A compliance officer at a quant firm owns regulatory permissions, trade surveillance, personal account dealing, market-abuse controls and regulator relationships across every venue the firm touches. New York total compensation typically runs from about $110,000 at entry level to $400,000 or more for a head of compliance at a multi-venue firm.
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How much does a compliance officer earn?
A compliance officer at a quant firm owns regulatory permissions, trade surveillance, personal account dealing, market-abuse controls and regulator relationships across every venue the firm touches. New York total compensation typically runs from about $110,000 at entry level to $400,000 or more for a head of compliance at a multi-venue firm.
KnowQuant research desk·Updated 1 September 2026·4 seniority bands across 17 hub markets·Method 2026.1
Live demand for this function
We price this function but do not count it as a separate category in the live job book, so there is no vacancy figure to publish here. Search the live roles at tracked firms to see what is genuinely open today; the pay bands below are modelled and dated separately.
New York reference market, US dollars. Base salary and total compensation.
Compliance Officer compensation by seniority in New York, September 2026
Level
Experience
Base
Total comp
Compliance Analyst
0-2 yrs
$80k – $110k
$110k – $165k
Compliance Manager
2-5 yrs
$110k – $155k
$150k – $260k
Senior Compliance Manager
5-8 yrs
$145k – $200k
$210k – $380k
Head of Compliance
8+ yrs
$180k – $265k
$300k – $650k
About the role
Multi-venue, multi-jurisdiction trading makes this a technical role rather than a paperwork one. Surveillance calibration, algorithm governance, best execution and exchange rule changes all require someone who can read both the regulation and the system that implements it, and the most valuable people in the function can interrogate the data themselves. Firms pay a premium for that combination, particularly in London and Hong Kong where the regulatory reporting load is heaviest.
Sourced answers to the questions people bring to this page, each with the figure, the date and the caveat.
How much does a compliance officer earn?
A compliance officer at a quant firm owns regulatory permissions, trade surveillance, personal account dealing, market-abuse controls and regulator relationships across every venue the firm touches. New York total compensation typically runs from about $110,000 at entry level to $400,000 or more for a head of compliance at a multi-venue firm. The New York band runs $110k – $650k in annual total compensation, with a modelled reference estimate of $205k. Figures are base salary plus expected performance bonus, excluding sign-on, deferred equity and carry.
What does a compliance officer earn at entry level?
An entry hire (Compliance Analyst, 0-2 years) is typically offered $80k to $110k in base salary and $110k to $165k in total compensation in New York. At the senior end (Head of Compliance, 8+ years) total compensation reaches $650k.
Where is the best-paid market for a compliance officer?
New York leads on headline modelled total compensation at $205k, with London at £138k. Both are modelled reference estimates for the role, not observed medians. Bands are shown in each market's local currency across 17 hub markets, so tax treatment and cost of living still change the net picture materially.
What skills do firms hire compliance officers for?
The recurring requirements are Regulatory frameworks, Trade surveillance, Market abuse controls, SQL, Algorithm governance. Typical backgrounds are compliance professionals from banks and brokers, regulators moving into industry, legal and paralegal backgrounds.
How many compliance officers roles are open right now?
No compliance officer vacancies are classified as open in the index at this moment. Counts are rebuilt from employer career pages rather than reposted listings, so the figure moves as firms open and close roles.
Can I quote these compliance officer figures?
Yes, with attribution and a link. Method 2026.1, last reviewed September 2026. Cite the dated edition rather than the live page if you need the number to stay stable: KnowQuant Quant Compensation Benchmark, Q3 2026 edition, method 2026.1. https://www.know-quant.com/salary/compliance-officer
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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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.
KnowQuant·Index 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.
KnowQuant·Index 2026.1 · Updated September 2026
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