Markets
Is Boston a good place to work as a quant?
KnowQuant research deskUpdated 1 September 2026Method 2026.1
Short answer
Boston ranks #11 of 17 in our quant hiring index, rated strong / niche for opportunity, with a quant researcher median of $409k.
Boston's quant population sits mostly inside large asset managers and systematic long-only teams, with a steady flow of academic talent out of the local universities. Hiring favours factor research, portfolio construction and data science over execution engineering, and tenure tends to be longer than at the proprietary trading firms. Pay runs below New York at the same level, though the gap narrows for senior research roles with performance-linked components.
Demand concentrates in systematic research, asset management quant, data science. The employers our desk tracks in the market are man-group, two-sigma, millennium, running factor research, systematic long-only, portfolio construction.
Right to work: Same US visa constraints as New York, with heavy use of campus and post-doc pipelines from local universities.
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Cite these figures
KnowQuant Quant Compensation Benchmark, Q3 2026 edition, method 2026.1. https://www.know-quant.com/answers/is-boston-a-good-place-to-work-as-a-quant
Free to quote and republish with attribution and a link to the source page, under our terms. Method 2026.1, last reviewed 1 September 2026. The methodology sets out how each band is built and what it excludes.
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More on markets
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New York pays more in gross terms, with a quant researcher median of $475k against £319k in London, but London gives broader access to European markets and easier visa routes for many candidates.
Is New York a good place to work as a quant?
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Is Hong Kong a good place to work as a quant?
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Methodology
Figures are expressed as annual total compensation (base salary plus expected performance bonus) in the reference market's local currency, converted from a US dollar base. They describe typical market ranges rather than any individual offer, and exclude sign-on payments, deferred equity and carried interest. Portfolio-manager figures reflect formulaic profit-share arrangements and are therefore far more dispersed than any other role.
KnowQuantIndex 2026.1 · Updated September 2026
Modelled bands describe the market, not an individual offer. Where an employer states pay, the stated figure is used and labelled as such.