Personal Financial Advisors Salary: $102,140 Median Pay (2026 stats)
Executive Summary
About 270,480 personal financial advisors work nationally, and $102,140 is the BLS national median annual wage. Employment in the series shown rose about 6% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 3.7% annual growth.
Personal Financial Advisors: what the data shows
Common questions about personal financial advisors careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a personal financial advisors?
Personal Financial Advisors is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 13-2052.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 270,480 workers.
What does a personal financial advisors do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Getting Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Analyzing Data or Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a personal financial advisors make?
BLS national median annual wage: $102,140 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $173,641 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $67,214 |
| 25th percentile | $85,058 |
| Median (50th) | $131,035 |
| 75th percentile | $202,425 |
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Writing, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Economics and Accounting, English Language, Mathematics. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is personal financial advisors in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 3.7% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 20.0%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 44.0%.
Current U.S. headcount: 270,480.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do personal financial advisorss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities | 387,840 | 28.6% |
| Cross-industry | 270,480 | 19.9% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 270,000 | 19.9% |
| Finance and Insurance | 252,560 | 18.6% |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities | 49,280 | 3.6% |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (5221 and 5223 only) | 47,880 | 3.5% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Personal Financial Advisors in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Sales & Office Occupations | 1,441,580 | — |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 497,800 | $103,790 |
| Marketing Managers | 384,980 | $161,030 |
| Accountants and Auditors | 1,448,290 | $81,680 |
| Financial Analysts | 340,580 | $101,350 |
| General and Operations Managers | 3,584,420 | $102,950 |
| Financial Managers | 818,620 | $161,700 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Personal Financial Advisors workforce.
Employment Over Time
270,480 U.S. workforce (OEWS)
California employment for Personal Financial Advisors grew from 72,600 in 2009 to 130,100 in 2025 (79.2%).
Historical employment for Personal Financial Advisors from the California OEWS series, 2009–2025. The U.S. workforce figure is national and is not the endpoint of this line.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$102,140 Median pay (BLS national)
Personal Financial Advisors earn $102,140 as the BLS national median annual wage.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Personal Financial Advisors.
Salary distribution for Personal Financial Advisors.
Employment Growth Projections
3.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
156,115 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 20.0%
187,333 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 44.0%
This occupation is projected to grow at 3.7% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Personal Financial Advisors.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Personal Financial Advisors and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Personal Financial Advisors employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Personal Financial Advisors.
Wage Trends by Industry
22.3% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Personal Financial Advisors.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Personal Financial Advisors.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 34,070 employees, $170,480 avg wage
- NY: 28,820 employees, $225,930 avg wage
- FL: 21,230 employees, $157,670 avg wage
- TX: 17,570 employees, $126,020 avg wage
- NC: 12,850 employees, N/A avg wage
- PA: 12,370 employees, $164,140 avg wage
- IL: 10,410 employees, $153,440 avg wage
- OH: 10,210 employees, $120,980 avg wage
- GA: 7,540 employees, $150,650 avg wage
- MA: 7,410 employees, $147,450 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Personal Financial Advisors.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 28,950 employees, $230,810 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 12,240 employees, $155,270 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 8,830 employees, $204,930 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 8,170 employees, $162,700 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 7,370 employees, $169,770 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 7,180 employees, $169,270 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 6,440 employees, $145,990 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 6,300 employees, $126,030 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 5,480 employees, $110,920 avg wage
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC: 5,420 employees, N/A avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Personal Financial Advisors.
Diversity
Demographic information on Personal Financial Advisors in the US.
Gender and Age
The U.S. workforce for Personal Financial Advisors is about 270,480 people in our OEWS extract.
Gender and age distribution for Personal Financial Advisors.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Personal Financial Advisors.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Personal Financial Advisors.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Personal Financial Advisors in 2023 were Finance, Business, Economics.
Common majors for Personal Financial Advisors.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Personal Financial Advisors workers.
Education level distribution for Personal Financial Advisors.
Skills
Personal Financial Advisors need many skills, but most especially Writing, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking.
Required skills for Personal Financial Advisors.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Personal Financial Advisors.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Personal Financial Advisors include Customer and Personal Service, Economics and Accounting, English Language, Mathematics, Psychology.
Knowledge areas required for Personal Financial Advisors.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Personal Financial Advisors include Written Expression, Written Comprehension, Speech Clarity, Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension.
Required abilities for Personal Financial Advisors.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Personal Financial Advisors.
Daily Activities
Personal Financial Advisors spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Communicating with People Outside the Organization.
Most important work activities for Personal Financial Advisors.
About
Personal Financial Advisors
Personal Financial Advisors earn $102,140 as the BLS national median annual wage.
SOC Code
13-2052 - Personal Financial Advisors
Insights and Analysis
High earnings profile: Personal Financial Advisors reports an average salary of $173,641, placing it among stronger-paying occupations.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 270,480 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 3.7%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.