12 Best States for Financial Advisor Pay: 2015

The stock market has been bouncing around this year, but according to at least one website the prospects for financial advisors are quite rosy.

O*Net OnLine, which compiles salary data for various occupations, projects that there will be 96,400 job openings when looking at the 10-year period from 2012 to 2022. That’s a growth rate 22% higher than for the average occupation.

So which states offer the best salaries for advisors? And by “best salaries” we mean most bang for the buck. Using a formula devised last year, we adjusted data to account for purchasing power differences in each of the 50 states.

O*Net allowed us to find the mean salary for financial advisors in each state. We then turned to Top 50 States, which lists cost of living data for each state. That allowed us to see just where financial advisors’ salaries stretch the farthest.

For the record, the mean U.S. salary for financial advisors in 2014 was $81,060, up nearly $6,000 over the previous year.

For each of our top 12 states, we used areavibes.com’s ratings to find the best place to live.

12. Pennsylvania

Adjusted Mean Salary: $82,732

Above National Mean: $1,672

Dollar Factor: 102.1%

Best City: Devon

Devon is one of Philadelphia’s Main Line suburbs, allowing residents easy access to all the amenities of a big city, while enjoying a quieter atmosphere.

11. Georgia

Adjusted Mean Salary: $83,495

Above National Mean: $2,435

Dollar Factor: 94.4%

Best City: Johns Creek

This suburb of Atlanta has been ranked the 13^th highest earning city by Money magazine and is home to more than 75,000 people.

10. Montana

Adjusted Mean Salary: $83,930

Above National Mean: $2,870

Dollar Factor: 102.1%

Best City: Frenchtown

Frenchtown, part of the Missoula area, boasts lovely mountain views, low crime and a good high school graduation rate. The average commute time is 24 minutes, which might seem short for big city dwellers, but is long for the state.

9. Virginia

Adjusted Mean Salary: $85,553

Above National Mean: $4,493

Dollar Factor: 95.8%

Best City: McClean

McClean offers access to the seat of national power and counts politicians and diplomats among its population of just under 50,000. It’s also close to the Potomac River and is an hour and 15 minute drive to the Blue Ridge Mountains.

8. New York

Adjusted Mean Salary: $86,352

Above National Mean: $5,292

Dollar Factor: 95.8%

Best City: Bronxville

One of those “leafy suburbs” of New York City that The New York Times likes to gush about, Bronxville in Westchester County is a quick train ride to Grand Central.