EARNINGS PER SHARE (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011		Sep. 30, 2010		Sep. 30, 2009
Income for basic earnings per common share:
Net income attributable to RJF	$ 278,353,000		$ 228,283,000		$ 152,750,000
Less allocation of earnings and dividends to participating securities	(8,777,000)	[1]	(9,607,000)	[1]	(6,339,000)	[1]
Net income attributable to RJF common shareholders	269,576,000		218,676,000		146,411,000
Income for diluted earnings per common share:
Net income attributable to RJF	278,353,000		228,283,000		152,750,000
Less allocation of earnings and dividends to participating securities	(8,756,000)	[1]	(9,592,000)	[1]	(6,336,000)	[1]
Net income attributable to RJF common shareholders	269,597,000		218,691,000		146,414,000
Common shares:
Average common shares in basic computation (in shares)	122,448,000		119,335,000		117,188,000
Dilutive effect of outstanding stock options and certain restricted stock units (in shares)	388,000		257,000		100,000
Average common shares used in diluted computation (in shares)	122,836,000		119,592,000		117,288,000
Earnings per common share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 2.20		$ 1.83		$ 1.25
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 2.19		$ 1.83		$ 1.25
Stock options and certain restricted stock units excluded from weighted-average diluted common shares because their effect would be antidilutive (in shares)	2,136,000		3,549,000		4,176,000
Participating securities [Abstract]
Participating securities (in shares)	4,000,000		5,300,000		5,200,000
Dividends paid to participating securities	$ 1,900,000		$ 2,200,000		$ 2,100,000
Dividends per common share declared and paid [Abstract]
Dividends per common share - declared (in dollars per share)	$ 0.52		$ 0.44		$ 0.44
Dividends per common share - paid (in dollars per share)	$ 0.50		$ 0.44		$ 0.44

[1] Represents dividends paid during the period to participating securities plus an allocation of undistributed earnings to participating securities. Participating securities represent unvested restricted stock and certain restricted stock units and amounted to weighted-average shares of 4 million, 5.3 million, and 5.2 million for the years ended September 30, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Dividends paid to participating securities amounted to $1.9 million, $2.2 million and $2.1 million during the years ended September 30, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Undistributed earnings are allocated to participating securities based upon their right to share in earnings if all earnings for the period had been distributed.