Pay
Entry-Level Finance and Consulting Salaries in 2026, by Firm
What first-year investment banking analysts, consultants and hedge fund analysts are paid at Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, McKinsey, BCG, Bain and more, from salaries the firms filed with the US Department of Labor.
Investment banking
| Firm | Role | Base pay | Filings | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citi | Investment banking analyst | $110,000 up to $125,000 | 13 | New York, NY, San Francisco, CA |
| Citi | Investment banking associate (often post-MBA) | $175,000 up to $182,978 | 15 | New York, NY, Houston, TX |
| J.P. Morgan | Investment banking analyst | $115,000 up to $135,000 | 40 | New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA |
| J.P. Morgan | Investment banking associate (often post-MBA) | $175,000 up to $200,000 | 3 | New York, NY |
| J.P. Morgan | Valuation or restructuring analyst | $112,500 up to $130,000 | 7 | New York, NY |
| Goldman Sachs | Investment banking analyst | $110,000 up to $125,000 | 14 | Houston, TX, New York, NY |
| Jefferies | Investment banking analyst | $110,000 up to $125,000 | 12 | New York, NY, San Francisco, CA |
| TD Securities | Investment banking analyst | $125,000 up to $148,678 | 9 | New York, NY |
| Nomura | Investment banking analyst | $100,000 to $125,000 | 11 | New York, NY, San Francisco, CA |
| Santander | Investment banking analyst | $100,000 to $130,000 | 10 | New York, NY |
| Cantor Fitzgerald | Investment banking analyst | $109,124 up to $125,000 | 4 | New York, NY |
| CIBC Capital Markets | Investment banking analyst | $110,000 up to $115,000 | 4 | Milwaukee, WI, New York, NY |
Consulting
| Firm | Role | Base pay | Filings | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McKinsey | Business analyst | $112,000 to $145,000 | 52 | Boston, MA, Chicago, IL |
| Bain | Associate consultant | $112,000 to $117,000 | 18 | Washington, DC, Boston, MA |
| BCG | Associate (undergrad hire) | $110,000 to $145,000 | 109 | New York, NY, Chicago, IL |
| Cornerstone Research | Economic consulting analyst | $105,000 up to $115,000 | 18 | New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA |
| Alvarez & Marsal | Associate | $100,000 up to $116,000 | 7 | New York, NY, Austin, TX |
| Charles River Associates | Economic consulting analyst | $87,000 up to $92,500 | 12 | New York, NY, Chicago, IL |
| AlixPartners | Consultant | $95,000 up to $100,000 | 3 | New York, NY, Dallas, TX |
| EY | Management analyst | $94,800 up to $110,000 | 6 | New York, NY, San Francisco, CA |
| Deloitte | Consultant | $75,733 up to $125,000 | 23 | New York, NY, Philadelphia, PA |
| Analysis Group | Economic consulting analyst | $92,500 to $117,500 | 55 | Boston, MA, Los Angeles, CA |
| Brattle | Economic consulting analyst | $100,536 up to $105,744 | 22 | Boston, MA, Chicago, IL |
Hedge funds
| Firm | Role | Base pay | Filings | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two Sigma | Quantitative researcher | $220,000 up to $245,000 | 24 | New York, NY, Deerfield, IL |
| D. E. Shaw | Investment analyst | $225,000 up to $350,000 | 3 | New York, NY |
| D. E. Shaw | Quantitative analyst | $250,000 up to $350,000 | 5 | New York, NY |
| AQR Capital Management | Investment analyst | $127,500 up to $140,000 | 6 | Greenwich, CT |
Venture capital
| Firm | Role | Base pay | Filings | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insight Partners | Investment analyst | $125,000 | 3 | New York, NY |
What schools report
Medians the schools publish for their own graduates. These cover everyone hired, not only visa hires.
| School | Field | Median base | Range | Median signing bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan Ross (BBA) Class of 2025 | Investment banking | $110,000 | $70,000 to $136,344 | $10,000 |
| Michigan Ross (BBA) Class of 2025 | Consulting | $100,000 | $60,000 to $150,000 | $5,000 |
| Michigan Ross (BBA) Class of 2025 | Private equity and venture capital | $100,000 | $75,000 to $165,000 | $10,000 |
| Wharton (undergraduate) Class of 2025 | All industries | $110,000 | $10,000 |
How we got these numbers
Every firm row comes from the US Department of Labor's public visa wage filings (H-1B labor condition applications) decided between October 2024 and June 2026. We kept certified, full-time filings at the entry wage level or with an explicitly junior title, matched each one to one of the 24 firms shown here, and published a role only when it had 3 or more filings. When any filing gave a range instead of one number, we show the full range instead of inventing a median. The filings show base salary only, never bonus. Private equity associate filings are left out because the filings do not say whether the role is pre-MBA.
Questions
How much do first-year investment banking analysts make?
A base salary of about $110,000 at the large banks. Citi, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, CIBC Capital Markets each filed a median of $110,000 for analyst visa hires, J.P. Morgan $115,000, and TD Securities $125,000. Michigan Ross reports a $110,000 median for its Class of 2025 banking hires. A year-end bonus comes on top and is not in these filings.
What do McKinsey, BCG and Bain pay undergraduate hires?
McKinsey filed $112,000 to $145,000 for Business Analysts (52 filings), BCG $110,000 to $145,000 for Associates (109 filings), and Bain $112,000 to $117,000 for Associate Consultants (18 filings). Many filings give a range rather than one number, so we show the range. Michigan Ross reports a $100,000 median for its Class of 2025 consulting hires.
Is there a signing bonus?
Often. Michigan Ross reports median signing bonuses of $10,000 for banking and $5,000 for consulting (Class of 2025), and Wharton a $10,000 median across its undergraduate class. Year-end bonuses are not published in these sources.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the salaries employers file with the US Department of Labor when they hire someone on an H-1B visa. The law requires the employer to pay that hire at least what it pays others in the same job, so the filed base is a good read on what the job pays. We counted only certified, full-time, entry-level filings from October 2024 to June 2026, and only roles with 3 or more filings.
Is this what I would be offered?
Not exactly. Pay differs by city, group and year, and visa hires are a subset of each class. Use these as the going rate, and confirm the number in your own offer letter.
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