Finance Salary Benchmarks: $150k to $500k Range

Only 25% of financial managers nationally earned more than $210,830 in May 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program — yet in the New York MSA, the mean annual wage for the same role hit $242,100. Where you sit in that distribution, and where you sit geographically, determines whether your package is defensible or quietly below market.

Key Numbers at a Glance

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2023 and May 2024. *75th percentile for Financial Managers from May 2023 OEWS; full percentile breakdowns for May 2024 not returned in individual-occupation search at publication. Financial Risk Specialists 25th/75th percentile data not available at national level in BLS individual-occupation table at time of search. 90th percentile top-coded at ≥$239,200 per BLS methodology.

Financial Managers: The $150k Entry Point

The national median for financial managers reached $161,700 in May 2024 (BLS OEWS, May 2024) — a figure that already clears the $150k threshold that defines the target readership here. That median, however, conceals a distribution that runs from $82,870 at the 10th percentile to the BLS top-code ceiling of $239,200 or above at the 90th percentile (May 2023 OEWS). The 75th percentile sat at $210,830 in May 2023. By May 2025, the mean annual wage had risen to $192,160 (BLS OEWS May 2025, national Table 1), suggesting continued upward pressure across the distribution.

Two variables drive your position within that spread more than any other: industry and MSA. Financial managers in securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments averaged $249,260 annually in May 2023 — nearly $75,000 above the national mean for the same occupational code. Management of companies and enterprises came in at $190,520. Banking and credit intermediation averaged $143,870. The industry effect alone spans roughly $105,000 in mean annual wages, making it the dominant single factor in a financial manager’s VP and director salary by industry.

The MSA effect is nearly as large. The New York-Newark-Jersey City MSA posted a mean annual wage of $242,100 for financial managers in May 2023 (BLS OEWS). The San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward MSA reported $223,930. Boston-Cambridge-Nashua came in at $197,080. Dallas-Fort Worth, by contrast, averaged $174,770. A financial manager at the median in New York earns close to what a 75th-percentile manager earns in Dallas — geography is not a minor adjustment to the headline number, it is often the headline itself. Remote workers navigating geographic pay policies face this tension directly; the data on remote worker salary geographic differences shows how dramatically these gaps persist even post-pandemic.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2023, SOC 11-3031 Financial Managers. National mean for reference. MSA figures are mean annual wages, not medians; median data by MSA not published in the individual-occupation table.

Financial Analysts: Where the $150k Line Actually Falls

The national median for financial and investment analysts was $101,350 in May 2024 (BLS OEWS, May 2024) — well below the $150k threshold. That number anchors the wrong part of the conversation. The 90th percentile nationally reached $175,840 in May 2023 (BLS OEWS), which means that even among the top decile of all financial analysts nationwide, the majority are still below $200k in base salary. The implication: reaching $150k+ in base salary as a financial analyst is a 75th-percentile achievement nationally, and a mid-career milestone rather than a senior-level ceiling.

Geography reshapes this entirely. In the New York MSA, the mean annual wage for financial analysts was $146,450 in May 2023 — which already suggests that senior analysts in New York are substantially above $175k, given the mean is pulled toward the higher end. The San Francisco MSA averaged $143,240; Boston $129,270; Chicago $123,000. The analyst with $150k base in New York is likely sitting around the 60th–70th percentile locally — not the top of the market for their role. Understanding the full picture requires looking at how to read BLS salary data correctly rather than anchoring on the national median.

The securities industry creates a distinct sub-market. Financial analysts employed in securities, commodity contracts, and related financial investments averaged $139,750 annually in May 2023 (BLS OEWS) — $26,800 above the overall mean for the same SOC code. That delta reflects both the business model (revenue tied to deal flow and AUM rather than operational budgets) and the concentration of top performers in that subsector. The tech vs. non-tech salary gap at the same level shows a structurally similar pattern — sector economics determine the ceiling more than individual negotiating skill.

Personal Financial Advisors: The Widest Spread in the Dataset

The 75th percentile for personal financial advisors nationally was $172,540 in May 2024 (BLS OEWS), while the 90th percentile top-codes at ≥$239,200 — and the 10th percentile sat at $49,990. That is a 3.4x ratio between the 10th and 75th percentile, among the widest distributions of any business and financial occupation in the OEWS data. The median of $102,140 is nearly meaningless as a benchmark for this role: it reflects early-career advisors at small firms and RIAs as much as it reflects established advisors managing $300M+ in assets.

The driver is business model. Advisors working under an AUM fee structure with an established book have a fundamentally different earnings trajectory than salaried analysts at a bank. BLS OEWS explicitly excludes self-employed workers — which means the published distribution understates total compensation for the substantial portion of the advisor workforce that operates independently. For advisors evaluating their market position, total compensation versus base salary is the correct frame, not the headline median. The May 2025 OEWS release showed personal financial advisors with a mean annual wage of $156,670 (BLS OEWS, May 2025) — but that figure still captures only the employer-reported, salaried segment of the workforce.

