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Job outlook for investment banking associates in the United States
Investment banking associate job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected investment banking associate job growth rate is 9% from 2018-2028.
About 31,900 new jobs for investment banking associates are projected over the next decade.
Investment banking associate salaries have increased 9% for investment banking associates in the last 5 years.
There are over 6,351 investment banking associates currently employed in the United States.
There are 39,516 active investment banking associate job openings in the US.
The average investment banking associate salary is $119,967.
Are investment banking associate jobs in demand?
Investment banking associate job and salary trends over time
Investment banking associate jobs over time
Investment banking associate job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 6,351 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 8,820 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 8,772 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 6,662 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 6,399 | 0.00% |
Average investment banking associate salary over time
Investment banking associate salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $119,967 | $57.68 | +2.6% |
| 2024 | $116,897 | $56.20 | +1.7% |
| 2023 | $114,980 | $55.28 | +1.6% |
| 2022 | $113,154 | $54.40 | +3.1% |
| 2021 | $109,745 | $52.76 | +1.8% |
Investment banking associate jobs by state
Most common states for investment banking associates
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 68 | 10% |
| 2 | Delaware | 961,939 | 68 | 7% |
| 3 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 40 | 7% |
| 4 | New York | 19,849,399 | 940 | 5% |
| 5 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 202 | 4% |
| 6 | Vermont | 623,657 | 26 | 4% |
| 7 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 352 | 3% |
| 8 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 236 | 3% |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 214 | 3% |
| 10 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 199 | 3% |
| 11 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 188 | 3% |
| 12 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 156 | 3% |
| 13 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 116 | 3% |
| 14 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 55 | 3% |
| 15 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 46 | 3% |
| 16 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 44 | 3% |
| 17 | Hawaii | 1,427,538 | 38 | 3% |
| 18 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 37 | 3% |
| 19 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 27 | 3% |
| 20 | Alaska | 739,795 | 24 | 3% |
Most common cities for investment banking associates
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta | 9 | 2% | $92,664 |
| 2 | San Francisco | 8 | 1% | $137,137 |
| 3 | Chicago | 5 | 0% | $101,299 |
| 4 | Boston | 3 | 0% | $103,766 |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 3 | 0% | $128,543 |
| 6 | New York | 3 | 0% | $111,644 |
| 7 | Miami | 2 | 0% | $89,963 |
| 8 | Denver | 1 | 0% | $87,178 |
| 9 | Saint Petersburg | 1 | 0% | $91,967 |
| 10 | San Diego | 1 | 0% | $123,868 |
| 11 | Tampa | 1 | 0% | $92,033 |
| 12 | Washington | 1 | 0% | $110,027 |
Investment Banking Associate job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of investment banking associate experts
What general advice would you give to an Investment Banking Associate?
Dr. Natalia Boliari PhD: First, learn everything about the company you just started working for - its historical path, management, the way it's dealt with crises, etc. Second, learn everything about the specific industry the company belongs to and see how the company has developed relative to the development of the industry domestically and internationally. Third, always be extremely alert to notice new opportunities and be prepared to take calculated risks. That is, actively look for opportunities to complete as many and diverse tasks as possible, and volunteer to complete any type of work regardless of whether it seems relevant to your assigned job or not. Opportunities to learn, grow, and improve and thus to maximize your income, will only come up if you are exposed to diverse situations.
What Investment Banking Associate skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Natalia Boliari PhD: Be open minded. Finance is the broad definition of an industry which provides opportunities for careers in financial consultancy, financial analysis, stock brokerage, foreign investment, modeling, exchange rate forecasts, and many more. While most of those careers are attributed to the banking industry, you can find those and others in other sectors of the economy, such as insurance, technology, health care/medical, government, and so on. So, be open and look beyond the banking sector, examine the current and predicted trends in the economy to hunt for exciting career options.
What general advice would you give to an Investment Banking Associate?
John McDermott Ph.D.: To maximize your salary potential, keep learning, investing in your human capital, and expanding your capabilities. Learn as much as you can about your new position and industry, work with a variety of people at your firm, and seek opportunities outside your comfort zone. Your salary potential will increase as you are recognized as a capable and hard working colleague.
What type of skills will young Investment Banking Associates need?
Ann M. Ebberts: What I see as critical skills for newcomers to the government workforce in financial management roles, including budget development and analysis – will continue to be critically important.
Given the current state of the economy and the cost of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, recent graduates entering the workforce will need to leverage communication, collaboration, analytical, and problem-solving skills. The ability to leverage new technologies to analyze, develop, and communicate with others in government and with the public will be important.
Budget analysts (and all financial roles) need to be productive, collaborative and have strong communication skills. They will also need to be able to process a variety of information from different sources and develop an understanding of the priorities of the organization and interrelationships with other government entities.
Desirable skills and attributes for graduates entering the workforce:
· Good listening skills
· Math and writing skills -- preparing annual/special reports
· Comfortable learning new and applying existing technologies
· Need to be detail-oriented
· Need to understand the role of the government entity they serve and the role of the budget in government
· Data analysis abilities
· Developing and/or analyzing planned vs. actual reports and providing options for moving forward
· Leveraging textual and visualization methods to enable communication of budget priorities -- proposal evaluation (pros and cons), potential impacts of decisions
· Presenting analysis in a concise and convincing manner
· Evaluating programs to determine whether they are providing desired results