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KnowQuant research deskUpdated 1 September 2026Method 2026.1
London or New York?
On US dollar equivalent total compensation, New York pays about 13% more than London across the quant disciplines we benchmark. London ranks 2nd in our hiring index and New York 1st. Both markets hire heavily into systematic macro and statistical arbitrage. Headline pay is only part of the picture: tax, cost of living and visa access change the net outcome materially between these two.
| Measure | London | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom | United States |
| Hiring index rank | #2 of 17 | #1 of 17 |
| Opportunity | Exceptional | Exceptional |
| Currency | GBP | USD |
| Pay index vs New York | 86% | 100% |
| Where demand sits | Quant research/trading, systematic funds, electronic trading | Quant research, systematic trading, quant dev, ML, data |
| Dominant strategies | Systematic macro, Statistical arbitrage, Market making, Multi-asset | Statistical arbitrage, Systematic macro, ML-driven alpha, Multi-strategy |
| Employers on the desk | man-group, marshall-wace, winton, citadel, jane-street, optiver, drw | jane-street, citadel, two-sigma, de-shaw, millennium, point72, hrt |
| Visa and right to work | The Global Talent and Skilled Worker routes are both commonly discussed for these roles. Sponsorship is not universal and eligibility depends on the route and the employer: read the current official UK guidance and confirm with each employer whether the specific role is sponsored. | H-1B, O-1 and L-1 are the routes usually discussed for these roles, and many firms also recruit juniors through campus pipelines. Eligibility and timing depend on the route and the employer, so check the current official US guidance and ask the employer which route it would use. |
Modelled reference estimate of annual total compensation, shown in each market's own currency with the US dollar equivalent in brackets. Positive gap means London pays more.
| Market | London | New York | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Researcher | £319k ($409k) | $475k | -14% |
| Quant Trader | £302k ($387k) | $450k | -14% |
| Quant Developer | £228k ($292k) | $340k | -14% |
| Quant Analyst | £161k ($207k) | $230k | -10% |
| HFT / Low-Latency Engineer | £264k ($339k) | $385k | -12% |
| Systematic Portfolio Manager | £926k ($1.2m) | $1.3m | -5% |
| Software Engineer | £205k ($262k) | $305k | -14% |
| Machine Learning Engineer | £259k ($332k) | $390k | -15% |
| Data Engineer | £191k ($245k) | $285k | -14% |
| Data Scientist | £164k ($211k) | $245k | -14% |
| Site Reliability Engineer | £188k ($241k) | $280k | -14% |
| Network and Infrastructure Engineer | £168k ($215k) | $250k | -14% |
| Security Engineer | £184k ($237k) | $275k | -14% |
| Trading Operations Analyst | £117k ($151k) | $175k | -14% |
| Risk Manager | £161k ($206k) | $240k | -14% |
| Compliance Officer | £138k ($176k) | $205k | -14% |
| Fund Finance and Accounting | £134k ($172k) | $200k | -14% |
| Technical Recruiter | £124k ($159k) | $185k | -14% |
Direct answers with the figure, the date and the caveat, generated from the same tables above.
New York, by roughly 13% on US dollar equivalent total compensation across the disciplines we benchmark. A quant researcher modelled reference estimate is £319k in London against $475k in New York. Figures are base plus expected bonus, before tax.
New York ranks higher in our hiring index (#1 against #2), based on live classified vacancy volume, employer breadth and role seniority mix. London is rated exceptional for opportunity, New York exceptional.
Europe's quant capital and the main hub for systematic macro and long-horizon systematic funds. The trade against New York is lower headline pay, offset by the global talent and skilled worker routes are both commonly discussed for these roles. sponsorship is not universal and eligibility depends on the route and the employer: read the current official uk guidance and confirm with each employer whether the specific role is sponsored. Compare the tax and cost position before treating the gross gap as real.
citadel, jane-street run desks in both markets, so an internal transfer is a realistic route. London additionally carries man-group, marshall-wace, winton, optiver, drw.
London: London combines established systematic managers, the European desks of US proprietary firms, and a large bank-side quant population that feeds the buy side. The market is unusually strong in systematic macro and multi-asset systematic strategies. Headline compensation runs below New York in absolute terms, but the gap narrows considerably at senior research and portfolio-manager level where profit share dominates base pay. New York: New York concentrates multi-strategy hedge funds, systematic managers and the research arms of the largest proprietary trading firms. Hiring skews toward quantitative research, machine learning and data engineering rather than pure latency work, which sits more heavily in Chicago and Amsterdam. We use New York as the reference point for our own pay index, because firms we track commonly quote other cities relative to it. That is our modelling basis rather than a measured global ranking.
Yes, with attribution and a link. Method 2026.1, last reviewed September 2026. KnowQuant Quant Compensation Benchmark, Q3 2026 edition, method 2026.1. https://www.know-quant.com/markets/compare/london-vs-new-york
KnowQuant Quant Compensation Benchmark, Q3 2026 edition, method 2026.1. https://www.know-quant.com/markets/compare/london-vs-new-york
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.
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.
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