Finance is among the highest-paying industries in the United States and world, with earning power that rivals and often surpasses most other business sectors. According to industry sources, finance ranks in the top three highest-paying industries, alongside technology and healthcare. 

Even so, there are finance jobs that pay more (often considerably more) than others. If you’re looking for jobs in finance that command top dollar, or if you’re an employer needing compensation insights, you likely already know that many of today’s high-paying finance jobs combine financial expertise and experience with tech savvy, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI), financial technology (fintech), risk analytics, and other emerging technologies.  

Overall, positions for executive leaders, equity and portfolio managers, investment bankers, and in-demand advisory, analyst, and tech specialists are among the highest-paying finance jobs. Read on for the full list and compensation details. 

How we identified the top-paying jobs in finance   

Goodwin Recruiting is a leading U.S. talent acquisition firm and specialist in finance industry recruiting. As a result of our work in placing professionals and executives with finance industry companies nationwide, we have extensive data on salary ranges for roles across the finance business ecosystem.  

To identify the 15 highest-paying jobs in the industry, we isolated data within our proprietary database and drew insights from other reputable sources for salary ranges, such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), public data, industry surveys, and other business and talent acquisition data.  

We’re sharing what we found for two reasons:  

1. For hiring companies: There is steep competition for top talent in the finance industry, and employers need to know how competitive their salaries are in the hiring market. Our insights are instructive in helping companies attract and onboard the best available talent. 
2. For job candidates: We want to give finance job candidates an insider’s view of current salary ranges for top-paying jobs. This is helpful for professionals on a mission to fine-tune their career paths and move more quickly toward their personal, professional, and financial goals. 

Many factors have bearing on salary ranges   

The salary ranges highlighted below represent base annual pay – followed by notes on total compensation, such as bonuses, profit sharing, stock options, performance-based incentives, or other income that is part of an employer’s total compensation package.   

It’s important to note that base salaries and total compensation differ and scale based on company size, finance industry sector, geography, and level of experience or seniority in a role.  

These factors also come into play in determining salaries:      

• Varying portfolios of products and services: Companies offer diverse combinations of products and services, and this can impact the salaries they offer. Market conditions and economic trends can also affect salary ranges.   

• Location: Salary ranges can vary based on the location of the company or the geographic area where an employee is based. This is common across most industries. For example, finance executives and other high-ranking professionals in major cities or at public companies typically earn more than those who work in smaller or private firms – but not always!  

• Qualifications: High-paying finance jobs can require advanced degrees, certifications, and accumulated years of experience, as well as significant leadership or consulting experience for many roles.  

For these reasons, salaries for the full-time finance jobs below reflect a wide range for each position.  

Here are the top 15 highest‑paying finance jobs 

1. Chief Financial Officer (CFO): $162,000 – $449,000 

CFO salary ranges vary a lot from middle‑market companies to private companies and large publicly traded corporations. Total compensation can exceed $1M+ through equity and bonuses, and for top-tier tech firms or private equity-backed companies, total compensation can be even higher. 

2. Chief Risk Officer (CRO): $162,000 – $300,000

CRO salaries differ depending on the type of organization (banks, corporations, private equity firms, etc.), as well as the mix of areas for which they hold enterprise-wide oversight, which can include credit, market, regulatory, and operations. Total compensation can reach well beyond base salary, like that of a CFO. 

3. Chief Compliance Officer (CCO): $200,000 – $300,000   

CCO salaries also vary across the public, private, and even nonprofit sectors. This C-suite role oversees and manages an organization’s compliance with laws, regulations, internal policies, and industry standards. Total compensation can reach into the high six figures and low seven-figure range. 

4. Vice President of Finance: $165,000 – $250,000

This senior executive role manages financial operations and strategy, oversees the finance team, ensures accurate financial records are kept, creates budgets, and provides financial reporting and analyses that are used to guide decision-making. Total compensation can add $80K to $350K+ in additional compensation beyond base salary, especially in tech and startup companies. 

