How much does a Financial Advisor make in Alabama?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $79,600 for Financial Advisors in Alabama as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $58,560 and the 75th-percentile is $127,830.

How are Alabama Financial Advisor salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

Why is the BEA RPP for Alabama different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Alabama's overall index of 89.1 reflects rents 61.6, services 89.9, and goods 94.6.

Where does Alabama rank for Financial Advisor pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Alabama ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Wirehouse W-2 vs independent RIA principal vs hybrid in Alabama?

BLS reports W-2 wages under SOC 13-2052, capturing wirehouse advisors (Merrill, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Wells Fargo Advisors) and bank-channel advisors directly. Independent RIA principals — increasingly the dominant model in Alabama — operate as business owners taking K-1 partnership distributions and ownership equity, which are EXCLUDED from BLS. Hybrid RIAs (independent + insurance B/D affiliation) have mixed reporting. Net effect: the BLS figure on this page accurately represents employed wirehouse advisors and bank-channel reps; it materially understates total income for established RIA principals in Alabama once practice equity and distributions are factored in.

CFP / CFA / ChFC credential premium in Alabama?

BLS does not split by credential. CFP Board surveys and FA Insight industry studies typically show CFP charterholders earning 15-30% above non-CFP advisors at comparable AUM, concentrated in fee-only RIA channels where the credential is functionally required for client trust. CFA charter is rarer in retail wealth management — most relevant for advisors with high-net-worth or institutional book — but adds incremental premium. ChFC, CIMA, and CPWA fall in similar credential premium bands. In Alabama, the credential premium is largest at the high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth end of the market and smaller in mass-affluent and bank-channel practices.

How Much Do Financial Advisors Make in Alabama? $80K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

BLS reports Alabama Financial Advisor median pay at $79,600. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $89,341.
Financial Advisor ranking: #37 on the BLS table, #28 once cost of living is in.
Below-100 RPP flips this state above its nominal rank in real-wage terms; the gap is about $9,741.
BLS percentiles available for this state: P25 $58,560, P50 $79,600, P75 $127,830. P10 or P90 is suppressed by BLS for this occupation-state cell.

Wage breakdown — Alabama

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$35,710	$40,080
P25 (lower quartile)	$58,560	$65,726
P50 (median)	$79,600	$89,341
P75 (upper quartile)	$127,830	$143,473
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$129,240	$145,055
Employment	2,320 Financial Advisors in Alabama

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Alabama index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	89.1
Goods	94.6
Services	89.9
Rents	61.6

Alabama sits below the national baseline (RPP 89.1), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 61.6.

After-tax take-home — Alabama (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Financial Advisor)	$79,600	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$8,759	11.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,815	2-5% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,089	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$60,937	76.6% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$68,394	÷ (89.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Alabama state-tax burden means for Financial Advisor take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.8% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $60,937 (76.6% of gross). After the 89.1 RPP, real take-home is $68,394. Local-tax overlay: Birmingham, Macon County, and Bessemer assess 1% occupational privilege tax on wages.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $102,140 for Financial Advisors with mean pay of $160,210 and total employment of 270,480. Alabama sits at #37 on nominal pay and #28 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Alabama climbs 9 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Financial Advisor make in Alabama?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $79,600 for Financial Advisors in Alabama as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $58,560 and the 75th-percentile is $127,830.
How are Alabama Financial Advisor salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
Why is the BEA RPP for Alabama different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Alabama's overall index of 89.1 reflects rents 61.6, services 89.9, and goods 94.6.
Where does Alabama rank for Financial Advisor pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Alabama ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Wirehouse W-2 vs independent RIA principal vs hybrid in Alabama?: BLS reports W-2 wages under SOC 13-2052, capturing wirehouse advisors (Merrill, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Wells Fargo Advisors) and bank-channel advisors directly. Independent RIA principals — increasingly the dominant model in Alabama — operate as business owners taking K-1 partnership distributions and ownership equity, which are EXCLUDED from BLS. Hybrid RIAs (independent + insurance B/D affiliation) have mixed reporting. Net effect: the BLS figure on this page accurately represents employed wirehouse advisors and bank-channel reps; it materially understates total income for established RIA principals in Alabama once practice equity and distributions are factored in.
CFP / CFA / ChFC credential premium in Alabama?: BLS does not split by credential. CFP Board surveys and FA Insight industry studies typically show CFP charterholders earning 15-30% above non-CFP advisors at comparable AUM, concentrated in fee-only RIA channels where the credential is functionally required for client trust. CFA charter is rarer in retail wealth management — most relevant for advisors with high-net-worth or institutional book — but adds incremental premium. ChFC, CIMA, and CPWA fall in similar credential premium bands. In Alabama, the credential premium is largest at the high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth end of the market and smaller in mass-affluent and bank-channel practices.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 13-2052, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-08.

Cross-comparison: see how Alabama Financial Advisor pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.