Edition Q3 2026 · frozen on publication
Quant compensation benchmark, Q3 2026
New York remains the reference market for quant pay, with London running below it across every discipline and portfolio-manager outcomes staying the widest band in the index.
- Roles benchmarked
- 18
- Market guides
- 17
- Method version
- 2026.1
- Published
- 1 September 2026
KnowQuant research deskUpdated 1 September 202618 roles across 17 marketsMethod 2026.1
What did quants earn in Q3 2026?
In the Q3 2026 edition, median quant total compensation in New York runs from $475k for the reference research role upward, with every role and market priced in the table below. Coverage period 1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026, method 2026.1.
Median total compensation by role and city
| Role | New YorkUSD | LondonGBP | ChicagoUSD | SingaporeSGD | Hong KongHKD | AmsterdamEUR | San FranciscoUSD | ParisEUR | Zurich / GenevaCHF | Dubai / Abu DhabiAED | BostonUSD | AustinUSD | Greenwich / StamfordUSD | SydneyAUD | TorontoCAD | MumbaiINR | ShanghaiCNY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Researcher | $475k | £319k | $461k | S$522k | HK$3.1m | €323k | $451k | €297k | CHF 376k | AED 1.5m | $409k | $418k | $461k | A$520k | C$456k | ₹8.7m | ¥1.9m |
| Quant Trader | $450k | £302k | $473k | S$494k | HK$3.0m | €352k | $428k | €282k | CHF 356k | AED 1.5m | $387k | $396k | $437k | A$492k | C$432k | ₹8.2m | ¥1.8m |
| Quant Developer | $340k | £228k | $330k | S$374k | HK$2.3m | €231k | $323k | €213k | CHF 269k | AED 1.1m | $292k | $299k | $330k | A$372k | C$326k | ₹6.2m | ¥1.3m |
| Quant Analyst | $230k | £161k | $223k | S$253k | HK$1.5m | €157k | $219k | €165k | CHF 182k | AED 743k | $198k | $202k | $223k | A$252k | C$221k | ₹4.2m | ¥898k |
| HFT / Low-Latency Engineer | $385k | £264k | $416k | S$423k | HK$2.6m | €290k | $366k | €241k | CHF 305k | AED 1.2m | $331k | $339k | $373k | A$421k | C$369k | ₹7.0m | ¥1.5m |
| Systematic Portfolio Manager | $1.3m | £926k | $1.2m | S$1.4m | HK$8.3m | €851k | $1.2m | €782k | CHF 990k | AED 4.6m | $1.1m | $1.1m | $1.2m | A$1.4m | C$1.2m | ₹23m | ¥4.9m |
| Software Engineer | $305k | £205k | $296k | S$335k | HK$2.0m | €208k | $290k | €191k | CHF 242k | AED 985k | $262k | $268k | $296k | A$334k | C$292k | ₹5.6m | ¥1.2m |
| Machine Learning Engineer | $390k | £259k | $378k | S$429k | HK$2.6m | €266k | $390k | €244k | CHF 309k | AED 1.3m | $335k | $343k | $378k | A$427k | C$374k | ₹7.1m | ¥1.5m |
| Data Engineer | $285k | £191k | $276k | S$313k | HK$1.9m | €194k | $271k | €178k | CHF 226k | AED 920k | $245k | $251k | $276k | A$312k | C$273k | ₹5.2m | ¥1.1m |
| Data Scientist | $245k | £164k | $238k | S$269k | HK$1.6m | €167k | $233k | €153k | CHF 194k | AED 791k | $211k | $216k | $238k | A$268k | C$235k | ₹4.5m | ¥957k |
| Site Reliability Engineer | $280k | £188k | $272k | S$308k | HK$1.9m | €191k | $266k | €175k | CHF 222k | AED 904k | $241k | $246k | $272k | A$306k | C$269k | ₹5.1m | ¥1.1m |
| Network and Infrastructure Engineer | $250k | £168k | $263k | S$275k | HK$1.7m | €196k | $238k | €156k | CHF 198k | AED 807k | $215k | $220k | $243k | A$274k | C$240k | ₹4.6m | ¥976k |
| Security Engineer | $275k | £184k | $267k | S$302k | HK$1.8m | €187k | $261k | €172k | CHF 218k | AED 888k | $237k | $242k | $267k | A$301k | C$264k | ₹5.0m | ¥1.1m |
| Trading Operations Analyst | $175k | £117k | $170k | S$192k | HK$1.2m | €119k | $166k | €109k | CHF 139k | AED 565k | $151k | $154k | $170k | A$192k | C$168k | ₹3.2m | ¥683k |
| Risk Manager | $240k | £161k | $233k | S$264k | HK$1.6m | €163k | $228k | €150k | CHF 190k | AED 775k | $206k | $211k | $233k | A$263k | C$230k | ₹4.4m | ¥937k |
| Compliance Officer | $205k | £138k | $199k | S$225k | HK$1.4m | €140k | $195k | €128k | CHF 162k | AED 662k | $176k | $180k | $199k | A$224k | C$197k | ₹3.7m | ¥801k |
| Fund Finance and Accounting | $200k | £134k | $194k | S$220k | HK$1.3m | €136k | $190k | €125k | CHF 158k | AED 646k | $172k | $176k | $194k | A$219k | C$192k | ₹3.7m | ¥781k |
| Technical Recruiter | $185k | £124k | $179k | S$203k | HK$1.2m | €126k | $176k | €116k | CHF 147k | AED 597k | $159k | $163k | $179k | A$202k | C$177k | ₹3.4m | ¥722k |
Median annual total compensation · local currency · Q3 2026 edition
What these figures include
- Figures are annual total compensation: base salary plus expected performance bonus, in the market's own currency.
- Employer-stated pay is used verbatim where an advert gives it, and labelled as stated. Everything else is a modelled market band.
- Portfolio-manager figures reflect profit-share arrangements, so the band is deliberately wide and should not be read as an offer range.
Cite these figures
KnowQuant Quant Compensation Benchmark, Q3 2026 edition, method 2026.1. https://www.know-quant.com/benchmarks/2026-q3
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.
Machine-readable copy: /data/salary.json. Other editions: Q3 2026.
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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.