One industry report puts total analyst pay at $165,000 to $225,000, and the top-ranked first-years at the boutiques reach about $180,000 to $195,000. Third-year analysts, who are rare because most banks promote after two years, sit at about $200,000 to $270,000.
Goldman Sachs first-year and second-year earnings scenarios| Scenario | Base | Bonus | Total | Weekly |
|---|
| First year, low end | $110,000 | $80,000 | $190,000 | $3,654 |
| First year, high end | $110,000 | $110,000 | $220,000 | $4,231 |
| First year, market average bonus | $110,000 | $67,000 | $177,000 | $3,404 |
| Second year | $125,000 | $88,000 | $213,000 | $4,096 |
The bonus pool is decided by the firm and by the group, and the candidate rarely knows either number before the offer. That is why the bonus range, not the base, should be the focus of the conversation.
How does the bonus work, and why is it the whole story?
Because the base is the same at five firms and the bonus is not, the bonus is the only variable an applicant can actually negotiate on.
Bonuses at the large banks increased by 10 to 15 percent in 2025 on strong deal flow, while base salaries stayed flat. The pattern matters: when a
bank has a good year, the bonus carries the increase, and when it has a bad one, the base is the floor that protects the colleague.
Two further details shape the number. Group placement matters more than the brand on it, because a busy mergers and acquisitions group at Citi can out-earn a quiet group at Goldman
Sachs in the same year. And the bonus is paid after year end, which means no 2026 bonus figure is published yet and the range above is the best available guide.
The practical consequence is that two candidates with identical bases can end up $30,000 apart in their first year, and no offer letter will tell you which group you are joining.
Two details in the healthcare definition catch applicants out. Total compensation for healthcare purposes is a five-year moving average, which smooths the bonus volatility that the first-year offer feels, and newly hired individuals are treated according to the figure on their own offer letter.
What benefits come with a Goldman Sachs job?
The US programme covers medical, dental and vision coverage, ten public holidays and a vacation entitlement that rises with title: 20 days for an analyst and 25 days for an associate.
Vice presidents receive 28 days of vacation up to ten years of service and 32 days after that, while managing directors carry flexible vacation with no fixed entitlement. Support staff have their own band.
The benefits are generally available to active, non-temporary, full-time and part-time US employees who work at least 20 hours per week. For healthcare purposes, total compensation is generally defined
as a five-year moving average of annual salary, commissions and any discretionary year-end cash bonus, with newly hired individuals treated according to the figure on the offer letter.
Back-up family care, commuter support after ten in the evening on weeknights, and a broad range of investment offerings with rollovers from prior employers accepted all sit on the same pages.
What the Goldman Sachs US benefits programme covers| Area | What it includes |
|---|
| Retirement | Dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match on up to 6 percent of total compensation, capped at $12,500, plus a 2 percent fixed contribution below $125,000 of total compensation |
| Health | Medical, dental and vision coverage, with total compensation defined on a five-year moving average |
| Holidays | Ten public holidays recognised in the US |
| Vacation | 20 days for an analyst, 25 days for an associate, 28 to 32 days for a vice president, flexible for a managing director |
| Family | Back-up family care programme, on-site or near-site childcare centres and in-home agencies |
| Mobility | Commuter support after 10pm on weeknights, and rollovers from prior employers accepted into investment accounts |
The two-year vesting is the shortest among the large employers in this series, and it pairs with a cap that protects the highest earners. A colleague on $110,000 receives the full 6 percent match without hitting the $12,500 limit.
How does the 401(k) match work at Goldman Sachs?
The firm matches dollar-for-dollar on up to 6 percent of annual total compensation, capped at $12,500, and adds a 2 percent fixed contribution for colleagues whose total compensation is under $125,000.
On a first-year base of $110,000, a colleague contributing 6 percent receives $6,600 of match and the 2 percent fixed contribution adds $2,200, which brings the employer retirement contribution to $8,800 in year one.
The one condition is vesting. Employees become 100 percent vested in firm contributions after completing two years of service, and eligibility to earn firm contributions begins in the
first pay period. That two-year wait is shorter than the six-year schedule Vanguard applies to its automatic contribution, which is the clearest trade-off between the two structures.
The Goldman Sachs analyst starting salary range is therefore the most crowded market in the series, with five firms sharing the same base and one firm leading on bonus. The ranking is a useful starting point and a poor finishing one.
How does Goldman Sachs compare with other financial services employers?
On base salary Goldman Sachs is level with Morgan Stanley and Citi, and on total compensation it leads them.
First-year total compensation ranks Goldman Sachs first at $190,000 to $220,000, Morgan Stanley second at $185,000 to $215,000, JPMorgan third at $175,000 to $205,000, Bank of America fourth at $165,000 to $195,000 and Citi fifth at $160,000 to $190,000.
Against the asset managers and brokerages covered earlier in this series, the gap is a different order of magnitude. Fidelity pays about $33.83 an hour for a
service role, Vanguard starts at $52,265 a year and Schwab starts training at $26.01 an hour, so the analyst band sits roughly twice the service rate.
The useful comparison for an applicant is between the banks, and it comes down to group placement and the bonus pool rather than the logo on the offer letter.
First-year analyst pay compared across the bulge bracket| Firm | Base | Bonus range | Total range | Rank |
|---|
| Goldman Sachs | $110,000 | $80,000 to $110,000 | $190,000 to $220,000 | 1 |
| Morgan Stanley | $110,000 | $75,000 to $105,000 | $185,000 to $215,000 | 2 |
| JPMorgan | $115,000 | $60,000 to $90,000 | $175,000 to $205,000 | 3 |
| Bank of America | $110,000 | $55,000 to $85,000 | $165,000 to $195,000 | 4 |
| Citi | $110,000 | $50,000 to $80,000 | $160,000 to $190,000 | 5 |
For anyone choosing between firms, the useful questions are which group you would join and what the bonus pool looked like in that group last year. The base salary will be $110,000 almost regardless.
What happens to Goldman Sachs analyst pay next?
Expect the base to hold and the bonus range to keep widening, because the firms are competing for the same people with different risk.
Two forces are at work. Bonus increases in 2025 came with 10 to 15 percent growth on strong deal flow, and the pipeline for that flow depends on the rate environment rather than
on the hiring plan. The talent war is also pulling the second-year step up, because a firm that pays a first-year bonus of $80,000 has to pay more to keep that colleague.
For applicants the practical step is simple. Compare the group rather than the firm, treat the base as fixed, and price the bonus as the variable that decides the first year.
Next steps
Compare the group and the bonus range, then treat the $110,000 base as the part every firm shares.
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Fazlur Rahman
