Financial Analyst Salary in Boston — 2026 BLS Data
Salary distribution
Percentile breakdown of Financial Analyst base salaries in Boston.
The $117,520 median base for a financial analyst in Boston is one of the highest in the country for this occupation — sitting well above the national BLS OEWS May 2024 median of $101,350. But that headline figure is doing a lot of averaging work. It blends a first-year FP&A analyst at a hospital system, a mid-level credit analyst at a regional bank, and a seasoned buy-side research analyst at one of Boston’s powerhouse asset managers, all under the same SOC 13-2051 code. The gap between the 25th percentile ($94,426) and the 90th ($207,010) is more than 2x — and that range reflects not just experience, but which corner of Boston’s unusually diverse financial ecosystem you land in.
What the median hides: Boston’s split financial market
Boston is not a single financial labor market. It is three partially overlapping markets that pay very differently:
Buy-side asset management. Fidelity Investments (the city’s largest private employer), Wellington Management, Putnam Investments, GMO, Acadian Asset Management, and dozens of boutique hedge funds make Boston the second-largest asset management hub in the US by AUM. An analyst role at one of these firms — whether in portfolio analysis, quantitative research, or investment operations — typically starts at $90,000–$110,000 base with a bonus structure that adds 20–40% on top. Senior analysts at established funds regularly reach $150,000–$200,000+ in base alone.
Institutional services and custody banking. State Street Corporation, headquartered in Boston, employs thousands of analysts across fund accounting, compliance, risk, and client reporting roles. These positions are more process-oriented, with base salaries that tend to cluster closer to the P25–P50 range ($85,000–$115,000), modest cash bonuses (5–15%), and limited equity upside.
Corporate and healthcare FP&A. Boston’s enormous healthcare and life sciences sector — anchored by Mass General Brigham, Boston Children’s, Dana-Farber, and dozens of biotech and pharma companies — generates a large volume of corporate finance analyst roles. Salaries here generally run $75,000–$115,000 base, with annual bonuses of 5–10% and occasional equity grants at pre-IPO biotechs.
The BLS P50 of $117,520 falls right in the gap between institutional services and the lower end of buy-side investment roles. Knowing which market you’re entering tells you whether that median is your floor or your ceiling.
Boston vs. other major financial hubs
The national median for financial analysts (SOC 13-2051) was $101,350 in May 2024. Boston at $117,520 sits roughly 16% above that. For direct hub comparisons:
- New York City (~$148,980 median for the NYC metro): Still the dominant center, pulled up sharply by Wall Street investment banking, bulge-bracket research, and private equity. NYC analysts at front-office sell-side roles start $100,000+ base with bonuses that can match or exceed that in a good year.
- Boston (~$117,520): Top buy-side city, lower banking presence, very strong quant and investment operations cluster. Less variance than NYC because there are fewer extreme-comp banking roles in the mix.
- Chicago (~$105,000–$112,000 estimated): Comparable institutional base, but less asset management depth outside of Northern Trust and BMO; more commodity trading and insurance.
- San Francisco (~$115,000–$125,000): Heavy on tech-company financial planning rather than investment management; COL penalty is significantly higher.
Boston’s advantage over Chicago and SF is real but depends heavily on accessing the buy-side tier. If you’re applying to corporate FP&A roles at non-financial companies, the premium over the national average shrinks to about 5–8%.
What drives the salary spread
Three variables explain most of the P25-to-P90 gap in Boston:
1. Employer tier
A Level 1 or junior analyst role at State Street or Fidelity’s operations division pays $75,000–$90,000. The same title at a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund or a specialized quantitative firm pays $110,000–$140,000 base with significant bonus upside. The word “analyst” covers both and the BLS code treats them identically.
2. Function and specialty
Within financial analysis, pay varies meaningfully by specialty:
- Investment/equity research analyst: Highest base and bonus potential; typically requires CFA candidacy or completion. CFA charterholders in Boston average roughly $115,000 base with total comp often exceeding $160,000–$180,000.
- Quantitative/risk analyst: Increasingly well-compensated as firms like Acadian, Arrowstreet, and State Street’s quantitative division compete for talent with STEM backgrounds. Base $100,000–$160,000 depending on seniority.
- FP&A and corporate finance: Most common category; base $75,000–$120,000; bonuses modest (5–15%).
- Credit/fixed income analyst: Mid-range; $85,000–$130,000; more common in Boston’s insurance and asset management sectors.
- Treasury analyst: Slightly below market for most Boston employers; $70,000–$100,000 base; common at large healthcare systems and tech companies in the metro.
3. Experience and credential
The BLS data captures analysts at all stages. A 0–2 year analyst who just passed CFA Level 1 and a 10-year senior analyst with a CFA charter and a specific fixed income niche are the same occupational code. The practical difference in Boston: a CFA charter typically adds $15,000–$25,000 in base versus an otherwise similar non-chartered peer, and meaningfully improves access to buy-side roles where the real compensation step-up lives.
Total compensation breakdown
For a mid-level financial analyst in Boston (3–6 years of experience), a realistic total compensation package looks like this:
- Base salary: ~$117,520. This is the BLS-tracked median and what you negotiate at offer time.
