A salary is steady; trading income is not.

A salary is steady; trading income is not.

It depends entirely on which kind of forex trader you mean. Professional traders employed by banks, brokers and funds are paid a salary, often with a bonus. In the US Bureau of Labor Statistics category that covers securities and commodities traders along with financial sales agents, the median annual wage was $78,660 in May 2025, with the lowest 10% earning under $48,040 and the highest 10% over $212,880. Retail traders, who trade their own money from home, have no salary at all. Their income is their account balance multiplied by their return, minus costs, and for most of them the result is a loss: an average of 70.1% of retail CFD accounts lose money, according to the risk warnings in our tracker.

Professional traders: a salary and a bonus

Traders at banks and funds trade the firm's money, not their own. They are paid like other finance professionals: a base salary, plus a bonus that depends on their own results, their desk and the firm's year. A bad year can mean a small bonus or losing the job, but the trader does not personally pay for the losses.

The BLS figures above are for a broad occupation that also includes brokers and financial sales agents, so they are a guide to the field rather than an exact figure for currency traders. They still show the key point: a professional trader's income comes from a job, and the median sits at about $78,660 a year in the United States.

Type of traderWhose moneyHow they are paid
Bank or dealer traderThe bank'sSalary plus bonus
Fund managerInvestors'Salary, or fees and a share of profits
Corporate treasury dealerThe company'sSalary; the job is hedging, not speculating
Prop-firm or funded traderThe firm's (after an evaluation)A share of profits; usually no salary
Retail traderTheir ownOnly what the account earns, after costs

Retail traders: income equals capital times return

A retail trader's yearly profit is simple to estimate: account size multiplied by yearly return. The trouble is that most retail accounts are small. Even an excellent return on a small account produces a small amount of money.

Yearly profit at a strong 15% returnBy account size, before tax, no withdrawals$150$1,000$1,500$10,000$7,500$50,000$37,500$250,000Source: FX Recap arithmetic, account × 15%fxrecap.com
Percentages pay the bills only when the account is large.

A 15% year would be a very good result for any trader, retail or professional. On a $10,000 account it pays $1,500: a useful extra, not a living. To match the US median trader wage from trading alone, you would need far more capital than most people have.

Account needed to earn $78,660 a yearThe BLS median wage, from trading profits aloneAt 10% a year$786,600At 20% a year$393,300At 30% a year$262,200Source: BLS median wage May 2025; FX Recap arithmeticfxrecap.com
Matching a professional salary from home needs a six-figure account and a steady return.

Why most retail traders make less than nothing

Our CFD loss-rate tracker reads the mandatory risk warnings of 16 UK and EU brokers. On 20 October 2026 the share of retail accounts losing money ranged from 61% to 76.6%. So the most common yearly income for a retail forex trader is negative. The usual reasons are well known:

  • Position sizes that are too big for the account, so one bad week undoes months of work.
  • Trading costs, which are paid on every trade, winning or losing.
  • No tested strategy, so results swing with luck and mood.
  • Needing the money now. Traders who must pay bills from their account take more risk and cannot let profits compound.

For a closer look at the data, see what percentage of forex traders are profitable.

Funded and prop-firm traders

Prop firms sit between the two worlds. A trader pays a fee, passes an evaluation with strict loss limits, and then trades a larger account in return for a share of the profits. There is usually no salary: if the trader does not make money, they earn nothing, and if they break a loss limit, the account is closed. The profit share and rules vary from firm to firm, so read the terms in full. Our prop firm calculator shows what a given target and drawdown limit mean in practice.

A worked example: a part-time retail trader

Illustrative case, not a real client

A teacher trades a $15,000 account in the evenings with 1% risk per trade and about 20 trades a month. Over a year his journal shows 240 trades, a 45% win rate and an average winner of 1.6R, which works out at 0.45 × 1.6 − 0.55 × 1 = +0.17R per trade, or about +41R before costs. Costs take roughly 6R. At $150 per R, his year ends about $5,250 up, or 35% on the account. That is an outstanding result, far better than most professionals manage, and it still pays less than a tenth of the BLS median wage. He keeps his job.

The example shows the real shape of retail trading income: even skilled part-time traders usually earn a side income, not a salary, until their account is very large.

What affects how much a trader makes

  1. Capital. The single biggest factor for retail traders. Returns are percentages.
  2. Consistency. A steady 1% to 2% a month beats a 30% month followed by a 40% loss.
  3. Costs. Lower spreads and fewer, better trades leave more of the gross profit in the account. Our trading cost calculator shows the bill.
  4. Tax. Depends on the country; profits may be taxed as income, capital gains or, in some places, not at all. Check your own tax authority's guidance.
  5. Time. Compounding works only over years. Withdrawing profits every month slows growth sharply.

Track your results in R (multiples of the amount risked) as well as in dollars. It shows your real skill independent of account size, and tells you what a bigger account would have earned.

The bottom line

  • Employed traders: a salary plus bonus; the US median for the wider occupation was $78,660 in May 2025.
  • Retail traders: account size × return − costs; most lose money in a given year.
  • Skilled part-timers: often a side income of a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year on typical account sizes.
  • Full-time retail income: realistic only with large capital, a tested strategy and years of records.

Forex and CFD trading carries a high risk of losing money quickly because of leverage. Illustrated returns are not predictions. This guide is education, not financial advice.

Frequently asked

How much do forex traders make a year?

Employed traders earn a salary and bonus; the US BLS median for the occupation that includes securities and commodities traders was $78,660 in May 2025. Retail traders earn only what their account makes, and most retail accounts lose money in a given year.

How much does a forex trader make a month?

A retail trader's monthly income is account size × monthly return. A strong 1.5% month on a $10,000 account is $150. Most beginners lose money in their first months.

Can you live off forex trading?

Only with a large account and a proven, steady strategy. To earn about $78,660 a year at a strong 20% return you would need roughly $393,000 of capital.

Do forex traders get paid a salary?

Traders employed by banks, brokers and funds do. Retail and most prop-firm traders do not; they earn only from profits.

How much do prop-firm forex traders make?

They keep a share of the profits they make on the firm's account, set by each firm. There is usually no salary, and breaking a loss limit ends the account.