Financial Advisors Earn More Than $100K in These Cities – 2023 Study

Patrick Villanova | JUN 27, 2023

Financial advisors play an important role in helping shape the financial futures of millions of Americans. The occupation also appears to have a bright future itself. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the field will grow by 15% between 2021 and 2031 – triple the average rate of growth across all professions.

While the median income for a financial advisor was about $95,390 in 2022, wages can vary from city to city. To see where financial advisors earn the most, SmartAsset compared data for 126 cities and ranked them by the median annual income in each – as well as how far those wages go after accounting for taxes and the local cost of living. 

Key Findings

• The highest median financial advisor wage tops out at $167,850. The average advisor earns the most in New York, San Francisco and Pittsburgh – $167,850, $132,900 and $129,600, respectively. 
• The highest mean financial advisor wage clocks in at nearly $300,000. Top-performing advisors thrive where mean wages are highest, namely in New York City ($208,250), Las Vegas ($207,970) and Anchorage ($299,280). Despite taxes and cost of living, some advisors compensate through performance in these places.
• You can do well in Charlotte despite high competition. Charlotte pay ranks 13th highest for financial advisors out of 126 cities – 12th when accounting for taxes and cost of living. But Charlotte also surprisingly ranks 1st for the highest concentration of financial advisors in the area relative to average. Raleigh, North Carolina, and Milwaukee, also rank in the top 20 for adjusted income despite both having a high density of people in the profession. 
• Some of the best opportunities exist in these smaller cities. Sioux Falls, SD; Tulsa, OK; the Utica-Rome area of NY; and Reading, PA all rank in the top 10 for both median annual income and wages after taxes and the cost of living. These four places also have a below-average concentration of financial advisors, meaning there’s less competition. 

1. New York, NY
   It’s no surprise that the country's largest city also has the most financial advisors (29,000) working there. While the median income of a financial advisor in the Big Apple is $167,850 per year, those wages are worth just $57,986 after accounting for taxes and the elevated cost of living in New York, which is 83.6% higher than the national average.  
2. San Francisco, CA
   Financial advisors working in San Francisco earn the second-highest median annual income ($132,900). However, advisors there have to contend with above-average competition within the industry, as well as the city’s high cost of living. After adjusting for taxes and cost of living, the median annual wage of a financial advisor is worth just $46,721.
3. Pittsburgh, PA
   While the median annual income of a financial advisor in Pittsburgh is third highest across our study, taxes and the cost of living take a considerably smaller bite out of those wages than they do in New York or San Francisco. After accounting for taxes and the cost of living, the median income for a financial advisor in the Steel City is worth $88,318 – third most across our study.  
4. Portland, ME
   Financial advisors in Portland earn a median annual income of $127,000. Those earnings have the purchasing power of $74,574 – 13th most – after adjusting for taxes and the cost of living. Financial advisors also comprise a smaller proportion of the overall workforce in Portland than they do nationwide, leading to less competition in the local industry.
5. Reading, PA
   While financial advisors in Reading earn slightly less ($126,920) than they do in Portland, their wages are actually worth nearly $9,000 more after accounting for taxes and Reading’s lower cost of living. The median income of a financial advisor has the purchasing power of $83,132 – fifth most across our study. 
6. Sioux Falls, SD
   Once taxes and the local cost of living are factored in, financial advisors in Sioux Falls make more money than advisors anywhere else. While Sioux Falls has the sixth-highest median annual income ($125,940), those earnings are worth most of all after accounting for taxes and cost of living: $101,367. 
7. Tulsa, OK
   Like Sioux Falls, financial advisors in Tulsa benefit from a cost of living that’s nearly 12% lower than it is nationally. As a result, the median annual income ($125,390) of a financial advisor in Tulsa is worth almost $98,000 after adjusting for taxes and the cost of living, second only to Sioux Falls.
8. Utica-Rome, NY
   Financial advisors in the Utica-Rome area earn a median income of $109,340 per year. Once you’ve accounted for taxes and the cost of living, those wages are worth $84,449 – fourth most out of 126 cities. 
9. Boston, MA
   Boston has approximately 7,370 financial advisors working in the city, second most among the cities in the top 10. Meanwhile, the median annual wages of a financial advisor in Beantown ($108,110) are worth only around $50,000 after adjusting for taxes and the cost of living. There is also a higher than average concentration of financial advisors here.
10. Philadelphia, PA
    Philadelphia is home to the 10th-highest median annual income for financial advisors ($106,550). After adjusting for taxes and the cost of living – which is only three percentage points higher than the national average – a financial advisor’s income is worth $69,320 or 23th most across our study.

Data and Methodology

We examined data for 126 places for which data was available. Wage and occupation data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2022. Cost of living data comes from the Council for Community and Economic Research and is from Q3 2022. We used the SmartAsset paycheck calculator to determine incomes on the local median wages for personal financial advisors. To determine how far that money stretches, we applied the cost of living to the post-tax income. Cities are ranked by raw annual median income for personal financial advisors.

Tips for Growing Your Financial Advisor Business

• Let us be your organic growth partner. If you are looking to grow your financial advisory business, check out SmartAsset’s SmartAdvisor platform. We match certified financial advisors with right-fit clients across the U.S.
• Expand your radius. SmartAsset’s recent survey shows that many advisors expect to continue meeting with clients remotely following COVID-19. Consider broadening your search and working with investors who are more comfortable with holding virtual meetings or spacing out in-person meetings.

Questions about our study? Contact press@smartasset.com.

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