- Annual cash bonus: ~$18,000 (roughly 15%). Most Boston financial sector employers pay a 10–20% target bonus. Buy-side firms can pay 30–50%+ for strong performance years; corporate FP&A roles typically 5–10%.
- Equity/long-term incentives: ~$5,000 annualized. Most analyst-level roles at established asset managers and banks do not include meaningful equity. Exceptions: pre-IPO biotech finance roles, senior roles at publicly traded firms, or analyst tracks at firms with profit-sharing plans.
Total package: approximately $140,000–$145,000 for a solid mid-level analyst. At the buy-side P75 tier, total comp climbs to $180,000–$220,000 once bonus is factored in. At the P90 ($207,010 base), you’re likely in senior investment research or a quant strategy role with bonus bringing all-in compensation to $250,000–$300,000.
Cost-of-living adjusted reality
Boston’s cost of living index sits around 162 (US average = 100), meaning the metro runs roughly 62% more expensive than the national average. That’s driven primarily by housing — median rent for a one-bedroom in Boston proper is approximately $2,800–$3,200/month, among the highest in the country — plus elevated transit, food, and childcare costs.
Run the math on the median: $117,520 COL-adjusted has the same purchasing power as roughly $72,500 at the national average. Flip it: to match $117,520 of Boston purchasing power, a lower-cost city like Dallas (COL ~103) only needs to pay about $74,000.
That compression matters because many financial analyst roles — particularly FP&A and corporate finance — have migrated to hybrid or remote structures post-2022. A senior FP&A analyst at a Dallas-based firm earning $95,000 remote has meaningfully more disposable income than the same role in Boston at $110,000. Where the COL penalty is worth paying: buy-side investment management roles that don’t have regional equivalents elsewhere. Wellington Management, Acadian, and several top-tier hedge funds maintain Boston as their primary or sole analytical hub. You can’t replicate that access from Austin.
For a concrete comparison: a financial analyst earning $94,426 (P25) in Boston takes home roughly $5,800/month after federal and Massachusetts state income tax (5% flat). Median rent at $2,900/month leaves about $2,900 for everything else — tight but workable if you share housing. The P50 at $117,520 takes home approximately $7,000/month; rent at the same $2,900 level leaves $4,100, a more comfortable margin.
Three-lever negotiation playbook
Lever 1: Anchor to P75 immediately if you have a buy-side offer
The gap between Boston’s P50 ($117,520) and P75 ($162,265) is $44,745. If you’re interviewing at an asset manager or investment firm — not a corporate finance role — the P75 is the appropriate benchmark, not the median. Using the median as your reference in a buy-side negotiation signals that you don’t understand the employer’s tier, and recruiters will anchor you to the lower range if you let them. Open with “Based on BLS data for this metro and the compensation structure at comparable firms, I’m targeting $145,000–$165,000 base” and work down from there.
Lever 2: Use the bonus structure as a negotiation variable, not just base
Most financial analyst roles in Boston have two pools of money: base (which has narrow bands, often requiring manager or HR approval to move) and bonus (where there’s more flexibility at the offer stage, especially at mid-size firms). If base is stuck at $110,000, ask for a guaranteed first-year bonus of $20,000–$25,000, or a higher bonus target percentage (e.g., 20% vs. the stated 15%). This is especially effective at buy-side firms where good years produce bonus pools above target.
Lever 3: Get the CFA cost-coverage in writing before you start
Many Boston financial employers offer CFA exam fee reimbursement and study time, but only if you ask. Exam fees run approximately $1,000–$1,500 per level (three levels total), plus $300–$700 for prep materials. If an employer won’t move on base, asking for CFA reimbursement, professional development budget ($1,500–$3,000/year), or a six-month review clause is often easier to get and compounds over time. A CFA charter in Boston typically returns $15,000–$25,000 in incremental annual base over a 5–7 year arc — the negotiation payoff far exceeds the exam cost.
Data caveats
BLS OEWS is the most rigorous public compensation dataset available — it covers mandatory employer reporting across tens of millions of workers — but several limitations apply specifically to the financial analyst category:
- Equity and carried interest are excluded. For buy-side roles at hedge funds or private equity adjacents, BLS understates total comp significantly. A P90 base of $207,010 at a quant fund likely understates all-in comp by $50,000–$100,000 once bonus and fund economics are included.
- SOC 13-2051 is broad. The May 2024 release merged “financial analysts” and “investment analysts” into a single code, which increases the occupation’s scope and may shift Boston’s figures slightly compared to prior years when the breakdown was separate.
- Data is lagged ~18 months. May 2024 data reflects wages from 2024 wage surveys; by mid-2026, market rates at top Boston employers have likely moved 5–10% higher, particularly in quant and investment research roles where demand has remained strong.
- The P90 floor is not the P90 ceiling. At the 90th percentile ($207,010), you’re at the top of what BLS can reliably measure in base wages. Total comp for top performers in senior buy-side roles can reach $400,000–$600,000 when multi-year bonus cycles and deferred compensation are included.
For the most current picture, supplement BLS data with open postings on Boston-specific boards (Built In Boston, Massachusetts job posting salary disclosures under Chapter 158 of the Acts of 2024, which took effect July 2025), and with compensation threads on Wall Street Oasis for buy-side roles. The triangulation of BLS base, job posting ranges, and community data gets you within roughly 10% of what any specific offer should look like.