Personal Financial Advisors: salary, outlook & degrees
Advise clients on financial plans using knowledge of tax and investment strategies, securities, insurance, pension plans, and real estate. Duties include assessing clients' assets, liabilities, cash flow, insurance coverage, tax status, and financial objectives. May also buy and sell financial assets for clients.
Middle half $72,440–$176,790. 266,800 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
84% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $97,846.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 17,100 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Considerable preparation (usually a bachelor's).
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| Finance | 25% | Finance · Insurance |
| Business Management And Administration | 9% | Business Administration |
| Economics | 8% | Economics |
| General Business | 8% | Business |
| Accounting | 7% | Accounting |
| Marketing And Marketing Research | 4% | Marketing · Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations |
| Communications | 3% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| Political Science And Government | 3% | Political Science |
| Psychology | 2% | Psychology |
| Biology | 2% | Biology |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Education workers say the job requires
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers (“required level of education”); small samples, so treat shares as approximate.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| New York | $166,400 |
| New Jersey | $158,570 |
| California | $130,330 |
| Connecticut | $129,720 |
| South Dakota | $128,720 |
| Massachusetts | $125,670 |
| Delaware | $125,050 |
| Oregon | $122,830 |
| Illinois | $120,130 |
| Wisconsin | $119,430 |
| Washington | $114,050 |
| Vermont | $110,020 |
| Pennsylvania | $105,200 |
| District of Columbia | $104,990 |
| Minnesota | $102,660 |
| Virginia | $102,640 |
| Kansas | $102,530 |
| Georgia | $101,450 |
| Florida | $100,970 |
| Missouri | $99,930 |
| Maryland | $99,880 |
| Texas | $99,160 |
| Montana | $97,450 |
| Arizona | $96,950 |
| North Carolina | $96,880 |
| New Hampshire | $96,780 |
| South Carolina | $96,330 |
| Idaho | $94,370 |
| New Mexico | $94,270 |
| Nebraska | $93,280 |
| Nevada | $92,720 |
| Iowa | $92,310 |
| Ohio | $90,990 |
| Colorado | $89,280 |
| Indiana | $87,710 |
| Tennessee | $84,160 |
| Rhode Island | $80,200 |
| West Virginia | $80,010 |
| Arkansas | $79,420 |
| Alaska | $78,690 |
| Alabama | $77,990 |
| Michigan | $77,930 |
| Wyoming | $77,490 |
| Utah | $77,390 |
| North Dakota | $76,870 |
| Hawaii | $76,070 |
| Oklahoma | $68,670 |
| Kentucky | $67,150 |
| Mississippi | $63,300 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$125,670
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$82,580
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$98,700
- Jacksonville$101,480
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$82,100
- Naples-Marco Island$121,000
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$99,060
- Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent$70,240
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$106,230
- Richmond$110,910
- Charlottesville$126,940
- Roanoke$91,690
- Lynchburg$89,650
- Winchester$59,990
- Kingsport-Bristol$89,500
- Harrisonburg$88,790
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$124,490
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$160,610
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$130,330
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$136,820
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$127,950
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$96,100
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$98,260
- Santa Maria-Santa Barbara$124,380
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
Knowledge used
- Customer and Personal Service
- Economics and Accounting
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Psychology
Work styles
- Attention to Detail
- Integrity
- Dependability
- Cautiousness
- Intellectual Curiosity
People in this job tend to have Enterprising (leading), Conventional (organizing), Social (helping) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Personal Financial Advisors: questions
How much do personal Financial Advisors make?
Personal Financial Advisors earn a U.S. median $105,070 a year; the middle half earn $72,440 to $176,790 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $89,375 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is personal Financial Advisors a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 1.4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,100 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a personal Financial Advisor?
BLS lists the typical entry education as bachelor's degree. In O*NET's survey, 92% of workers say a bachelor's or higher is required. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is finance (25%).
How much do personal Financial Advisors make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $100,970 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $105,070 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 13-2052. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Personal Financial Advisors: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/personal-financial-advisors.