Finluxy Compensation Percentile: Three Scenarios

The Finluxy Compensation Percentile positions a stated base salary within the BLS OEWS wage distribution for the same occupation and MSA. The following table applies this metric to three illustrative scenarios drawn from the verified data above. Note that percentile positioning for MSA-level distributions is approximate, interpolated from the national distribution adjusted for the known MSA mean differential; exact MSA percentile distributions are not published separately by BLS.

Source: BLS OEWS May 2023 (percentile distributions) and May 2024 (medians). MSA-adjusted positioning is an approximation based on known MSA mean wages relative to national mean; exact local percentile distributions are not published by BLS. Finluxy Compensation Percentile reflects base salary only and does not incorporate target bonus, equity grant, or benefits. See methodology section.

Scenario A illustrates a counterintuitive result: a financial manager earning $200,000 sits at roughly the 75th–80th percentile nationally, yet is likely below the local median for the occupation in the New York MSA where the mean exceeds $242,000. That gap has concrete implications for negotiation leverage and retention risk. A $200k financial manager in New York is not at the top of their market — they are in the lower half of the local distribution for that role.

Scenario B shows the compression that happens at the senior analyst level in high-cost markets. A $150k base salary puts a San Francisco analyst near the 90th percentile nationally, but the local distribution shifts that position significantly downward given that the MSA mean already sits above $143,000. For benchmarking purposes, using national data to evaluate SF comp leads to systematically overconfident conclusions. The salary benchmarking guide for $150k+ earners addresses exactly this problem — why the national distribution fails as a reference for major-metro roles.

What the Data Overlooks: Bonus and Equity Distort the Picture Entirely

BLS OEWS captures straight-time gross pay. Overtime premium pay, performance bonuses, equity grants, and profit-sharing are excluded. For finance roles at or above the 75th percentile, this exclusion is not a footnote — it is the majority of the compensation story at certain levels and in certain subsectors.

Consider a VP of Finance at a mid-sized asset management firm. The BLS data might show a base salary of $185,000 — placing that individual at roughly the 80th percentile nationally for financial managers. But a target bonus of 30% of base ($55,500) and a $75,000 annualized equity grant (in RSUs vesting over four years) brings total compensation to approximately $315,500. The BLS figure captures only 59% of actual total comp in this scenario. Evaluating that role’s market position using base salary alone would suggest it is reasonably compensated; evaluating it on total compensation would suggest it is at or above the 90th percentile nationally — a materially different conclusion with different negotiating implications.

This is the single finding most coverage of finance salary benchmarks misses. The BLS data is excellent for base salary positioning and for understanding where the distribution cuts. It is structurally incomplete for total compensation comparison at senior finance levels where variable pay routinely exceeds 40–60% of base. Levels.fyi, which reports equity and bonus data alongside base salary, skews heavily toward tech-sector finance roles and senior titles at large companies — but it fills the gap the BLS cannot. For a rigorous comparison of what those two data sets show differently, the analysis of total compensation versus base salary covers the methodology in detail. Similarly, understanding how to value RSU grants matters enormously when comparing offers; equity compensation and RSU valuation provides a framework for that calculation.

The $150k to $500k Continuum: Where Each Role Typically Breaks Through

Source: BLS OEWS May 2023 (percentile distributions for analysts and financial managers), May 2024 (medians and chief executive mean), and May 2025 (supplementary mean data). $150k positioning is approximate interpolation from published percentile anchors. Chief executive figures from BLS OEWS May 2024, SOC 11-1011.

The $150k+ Household Decision: Which Benchmarks Actually Matter

For a household at $150k+ and evaluating a finance career comp package, three thresholds cut through the noise. First, the 75th percentile in your specific occupation and MSA — not the national median — is the minimum reference point for “market rate.” Using the national median for a New York-based financial manager role understates market by roughly $80,000 in mean wages. Second, total compensation rather than base salary is the only apples-to-apples comparison at senior finance levels; a base-salary comparison between an IB VP and a corporate FP&A director at the same title level will mislead. Third, the top-code ceiling of $239,200 in BLS OEWS percentile data means the published distribution provides essentially no signal for compensation above that level — at VP and above in major markets, you need Levels.fyi for tech or Radford/Aon for traditional finance as supplementary sources.

The consulting sector presents its own compensation structure; consulting salary by firm tier and level shows how MBB and Big Four finance roles compare to corporate finance at the same career stage. Product manager roles — which increasingly blend finance and tech skills — have their own distribution; product manager salary by experience benchmarks that hybrid space. For a broader view of where $150k actually ranks across all occupations, the income percentile analysis for $80k, $100k, and $120k income levels provides context — though the $150k mark is covered in the gap analysis from $100k to $150k.

One further consideration for $150k+ earners evaluating a finance offer: the BLS OEWS does not capture employer-paid benefits, which the BLS National Compensation Survey estimates at roughly 30–32% of total compensation on average for private-sector professional workers. A $175,000 base salary at a firm with comprehensive health, 401(k) match, and additional retirement contributions represents substantially higher total cost-of-employment than the headline figure suggests — which matters when comparing offers across employers or sectors. The software engineer salary by city analysis shows how this same dynamic plays out in tech roles where equity as a share of total comp creates similarly opaque comparisons.