5. Finance Director: $126,000 – $180,000

A finance director is a senior-level executive who typically reports to the vice president of finance or CFO. They manage an organization’s financial health and growth, play a critical role in strategic decision-making, and are tasked with keeping financial stability aligned with business goals. Total compensation can boost income into the $200k to $250k range. 

6. Corporate Controller: $151,000 – $213,000

Corporate controllers manage day-to-day financial reporting, budgeting, and internal controls, and often work alongside the CFO. On average, total compensation can include bonuses representing 5-10% of the base salary. What really moves the needle on total compensation here is the sector and company size. For example, financial services firms and tech firms offer bigger bonuses and sometimes equity, which is not common at the controller level. 

7. Senior Investment Banker (Vice President or Director): $275,000 – $350,000 

This rainmaker is a key player in the investment banking world, generating business growth and taking the lead in complex financial transactions. Clients include a wide range of organizations, from startups to established companies. Total compensation can reach $600k to $900k, depending on the type of firm, performance, and deal flow (the volume and quality of completed investment opportunities). 

8. Private Equity Vice President or Director: $300,000 – $350,000

These executive-level roles oversee, analyze, and execute private equity investments for private equity firms, bridging the gap between junior analysts, senior partners, and managing directors. In high-performing firms, vice presidents can earn bonuses ranging from 100-150% of the base salary, depending on firm size and performance. Directors can see even higher compensation up to $800k or more. 

9. Hedge Fund Manager / Portfolio Manager (PFM): $155,000 – $173,000 

Hedge fund and portfolio managers work to generate a return on investments for clients. While the titles of these similar roles are sometimes used interchangeably, a hedge fund manager typically focuses on higher-risk/higher-reward strategies, targeting institutional investors or high-net-worth individuals. Total compensation can exceed $300k to $500k, and performance fees can boost pay even higher. 

10. Quantitative (Quant) Analyst: $70,000 – $300,000+ 

Professionals in this fast-growing segment of finance use mathematical and statistical methods to analyze and solve financial and risk management problems. Quants create complex models for tasks like asset valuation, risk assessment, and trading strategy development, and predict market movements. Total compensation can range from $150k to $300k for an entry-level role at a public firm, and $800k to $4M at a firm that buys securities and financial products for its own investments or those of its clients. 

11. Equity and Credit Portfolio Asset Managers: $169,000 – $330,000   

The base salary range for equity portfolio managers, who focus primarily on managing portfolios of stocks, is $192k to $330k, with total compensation ranging from $200k to $700k+. The base salary range for credit portfolio managers, who focus primarily on managing portfolios of credit instruments, such as loans, bonds, and other debt securities, is $169k to $286k, with potential for reaching $500k or more in total compensation. 

12. Senior Financial Analyst: $110,000 – $180,000

These professionals analyze financial data to provide recommendations for business decisions and strategic planning. They create financial models, produce reports, flag financial risks, conduct forecasting, supervise lower-level analysts, and collaborate with other stakeholders to ensure a company’s financial health and efficiency. Total compensation can add $18k to $33k in additional pay. 

13. Senior Treasury Analyst: $95,000 – $150,000

These professionals include mid- to senior-level financial specialists who are focused on managing corporate liquidity, cash flow, short-term investments, debt, and financial risk. The total compensation range is generally between $110k and $175k, with top-tier business environments increasing total compensation to $250k – $300k. 

14. Healthcare Finance Manager: $100,000 – $140,000

This role oversees day-to-day financial operations and is essential to the financial health and stability of hospitals, clinics, physicians’ groups, managed care facilities, and other medical and healthcare facilities. Total compensation can include bonuses and profit sharing representing the potential for another $28k to $52k in annual compensation. 

