How Wall Street bonuses have exploded since 1986
ReutersIn 2014 the average Wall Street bonus was about $172,860, according to the Office of New York's Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli.
That's an increase of 2% from the year before. The bonus pool itself increased by 3% to $28.5 billion.
Of course, Wall Street is a place of extremes so people make way, way more and way less than the average - so keep that in mind.
What's also helpful to keep in mind (and what DiNapoli's office included in this handy table) is how much those bonuses have exploded since 1986 - from $14,120 to $191,360 at their peak in 2006, to $172,860 now.
Additionally, the average Wall Street salary was $355,900 in 2013, which is 5x higher than average salary in the rest of NYC's private sector.
The industry is, however, 20,000 jobs weaker than it was before the financial crisis.
"There's no doubt the economy has become more diversified," said DiNapoli, pointing out that sectors like retail did more work in pulling the state out of the 2008 financial crisis.
Still it's importance to the state is slowly increasing. A few years ago revenue collected from the securities industry and its members made up around 13% of state revenue. Now that number is pushing back up to 19%, where it was before the crisis.
"We have to recognize that this is a key part of the economic engine that keeps our state going," DiNapoli said in a press conference. "When Wall Street is profitable, when Wall Street employment rose, the rest of us benefit from that."