Quant Salary Index 2026.1
What quants are paid, by role and by market
Annual total compensation — base salary plus expected performance bonus — across every quant discipline and all ten hub markets.
How much do quants earn?
Quant total compensation in 2026 typically ranges from about $180,000 for an entry-level quant developer to over $1,000,000 for senior researchers and traders in New York, with portfolio managers paid a share of profit rather than a bonus. New York sets the global benchmark; London runs roughly 10-15% below it, and Amsterdam and Paris lower again.
Median total compensation by role and city
| Role | New YorkUSD | LondonGBP | ChicagoUSD | SingaporeSGD | Hong KongHKD | AmsterdamEUR | San FranciscoUSD | ParisEUR | Zurich / GenevaCHF | Dubai / Abu DhabiAED |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Researcher | $475k | £319k | $461k | S$522k | HK$3.1m | €323k | $451k | €297k | CHF 376k | AED 1.5m |
| Quant Trader | $450k | £302k | $473k | S$494k | HK$3.0m | €352k | $428k | €282k | CHF 356k | AED 1.5m |
| Quant Developer | $340k | £228k | $330k | S$374k | HK$2.3m | €231k | $323k | €213k | CHF 269k | AED 1.1m |
| Quant Analyst | $230k | £161k | $223k | S$253k | HK$1.5m | €157k | $219k | €165k | CHF 182k | AED 743k |
| HFT / Low-Latency Engineer | $385k | £264k | $416k | S$423k | HK$2.6m | €290k | $366k | €241k | CHF 305k | AED 1.2m |
| Systematic Portfolio Manager | $1.3m | £926k | $1.2m | S$1.4m | HK$8.3m | €851k | $1.2m | €782k | CHF 990k | AED 4.6m |
Median total compensation · local currency · September 2026
Salary guides by role
Quant Researcher
Signal discovery and alpha research
$230k – $2.5m
New York total comp range
Quant Trader
Running risk on systematic strategies
$200k – $3.0m
New York total comp range
Quant Developer
The engineering layer beneath the strategy
$180k – $1.2m
New York total comp range
Quant Analyst
Pricing, risk and model validation
$125k – $700k
New York total comp range
HFT / Low-Latency Engineer
Nanoseconds as a competitive edge
$200k – $1.4m
New York total comp range
Systematic Portfolio Manager
Owning a book and a payout formula
$500k – $15m
New York total comp range
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Open the calculatorMethodology
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.
KnowQaunt 2026.1 · Updated September 2026
These are indicative ranges pending first-party verification. They will be replaced by verified submissions as the Quant Salary Index dataset builds.