Financial Analysts Salary: $131,249 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 340,580 financial analysts nationally earn a mean of $131,249. Employment in the series shown rose about 14% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 2.5% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Financial Analysts: what the data shows
Common questions about financial analysts careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a financial analysts?
Financial Analysts is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 13-2051.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 340,580 workers.
How much does a financial analysts make?
BLS national median annual wage: $101,350 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $131,249 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $71,899 |
| 25th percentile | $87,992 |
| Median (50th) | $113,160 |
| 75th percentile | $155,440 |
| 90th percentile | $205,175 |
What education do you need?
For Financial Analysts, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is financial analysts in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 2.5% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 13.1%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 27.8%.
Current U.S. headcount: 340,580.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do financial analystss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 340,580 | 19.1% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 321,700 | 18.1% |
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities | 171,100 | 9.6% |
| Finance and Insurance | 150,630 | 8.5% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 49,110 | 2.8% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 49,110 | 2.8% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Financial Analysts in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Sales & Office Occupations | 1,441,580 | — |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 497,800 | $103,790 |
| Marketing Managers | 384,980 | $161,030 |
| Accountants and Auditors | 1,448,290 | $81,680 |
| Personal Financial Advisors | 270,480 | $102,140 |
| General and Operations Managers | 3,584,420 | $102,950 |
| Financial Managers | 818,620 | $161,700 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Financial Analysts workforce.
Employment Over Time
340,580 Workforce in 2023
The Financial Analysts workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Financial Analysts.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$131,249 Average Wage
In 2023, Financial Analysts earned an average of $131,249.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Financial Analysts.
Salary distribution for Financial Analysts.
Employment Growth Projections
2.5% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
177,319 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 13.1%
200,473 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 27.8%
This occupation is projected to grow at 2.5% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Financial Analysts.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Financial Analysts and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Financial Analysts employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Financial Analysts.
Wage Trends by Industry
6.0% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Financial Analysts.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Financial Analysts.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 37,310 employees, $131,622 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Financial Analysts.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 10,430 employees, $119,334 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 6,520 employees, $161,370 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 4,740 employees, $157,477 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 3,960 employees, $115,428 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 3,390 employees, $116,216 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 2,780 employees, $140,546 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 1,710 employees, $118,619 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 1,170 employees, $106,407 avg wage
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA: 470 employees, $115,034 avg wage
- Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA: 410 employees, $109,941 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Financial Analysts.
Diversity
Demographic information on Financial Analysts in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Financial Analysts in 2023 was 340,580 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Financial Analysts.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Financial Analysts.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Financial Analysts.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Financial Analysts in 2023 were Finance, Business, Economics.
Common majors for Financial Analysts.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Financial Analysts workers.
Education level distribution for Financial Analysts.
Skills
Financial Analysts need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking.
Required skills for Financial Analysts.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Financial Analysts.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Financial Analysts include .
Knowledge areas required for Financial Analysts.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Financial Analysts include .
Required abilities for Financial Analysts.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Financial Analysts.
Daily Activities
Financial Analysts spend their time on activities such as .
Most important work activities for Financial Analysts.
About
Financial Analysts
The average yearly wage for Financial Analysts was $131,249 in 2023.
SOC Code
13-2051 - Financial Analysts
Insights and Analysis
High earnings profile: Financial Analysts reports an average salary of $131,249, placing it among stronger-paying occupations.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 340,580 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 2.5%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.