New data reveals stark state and role-based pay gaps, with New York setting the national benchmark.
New York tops the latest data on personal financial advisor pay, with an average salary of $155,000.
Drawing on the Wealth Management Industry Annual Salaries dashboard, the state-by-state spread illustrates salaries across the board job category by U.S. state.
WHERE AVERAGE PAY IS HIGHEST, AND MEASURING THE SPREAD
Personal financial advisors are those classified by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as helping individuals manage their money and plan for their financial future, whose numerous roles include financial planners, estate planning specialists, and private wealth advisors.
Their top 10 average salaries by state rank as: New York ($155,000), Connecticut ($144,117.6), Massachusetts ($142,647.1), New Jersey ($137,058.8), North Dakota ($134,411.8), California ($125,588.2), Washington ($120,588.2), Illinois ($119,705.9), Maryland ($119,705.9) and Hawaii ($117,647.1).
The U.S. average is $94,882.4, and the premiums at the top are not subtle. New York sits 63.4% above the US average, while Connecticut and Massachusetts are 51.9% and 50.3% above it, respectively.
The “top tier” also looks structurally different from the rest of the map. The Top 5 states average $142,647.1, versus $101,664.1 across the remaining states, a premium of 40.3%.
One outlier at the other end is Arkansas, with an average of $78,823.5, around 16.9% below the US average. The difference between New York and Arkansas is $76,176.5, meaning New York is 96.6% higher on this measure.
WHAT LIFTS NEW YORK: THE SENIOR ROLES THAT PULL THE AVERAGE UPWARDS
Within New York, the lead advisor role pays $200,000, which is $45,000 above the state’s broader personal financial advisor average of $155,000, and $105,117.6 above the role’s U.S. average (a 110.8% premium). Senior financial advisor or senior wealth advisor is also $200,000, matching the same $45,000 lift versus the state average and the same $105,117.6 gap versus the U.S. benchmark (110.8%).
Two other roles also stand out. Private wealth advisor is $190,000, or $35,000 above New York’s average and $95,117.6 above the U.S. figure (100.2%). Financial consultant comes in at $175,000, $20,000 above the New York average and $80,117.6 above the U.S. benchmark (84.4%).
- Use the Wealth Management Industry Annual Salaries dashboard to benchmark pay by state and job title, rather than relying on one national number that disguises large local premiums
- When recruiting in New York, build budgets around the senior seats: Lead advisor and senior financial advisor or senior wealth advisor at $200,000 are each 110.8% above the U.S. average in this dataset
- For expansion planning, treat the Top 5 states (average $142,647.1) as a separate compensation tier from the rest (average $101,664.1) when modelling headcount costs and margin
- For career decisions, compare your local market to the U.S. benchmark ($94,882.4) to quantify the opportunity cost of staying put versus relocating
ABOUT THE WEALTH MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY ANNUAL SALARIES DASHBOARD
- A compensation dashboard built for wealth management roles, including personal financial advisor job-title breakouts and state-level benchmarks
- Supports comparisons versus a U.S. baseline (where available) to quantify regional premiums and discounts
- Helps teams stress-test hiring plans, pay bands and retention risk using consistent metrics such as state AVERAGE and title-level pay
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