What Is a Financial Analyst’s Salary?

Financial analysts can work for financial institutions, management companies, insurance companies, and more. You will typically study and evaluate financial data, learn about recent industry trends, meet with clients about your financial analysis, and create reports. The need for financial analysts will grow faster than the national average as younger talent fills the positions of workers leaving the field.

Explore more about this role and its earning potential to help you envision if it’s a good match for your career goals. 

What is a financial analyst?

A financial analyst works with individuals and companies to create guidelines for how to spend money to earn profits. Typical tasks include reviewing current financial investment trends and historical data to determine where to invest money or how to best build a corporate portfolio. You will also study economic trends and financial statements, review your client’s strengths, and prepare reports for them about how best to spend money for a profit.

Specific positions for financial analysts include fund managers who work with hedge funds and mutual funds or securities analysts who look over securities markets to identify trends.

How much does a financial analyst make?

Financial analysts make a median annual income of $79,310, according to Glassdoor [1]. Various job listing sites show the average yearly pay for financial analysts ranges from $66,795 to $99,890 as of August 2024. The salary ranges given by four different organizations that track financial analyst salaries are [2, 3, 1, 4]:

Factors that affect a financial analyst’s salary

Education and experience can boost your potential earnings as a financial analyst. Where you live also has an effect on your salary, including high-cost-of-living areas or cities where financial analysts are in demand. Depending on your interests, some fields or sectors can earn you more than others.

Education

You usually need a bachelor’s degree in a field such as business, accounting, or finance to become a financial analyst. Some employers might prefer you to have a master’s degree as well to become an analyst. You’ll also have to pursue certifications such as a Chartered Financial Analyst, or CFA, certification. Requirements for a CFA include a bachelor’s degree, work experience, and passing multiple exams.

Here are the average financial analyst salaries based on education level, according to Zippia [5]:

• Bachelor’s degree: $69,281

• Master’s degree: $79,103

• Doctorate degree: $91,596

Experience

Previous experience in the financial analyst field can affect your salary as more experience potentially boosts your annual income. According to Glassdoor, as of August 2024, the estimated average salaries you can expect based on your previous experience are [1]:

• 0–1 year: $77,234

• 1–3 years: $86,281

• 4–6 years: $89,742

• 7–9 years: $89,318

• 10–14 years: $91,737

• 15+ years: $98,265

Location

Where you live affects your earnings as a financial analyst because of your area’s cost of living, demand for work, and other factors.

The five top-paying states for financial analysts, based on data collected by BLS, are [6]:

• New York: $ 143,330

• Montana: $ 128,720

• New Jersey: $ 128,280

• Massachusetts: $ 127,760

• California: $125,220

Some cities and areas may have a higher annual income than others, so you could consider relocating to a different location to make more money in a city other than yours.

For example, working in cities like Bridgeport, Stamford, or Norwalk in Connecticut can earn you $142,240 in average annual income as a financial analyst. In contrast, working in the New York City, Newark, or Jersey City area can earn you $146,450. Financial analysts in San Jose, Sunnyvale, or Santa Clara in Silicon Valley, California, can earn $139,680 [6].

Industry

Specific industries can earn more income for financial analysts than others, depending on your particular area. Working with securities, commodities, and other financial investments can earn you a median annual income of $115,480, while working in professional and technical services fetches $98,840 in median annual income, according to the BLS [7].

Glassdoor also lists the following five industries as the highest-paying for financial analysts [1]:

• Legal: $100,094

• Energy, mining, and utilities: $93,858

• Pharmaceutical and biotechnology: $98,152

• Financial services: $95,333

• Human resources and staffing: $93,378

Related job titles

Other positions in the financial field can help you gain additional experience as a financial analyst, or you can find a job that better fits your interests. You can explore options like budget analyst and personal financial advisor below. 

Budget analyst

Median annual salary from BLS: $84,940 [8]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2022 to 2032): 3 percent [9]

Budget analysts specifically review budgets and give clients, including businesses and individuals, advice on organizing a budget, managing projections, or developing estimates for future financial consideration.

Personal financial advisor

Median annual salary from BLS: $99,580 [10]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2022 to 2032): 13 percent [11]

Personal financial advisors can help individuals manage their finances. You can discuss goals with your clients, recommend investments to help them reach those goals, and research investment opportunities for them. 

Job outlook

The BLS expects positions for financial analysts to increase by 8 percent from 2022 to 2032, growth that’s 5 percent above the national average for all occupations. Thus, 29,000 positions are expected to be added to the field from 2022 to 2032 [12].

Financial analyst positions will continue to increase as new workers are needed to replace retiring workers or those who leave the field. Demand for financial analysts will also increase as economic activity grows due to new business activity or the expansion of current business activity.

Getting started with Coursera

Financial analyst salary depends on your education, industry, experience, and location, so consider all of these factors when starting a career as a financial analyst. Pursuing a career as a financial analyst requires a sharp skill set and a broad knowledge base. Consider taking a course like Yale’s Financial Markets on Coursera, which offers a solid understanding of finance principles to understand the securities, insurance, and banking industries.

Alternatively, you can learn about Financial Analysis - Skills for Success Specialization from the University of Illinois’s Gies College of Business on Coursera. The course gives you an understanding of financial building blocks by learning essential financial concepts.