Average Personal Financial Advisors Salary in the United States
The national median salary for Personal Financial Advisors is $105,070 per year. The middle 50% earn between $72,440 and $176,790, with 266,800 workers employed nationally.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates . Data covers 51 states and 331 metro areas.
Pay distribution
Here is how Personal Financial Advisors pay is distributed across workers nationally. The 10th percentile typically reflects entry-level or early-career pay, the median is the midpoint, and the 90th percentile represents the top earners in the field.
- 10th
- $50,190
- 25th
- $72,440
- Median
- $105,070
- 75th
- $176,790
- 90th
- $357,020
All values are percentiles of annual wages.
Pay is well above the national median for all US workers. This is an upper-income occupation.
The pay band is unusually wide for this occupation. Experience, employer, and specialization can double or even triple an early-career salary, so what personal financial advisors earn depends heavily on where they are in their career and who they work for.
Job outlook
BLS projects employment for personal financial advisors from 2024 to 2034. Personal Financial Advisors are projected to grow much faster than average, more than double the roughly 4% growth rate for all US occupations. Demand is strong and outpacing most of the labor market.
- Projected growth
- +9.6%
- 31,200 net jobs over the projection period.
- Annual openings
- 24,100
- Includes growth plus replacements for workers who leave. Annual openings reflect typical replacement demand alongside any growth.
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
A bachelor's degree is the typical entry requirement for personal financial advisors.
Where Personal Financial Advisors earn the most
Location matters a lot. The gap between top-paying and bottom-paying states is large, so where personal financial advisors work can reshape their total compensation. Right now, the top-paying state is New York at $166,400, about 58.4% above the national median. At the metro level, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ leads with a median of $170,050.
Top-paying states
| State | Median salary | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $166,400 | 21,550 |
| New Jersey | $158,570 | 9,300 |
| California | $130,330 | 32,200 |
| Connecticut | $129,720 | N/A |
| South Dakota | $128,720 | 620 |
| Massachusetts | $125,670 | N/A |
| Delaware | $125,050 | N/A |
| Oregon | $122,830 | 3,070 |
Top-paying metros
| Metro area | Median salary | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $170,050 | 23,980 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $160,610 | 7,130 |
| Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI | $159,990 | 100 |
| Springfield, IL | $154,370 | 100 |
| Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | $145,190 | 40 |
| Bloomington, IL | $141,070 | 60 |
| Santa Fe, NM | $138,790 | 110 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $136,820 | 1,530 |
Compare two locations side by side
Pick two states or metros to see personal financial advisors pay in each, along with a cost-of-living adjusted view.
Salary trend and related occupations
Between 2019 and 2025, the national median salary for Personal Financial Advisors rose from $87,850 to $105,070, a gain of +19.6% in nominal dollars.
Over the same period, US consumer prices rose by +25.9%. Just to keep pace with inflation, the 2019 median of $87,850 would need to be worth $110,627 in 2025 dollars.
The actual 2025 median of $105,070 is −$5,557 below that inflation-adjusted benchmark, a real change of -5.0% in purchasing power.
Adjusted for inflation, pay has lost ground. Nominal growth of 19.6% has not kept up with rising prices.
- Nominal change
- +19.6%
- 2019–2025
- Cumulative inflation
- +25.9%
- US CPI, 2019–2025
- Real change
- -5.0%
- After adjusting for inflation
Median salary over time
Personal Financial Advisors median pay by year, going back through the available BLS releases.
- 2025
- $105,070
- 2024
- $102,140
- 2023
- $99,580
- 2022
- $95,390
- 2021
- $94,170
- 2020
- $89,330
- 2019
- $87,850
BLS did not publish a median for 2000–2018, so those years are omitted.
Related occupations
Other occupations in the same field, with median pay for comparison.
- Financial And Investment Analysts
- $102,740
- Financial Examiners
- $94,160
- Financial Risk Specialists
- $117,330
- Budget Analysts
- $91,640
- Accountants And Auditors
- $83,680
- Credit Analysts
- $83,510
- Insurance Underwriters
- $81,370
- Financial Specialists, All Other
- $81,100
Common salary questions for Personal Financial Advisors
What does the median salary mean? +
The median is the midpoint of all wages. Half of Personal Financial Advisors workers earn more and half earn less. It is a better measure of typical pay than the average, which can be skewed by very high or very low earners.
Why does pay vary so much by location? +
Local labor markets, cost of living, industry concentration, and employer competition all affect wages. High-cost metros like San Francisco and New York often pay more in nominal terms, though some of that premium is offset by higher living costs.
How current is this salary data? +
This page uses the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. BLS publishes OEWS data once per year, typically in the spring for the previous May reference period.
What do the percentile ranges tell me? +
The 10th and 90th percentiles show the full pay band. The 25th to 75th percentile range, the middle 50%, is where most workers fall. A wide spread usually means experience, specialization, or location matter a lot for this occupation.