
| 7 years or more | About $525,000 to $1,225,000 | About $600,000 to $1,400,000 | About $400,000 to $900,000 |
An estimate, a year before tax, not counting a sign-on bonus. It starts from the median base filed for the role. The low end adds the bonus of an ordinary year at an ordinary firm; the top is a strong year at the best-paying firms, at least what the best-paid tenth of employees report in total. From 7 years, Tradermath sets the trader and researcher bonus from what senior people in these roles earn in the market, because too few of them report their pay.
What do Chicago firms pay graduates?
IMC advertises $250,000 for graduate quantitative traders and researchers in Chicago, and $200,000 for graduate software engineers. DRW advertises $250,000 to $300,000 for graduate quantitative researchers in Chicago and New York. Jump advertises $200,000 to $250,000 for campus systems engineers in Chicago.
Experienced hires are advertised in a similar band. DRW states $150,000 to $250,000 for a futures quantitative trader in Chicago, depending on experience. The bonus, not the base, is what separates an experienced trader from a new one.
Jane Street, Hudson River Trading and SIG advertise $300k, the highest graduate base in any US ad; the list starts at $165k. This is base pay only: the bonus comes on top, and within a few years it grows to match or pass the base.
- Hudson River Trading$300,000
- Jane Street$300,000
- Jump Tradingintern rate$300,000
- SIG$300,000
- DRW$250,000 to $300,000
- Citadel$235,000 to $300,000
- Citadel Securities$235,000 to $300,000
- IMC$250,000
- Optiver$200,000
- Two Sigma$165,000 to $190,000
- Flow Traders$175,000
The base salary each firm states in its US graduate job ads, September 2026. The bonus comes on top.
Which firms hire quants in Chicago, and what do they file?
Trading firms lead the Chicago list: DRW, IMC, Jump Trading, Akuna Capital, Belvedere Trading, Radix Trading, Headlands and Geneva Trading. Citadel Securities, Tower Research Capital, Balyasny and Maven Securities hire quants in the city too.
The table lists each firm’s main quant job title in Chicago and the base pay it files for it, highest first. The filings cover experienced hires as well as graduates, so a firm’s figure here can differ from its graduate ad.
Filed base pay by firm in Chicago, July 2025 to June 2026
| Firm | Main quant title | Filed base pay |
|---|---|---|
| Headlands | Research Developer | $200,000 to $375,000 |
| Citadel Securities | Software Engineer | $205,000 to $300,000 |
| Tower Research Capital | Quantitative Researcher | $175,000 to $250,000 |
| Jump Trading | Quantitative Developer | $225,000 |
| Radix Trading | Quantitative Technologist | $171,000 to $210,000 |
| Balyasny | Quantitative Researcher | $200,000 |
| DRW | Quantitative Researcher | $142,210 to $200,000 |
| IMC | Software Engineer | $200,000 |
| Maven Securities | Developer | $166,659 to $200,000 |
| Optiver | Software Engineer | $200,000 |
| Belvedere Trading | Software Engineer | $180,000 |
| Akuna Capital | Junior Trader | $165,000 |
A firm that files a range shows the median of both ends. The lower end is often the legal minimum for the role.
How much do Chicago quant interns earn?
Chicago firms state intern pay as a yearly rate, paid for the weeks you work. IMC pays its quantitative trader and research interns at $250,000 a year, about $4,810 a week, and its software engineer interns at $200,000.
DRW pays research interns at $250,000 to $300,000 a year, trading analyst interns at $250,000 and software developer interns at $225,000. Jump pays its quantitative trader interns in Chicago and New York at $300,000 a year.
How is a Chicago salary taxed?
Illinois charges a flat 4.95% on net income, whatever the salary. Chicago charges no city income tax. The personal exemption of $2,925 is not allowed above $250,000 of income, so a quant who earns more than that pays the flat rate on every dollar.
Federal tax applies on top, as in every state. It reaches 35% on taxable income above $256,225 and 37% above $640,600. Social Security takes 6.2% of wages up to $184,500, and Medicare 1.45% of all wages, plus 0.9% on wages above $200,000.
That puts Chicago between the other two US quant cities. A New York City resident pays state tax at rates up to 6.85% at these incomes and city tax of up to 3.876% on top, while Florida has no state income tax. The take-home comparison works out what each city leaves of the same pay.
How do you get an offer at a Chicago trading firm?
IMC, DRW and the other Chicago firms hire graduates through a timed online assessment and then several rounds of interviews. Expect mental arithmetic, number sequences, probability and expected value. Trader candidates also play market-making games, where you quote a price and adjust it as trades come in. Developers add coding rounds.
Speed and accuracy under a clock decide the first round, and both improve with practice. The practice page has timed tests and interview questions in the format of each firm it covers, so the pace of the online assessment is familiar before you sit it.