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%
