The average Wall Street employee took home $422,500 last year, the most since the financial crisis, according to a new report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The surge in profits came as the Trump administration started dismantling Wall Street regulations and delivered on promises of lower corporate taxes, creating the friendliest atmosphere for business in over a decade.
“Wall Street has profited every year since the end of the recession in 2009, and compensation last year reached its highest point since the financial crisis,” DiNapoli said in a statement.
The average compensation — salary plus bonus — was 13 percent higher than in 2016, according to the report.
The average bonus on Wall Street in 2017 was $184,200, a 17 percent increase.
And the good times don’t appear to be ending any time soon, as the industry’s pretax profits soared 11 percent to $13.7 billion during the first half of this year, according to the report.
“The momentum from last year’s dramatic rise in profits has carried into 2018 and the industry is on track for another good year absent a setback later in the year,” DiNapoli said.
While Wall Street employees have reaped the gains, average income for most US employees has stalled.
The median US employee made $59,039 in 2016, the last data available from the US Census.
The average hourly wages rose last month by an average of 10 cents, to $27.16, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While that was the largest gain since 2009, it was about the same level as the last two months of inflation, which eats away at the value of the dollar.