it staff should not be able to get much information about salary of quants in us. if you consider deductions of tax and social contributions, a basic salary in nyc or london may not be much different from that in hong kong. in beijing, i am wondering rather how many quant jobs the market offers than the amount banks pay for. you should take into account bonus as well.
ya the tax in NYC is a pain in the ass... it turns 10k into 7k... btw I think some guy in global derivative claim that fresh graduate from NYU can make 15k, that should include bonus already. For me if I can't land a job in NYC, I rather try it in Toronto bay street instead, since my boyfriend is there.