The 20 best-paying cities for financial advisors

With the COVID-19 vaccine rollout well under way, many office workers are beginning to consider where they want to live and work as their priorities shift. For advisors, one factor in their decision might be the amount they're likely to get paid, on average, in a new city.

A study from SmartAsset identifies the top 20 metro areas for advisor pay among the 50 largest cities in the U.S. The study looks at advisors' average earnings, the two-year change in their pay, advisor pay relative to a metro area’s average, and how much housing costs as a percentage of their total earnings.

While advisors nationwide earn an average $122,490, in the two leading cities in this ranking they typically bring in just north of $160,000. The leaders here also rank favorably in the other metrics, making them attractive places to practice, the study found.

As Americans consider moving out of the country’s biggest cities and into smaller towns or more rural areas, it’s worth noting that the top of the list is almost entirely second- and third-tier metro areas, by population and size. Chicago and New York City are the outliers.

“These are all places that rank highly from a lifestyle standpoint,” says New York City-based advisor recruiter Mark Elzweig. “Especially in the post pandemic world, an advisor can do business from anywhere. As smaller cities, they have enough wealth to be attractive to financial advisors, and they probably have good networking opportunities as well.”

LPL Financial-affiliated advisor George Irby Jr., who moved to Charlotte, North Carolina 11 years ago, cites the city’s diverse population, large corporate headquarters and professional sports teams as draws. But he notes that, with a heavy concentration of finance workers in the area, competition for clients can be tough for advisors: “Our industry is heavily competitive based on the sheer number of advisors in the area, so be prepared to differentiate yourself from everyone else.”

With his partner Johnny Rutledge, Irby currently runs Rutledge Financial Partners, a $100 million independent hybrid RIA with LPL in Matthews, North Carolina.

“Charlotte has become a great destination city to raise a family: good schools, low cost of living, fairly diverse city and two to three hours from mountains and beach for active lifestyles,” he says.

Here’s how the 20 places with the best pay for advisors stack up.