There are many factors that go into the decision of where financial advisors should ply their trade.
Two years ago, ThinkAdvisor looked at the metropolitan areas in which advisors are paid the most. Now it's time to update the info with the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Along with the mean wages for each metro area, the BLS has included what it calls a Location Quotient, which is a measure of how prevalent a particular occupation is in a given area. Any area with a Location Quotient of greater than one has a higher incidence of advisors than average for the country. For example, a quotient of 0.50 indicates the share of the work force consisting of financial advisors is half the national average.
Here are the Top 10 Metro Areas With Highest Pay for Advisors: 2014.
10. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.
Annual Mean Wage: $130,950
Hourly Mean Wage: $62.96
Location Quotient: 0.60
The percentage of financial advisors in the work force of Music City is relatively small, but the wages they earned were enough to land Nashville 10th place on our list.
9. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.
Annual Mean Wage: $134,350
Hourly Mean Wage: $64.59
Location Quotient: 0.93
The city that made its reputation as home to insurance companies is also home to a well-paid force of financial advisors. And as a percentage of the area's work force, the share of advisor jobs is nearly average.
8. Danbury, Conn.
Annual Mean Wage: $134,980
Hourly Mean Wage: $64.89
Location Quotient: 1.25
Not too far from New York City is this Nutmeg State city. It offers cheaper living and the ability to get into the city that never sleeps. Many residents even make the daily trek to Manhattan.
7. Asheville, N.C.
Annual Mean Wage: $135,260
Hourly Mean Wage: $65.03
Location Quotient: 0.54
Set in the mountains in the western part of the state, Asheville is known as a great place to retire. All those retirees have money that needs to be managed. Still, there are fewer financial advisors in the work force than might be expected.
6. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.
Annual Mean Wage: $137,140
Hourly Mean Wage: $65.93
