Financial Advisors in These States Saw the Biggest Pay Jumps

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Financial advisors in these states saw the biggest pay jumps

Like other professions, financial advisors are affected by many factors including location, income, client preferences and specific market characteristics. Locations of the highest-earning advisors can change over time, and even more so as technology allows them to work remotely with a greater number of clients in different markets.

With this in mind, SmartAsset ranked U.S. states by the percent increase in median pay that personal financial advisors saw over the course of one year.

Key Findings

Advisors in Louisiana saw a 53% increase in pay. The median advisor income in the state went up from $70,220 in 2022 to $107,580 in 2023. But some Louisiana locations saw even bigger increases: Lafayette had a 101% increase in median income, while advisors in Baton Rouge saw incomes go up 71.9%. In most cases, these pay increases were coupled with significant drops in the number of advisors in the area.
Eighteen states saw a decrease in advisor pay. Advisors in Oregon saw the biggest drop in median pay at 31.0%. Montana (15.2%), Michigan (13.0%), Delaware (12.1%) and South Dakota (11.4%) also saw double-digit decreases. Other states where advisors earned less on average include Massachusetts, Washington, Nebraska, Kentucky, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, Kansas, Rhode Island and Utah.
Maine saw a 45% increase in the number of advisors in just one year. The number of advisors in Maine grew from 610 in 2022 to 890 in 2023. Hawaii saw the second-largest growth in employment at 24.2%, from 620 to 770. Virginia also saw 20.0% growth, going from 5,720 advisors to 6,860.
This state lost 43% of its advisors in just one year. Oklahoma's advisor count dropped 42.8% from 1,800 in 2022 to 1,030 in 2023, but income did not go up proportionally. The median income increased 21.2% to $102,990. Louisiana, which had the highest income growth at over 53%, also lost 42.8% of its advisors in the last year.

Table showing how financial advisor income changed by state.

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SmartAsset

Top 10 States Where Financial Advisor Income Grew Most

Louisiana

Number of personal financial advisors, 2023: 1070
Median financial advisor income, 2023: $107,580
Number of personal financial advisors, 2022: 1770
Median financial advisor income, 2022: $70,220
One year change in number of advisors: -39.5%
One year change in median income: 53.2%

Arkansas

Number of personal financial advisors, 2023: 1910
Median financial advisor income, 2023: $63,080
Number of personal financial advisors, 2022: 1770
Median financial advisor income, 2022: $48,460
One year change in number of advisors: 7.9%
One year change in median income: 30.2%

West Virginia

Number of personal financial advisors, 2023: 550
Median financial advisor income, 2023: $74,690
Number of personal financial advisors, 2022: 680
Median financial advisor income, 2022: $57,390
One year change in number of advisors: -19.1%
One year change in median income: 30.1%

Arizona

Number of personal financial advisors, 2023: 6750
Median financial advisor income, 2023: $81,850
Number of personal financial advisors, 2022: 5700
Median financial advisor income, 2022: $63,530
One year change in number of advisors: 18.4%
One year change in median income: 28.8%

North Dakota

Number of personal financial advisors, 2023: 640
Median financial advisor income, 2023: $102,700
Number of personal financial advisors, 2022: 570
Median financial advisor income, 2022: $81,160
One year change in number of advisors: 12.3%
One year change in median income: 26.5%

Washington, DC

Number of personal financial advisors, 2023: 990
Median financial advisor income, 2023: $97,860
Number of personal financial advisors, 2022: 950
Median financial advisor income, 2022: $77,440
One year change in number of advisors: 4.2%
One year change in median income: 26.4%

Missouri

Number of personal financial advisors, 2023: 5150
Median financial advisor income, 2023: $101,100
Number of personal financial advisors, 2022: 5480
Median financial advisor income, 2022: $82,140
One year change in number of advisors: -6.0%
One year change in median income: 23.1%

Indiana

Number of personal financial advisors, 2023: 5380
Median financial advisor income, 2023: $95,410
Number of personal financial advisors, 2022: 4860
Median financial advisor income, 2022: $78,360
One year change in number of advisors: 10.7%
One year change in median income: 21.8%

Oklahoma

Number of personal financial advisors, 2023: 1030
Median financial advisor income, 2023: $102,990
Number of personal financial advisors, 2022: 1800
Median financial advisor income, 2022: $84,990
One year change in number of advisors: -42.8%
One year change in median income: 21.2%

Georgia

Number of personal financial advisors, 2023: 7220
Median financial advisor income, 2023: $98,330
Number of personal financial advisors, 2022: 7650
Median financial advisor income, 2022: $81,730
One year change in number of advisors: -5.6%
One year change in median income: 20.3%

Data and Methodology

This study ranked the 46 states which had available data and the District of Columbia by the percent change in median income for personal financial advisors between 2022 and 2023. Alabama, Maine, Mississippi and Wyoming did not have median income data available for 2023.