Where the US hedge fund and trading jobs are: a state-by-state guide
KnowQuant research desk · Published 8 October 2026 · 2 min read
Which US states have the most hedge fund and trading jobs?
New York leads by a wide margin, followed by Illinois (Chicago), Connecticut (Greenwich and Stamford), California (the Bay Area), Massachusetts (Boston), Florida (Miami) and Texas. Each has a different mix: New York for multi-strategy platforms, Chicago for proprietary trading, the Bay Area for machine learning, Florida and Texas for tax-driven growth.
What this piece establishes
- Short answer. New York leads by a wide margin, followed by Illinois (Chicago), Connecticut (Greenwich and Stamford), California (the Bay Area), Massachusetts (Boston), Florida (Miami) and Texas.
- What people search. Semrush shows the strongest location searches are "hedge funds in nyc" and "hedge funds in san francisco" (about 1,000 each), then "hedge funds in miami" (320), "hedge funds in boston", "hedge funds in greenwich ct" and "hedge fund jobs nyc" (260 each), "trading firms in chicago" (210) and "hedge funds in dallas" (170).
- Roles beyond quant. Most hires at these firms are not quants.
- Where to go next. Live quant firm jobs in every US state All markets All live roles Hedge fund jobs beyond quant
Short answer
New York leads by a wide margin, followed by Illinois (Chicago), Connecticut (Greenwich and Stamford), California (the Bay Area), Massachusetts (Boston), Florida (Miami) and Texas. Each has a different mix: New York for multi-strategy platforms, Chicago for proprietary trading, the Bay Area for machine learning, Florida and Texas for tax-driven growth.
What people search
Semrush shows the strongest location searches are "hedge funds in nyc" and "hedge funds in san francisco" (about 1,000 each), then "hedge funds in miami" (320), "hedge funds in boston", "hedge funds in greenwich ct" and "hedge fund jobs nyc" (260 each), "trading firms in chicago" (210) and "hedge funds in dallas" (170). Figures are Semrush US estimates read on 8 October 2026, not measured traffic.
State by state
| State | Main hub | Strength | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | NYC | Multi-strategy platforms, systematic managers | Read |
| Illinois | Chicago | Prop trading, market making | Read |
| Connecticut | Greenwich, Stamford | Hedge fund corridor | Read |
| California | San Francisco | ML, data, engineering | Read |
| Massachusetts | Boston | Long-horizon systematic | Read |
| Florida | Miami | Tax-driven growth | Read |
| Texas | Dallas, Houston, Austin | Energy trading, engineering offices | Read |
Choosing a market
Pick by role first. Low-latency engineers should weigh Chicago and New York; ML engineers the Bay Area and New York; operations and investment staff New York and Connecticut.
Roles beyond quant
Most hires at these firms are not quants. Software, data, site reliability, network, FPGA and security engineers, trading operations, fund accounting, risk, compliance and technical recruiting all hire here. Compare modelled pay by function: technology, infrastructure, data and AI, business and operations.
Where to go next
Key takeaways
- New York leads; Chicago leads prop trading.
- Florida and Texas are growing on tax.
- Choose the market by role, not headline.
Pay figures on KnowQuant are modelled estimates with a published method, not verified offers.
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