There's plenty of opportunity for financial advisors, and the data shows the trend is expected to continue over the next few years. Despite that, all states are not created equal, and purchasing power and salaries depend greatly on where an advisor sets up shop.
While O*Net OnLine, which compiles salary data for various occupations, projects that there will be 96,400 job openings in the 10-year period of 2012 to 2022, drilling down into the numbers reveals the states where real dollars earned will leave advisors faring poorly relative to their colleagues in other locales.
After ThinkAdvisor compiled our 12 Best States for Advisor Pay: 2015, we decided to flip the script. Some places on the list – like Hawaii – might be paradise on some levels but only if you're trying to get the most bang for the buck.
To determine the rankings we used the formula we devised last year, which adjusted salary information from O*Net and 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. Oklahoma
Adjusted Mean Salary: $57,580
Above National Mean: $23,480
Dollar Factor: 92.1%
Best City: Norman
A few cities were tied in Area Vibe's rankings, but we went for the college town. Boomer Sooner.
11. Louisiana
Adjusted Mean Salary: $62,133
Below National Mean: $18,927
Dollar Factor: 94.7%
Best City: Westminster is a suburb of Baton Rouge, the state capital.
10. Alaska
Adjusted Mean Salary: $61,088
Below National Mean: $19,972
Dollar Factor: 133.2%
Best City: Sitka
The town traces its roots to the days when Russia ruled and is the only one in the southeast part of the state that faces the Gulf of Alaska head on.
9. South Carolina
Adjusted Mean Salary: $60,693
Below National Mean: $20,367
Dollar Factor: 95.2%
Best City: Clemson
The college town is located in the northwest part of the Palmetto State near the Smoky Mountains.
8. Mississippi
Adjusted Mean Salary: $60,513
Above National Mean: $20,547
Dollar Factor: 87.6%
Best City: Madison
The town of about 15,000 is in the Jackson area.
7. Arizona
Adjusted Mean Salary: $58,654
Above National Mean: $22,406
Dollar Factor: 100.3%
Best City: Gilbert
The Phoenix area town of more than 200,000 is the largest incorporated town in the country.
6. Kentucky
Adjusted Mean Salary: $57,063
Below National Mean: $28,361
Dollar Factor: 92.3%
Best City: Edgewood
The suburb of Cincinnati, with more than 9,000 residents, is the largest of several towns tied for "best" in the Blue Grass state. It was created in 1969 with the merger of two municipalities.
5. Wisconsin
Adjusted Mean Salary: $55,847
Below National Mean: $25,213
Dollar Factor: 97.3%
Best City: Whitefish
The Milwaukee suburb on the shore of Lake Michigan counts two professional sports coaches among its 14,000 residents: Jason Kidd of the Milwaukee Bucks and Craig Counsell of the Milwaukee Brewers.
4. Oregon
Adjusted Mean Salary: $51,120
Below National Mean: $29,940
Dollar Factor: 124.9%
Best City: West Linn
The Portland suburb of 25,000 is named for a U.S. senator who advocated occupying the territory to counter a claim by Britain.
3. Vermont
Adjusted Mean Salary: $46,999
Above National Mean: $34,601
Dollar Factor: 120.3%
Best City: Norwich
Across the Connecticut River from Hanover, New Hampshire, the town of about 3,500 was once home to a namesake university founded by Alden Partridge, a onetime leader of West Point.
2. West Virginia
Mean Salary: $46,215
Below National Mean: $34,845
Dollar Factor: 102.0%
Best City: Williamstown
The town of about 3,000 in the Parkersburg area is home to the Fenton Art Glass Co., the largest maker of handmade glass in the U.S.
1. Hawaii
Adjusted Mean Salary: $43,144
Below National Mean: $37,916
Dollar Factor: 163.8%
Best City: East Honolulu
It's not hard to envision the beautiful views that the nearly 50,000 residents enjoy, not to mention the perfect weather, just find a way to live on a lot less.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.