15. Fintech Engineer: $110,000 – $170,000+ 

Fintech engineers comprise one of the fastest-growing segments of the IT industry, working across the expansive network of financial services and solutions that are changing the ways businesses operate and consumers participate in financial services today – from advanced payment processing systems to lending platforms, cryptocurrency, and more. Total compensation can range from $136k to $685k, depending on experience, the sector, and company.  

Some trends and takeaways 

• Tech‑finance hybrid roles are increasing: Jobs for fintech engineers, quant analysts, and risk-tech specialists, for whom AI and tech prowess are essential, are lucrative and rising by the day.  

• Certifications still matter: Holding certifications like a chartered financial analyst (CFA), certified public accountant (CPA), certified information systems auditor (CISA), and financial risk manager (FRM), along with acquiring fintech and machine learning (ML) credentials, push compensation and opportunity higher for professionals. 

• Total compensation is the name of the game: As with any high-paying role, the real reward is total compensation, which goes beyond base annual salary to include such add-ons as bonuses, equity, profit sharing, performance incentives and fees, and other forms of cash and non-cash payments, all of which make for compelling job and career choices.  

Future‑focused advice for serious finance professionals  

• Blend your finance experience with AI, data, and technology: Tech‑finance crossover roles (quants, fintech engineers, analytics experts) offer excellent pay and upward mobility as tech value in finance continues its meteoric rise. Professionals who can model, automate, or create financial systems will see upward mobility in the months and years ahead.  

• Get credentialed and stay relevant: Today, certifications in cybersecurity, cloud computing, and data science are equally important as the other certifications and credentials noted above.  

• Focus on the most dynamic finance sectors: Research some of the high-growth, high-pay arenas in finance for your career direction, such as private credit, fintech, private equity-backed firms, asset-backed lending, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, crypto – and AI, data, and risk tech.  

• Develop soft skills: In today’s hiring market, especially in the fast-moving finance industry, elite job candidates are selected for their interpersonal skills, like communication, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. These soft skills allow them to interact effectively in leading departments and teams. Soft skills are just as critical as leadership skills, strategic vision, creativity, and risk-aware decision-making.  

The finance industry runs deep and wide   

Professionals have a lot of choices and directions for careers in finance. The industry comprises an expansive range of sectors, each focused on specific types of financial products and services. As you might imagine, the highest-paying jobs in finance can be found in these major industry sectors:   

1. Banking: Retail banking, commercial banking, investment banking, private banking  
2. Asset Management: Mutual funds, hedge funds, pension funds 
3. Insurance: Life, health, property and casualty, reinsurance 
4. Investment Management: Securities and assets for individuals, companies, and governments 
5. Private Equity: Capital for private startups or buying public companies to take them private 
6. Venture Capital: A subset of private equity, investing in early-stage companies with promise  
7. Real Estate Finance: Financing, investing, management   
8. Hedge Funds: Private investment funds for earning returns for investors 
9. Financial Analyst, Planning, and Advisory: Investing advice, retirement planning, tax planning 
10. Risk Management: Identifying, assessing, and mitigating financial risks   
11. Treasury and Cash Management: Managing liquidity, maximizing returns on surplus cash 
12. Corporate Finance: Capital structure investing, maximizing shareholder value 
13. Forex (Foreign Exchange) Market: Currency trading and risk management 
14. Brokerage Services: Buying and selling of financial securities   
15. Fintech: Online banking and payments, cryptocurrency, blockchain 
16. Public Finance: Government financial operations for budgeting, taxation, debt issuance 
17. Accounting and Auditing: Recording, management, and compliance with laws and regulations 
18. Compliance and Regulatory: Adherence to industry laws and regulations   
19. Wealth Management: Advice tailored to high-net-worth individuals, families, and businesses 

Get connected with a finance industry insider   

If you’re looking for the best finance job opportunities, reach out to one of our expert finance recruiters. You can also explore the finance industry job openings currently available with leading employers through Goodwin Recruiting.   

For companies seeking more salary insights and access to top talent, reach out to us today. Our finance recruiting experts can find the talent you need to move your business forward.