NYC lags Greenwich in take-home pay

New York City houses the bulk of the investment banking industry, but it holds second place when it comes to weekly pay, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. The area accounted for 51.4% of the total wages in the industry and held 25.6% of employees, according to a report from the bureau. Average weekly wages in investment banking and securities dealing in the City hit $16,849 in the first quarter 2006, nearly double the $8,367 in weekly earnings for investment banks elsewhere. That average includes all positions in the industry from clerks on up to top earning investment bankers. Even with these lower-paid jobs averaged into the mix, the average pay in investment banking is 10 times that of all private sector jobs. However, even the New York investment banking industry comes up short for weekly investment banking wages when pitted against Fairfield County, Conn. — home to hedge fund haven, Greenwich. That region made up 9.9% of the total wages and 3.5% of the industry’s employment. Average weekly wages hit a high of $23,846 in the first quarter of 2006. To add some perspective, annual median earnings for executive secretaries and administrative assistants were $34,970 as of May 2004, while bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks made a median annual salary of $28,570, according to the BLS.