12 States With the Fastest Growing CFP Numbers

The number of certified financial planner professionals in the U.S. grew by 11.5% over the last three years, a net of some 10,000 individuals with the designation, according to new research from SmartAsset.

The CFP designation is one of the top credentials in the wealth management industry.

SmartAsset found that the growth was not equally spread across the country, and some demographic trends were more dominant than others. It said advisory businesses that observe such trends could gain a strategic advantage, as pricing and availability may depend on the supply and demand for advisors in a particular state.

To identify location and demographic trends among U.S. CFP professionals, SmartAsset compared CFP Board data from 2024 to that of January 2021.

The research showed that Florida’s share of CFP professionals grew more than that of any other state, increasing from 6.7% to 7% of the nation’s CFPs. Overall, it has the third most CFPs at 6,901.

Even though California has lost 0.5% of its national market share to other states in recent years, some 10% of CFP professionals in the U.S., a total of 10,200, are based there.

New Mexico is the only state that lost CFP professionals over the past three years, a net loss of four individuals, making the state’s current total 227.

The 40-to-49 age group had the largest growth in certificants, increasing from 24.5% in 2021 to 25.7% in 2024. Just about 25,500 advisors are in this age group. The share of advisors in younger age groups increased slightly, while the relative proportion of advisors 50 and older fell, according to the research.

In 2024, 634 CFP professionals are octogenarians or older. This is up from 413 in 2021.

The number of women becoming certified grew by 13.9%, to 23,554, an increase of about 2,900 planners. Meanwhile, 7,270 men earned their certification, growing the total number of male CFPs to 75,413, a 10.7% increase.

Despite this growth in the number of female advisors, other research indicates that the industry needs more women. For one thing, female clients, who are expected to control $30 trillion in assets because of transfers, increasingly prefer to receive advice from women. The total share of CFPs who are women has remained stuck under 24% for years.

See the gallery for the 12 states whose CFP populations grew the fastest, according to SmartAsset.