Wall Street Bonuses Outpace Household Income

Bonuses on Wall Street are up sharply! Profits in the securities industry rose in 2017 for the second consecutive year. The average bonus paid to industry employees in New York City jumped 17 percent to reach $184,220, according to the comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. He comes to the conclusion that tighter regulation of the financial markets since the crisis hasn't stood in the way of trading, as New York Stock Exchange member firms' profits totaled $24.5 billion in 2017, the highest level since 2010

Compared to the average U.S. household income the bonus payments are very high, also keeping in mind these are payments on top of the regular pay. In 2016, the average Wall Street bonus stood at close to $158,000 and thus 2.7 times as high as the median household income of a little more than $59,000. (The U.S. Census Bureau has not yet released official household figures for 2017). The average number of people living in an American household stands at 2.5.