How much does a Financial Advisor make in Georgia?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $98,490 for Financial Advisors in Georgia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $63,110 and the 75th-percentile is $187,990.

How are Georgia 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.

Where does Georgia rank for Financial Advisor pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Georgia 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.

Is Georgia a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Financial Advisors?

No — Georgia's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Georgia?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Georgia.

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

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 Georgia — 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 Georgia once practice equity and distributions are factored in.

AUM-fee economics — what does it take to earn the Georgia BLS median?

The classic 1% AUM fee on a $50M practice yields $500K gross revenue. After overhead (typically 30-50% of revenue: staff, technology, custodial fees, compliance, rent, marketing) the principal advisor in Georgia nets $250-350K, well above the BLS-reported W-2 median for SOC 13-2052. To match the BLS-reported median for Georgia as a wirehouse W-2 advisor, the typical book size required is $30-40M AUM at standard grid payouts — achievable in 5-10 years with strong recruiting and referral systems. Below that production threshold, wirehouse advisors are typically counseled out or transition to support roles.

Georgia Financial Advisor Salary: BLS $98K Median, Real $102K (2026)

TL;DR

$98,490 is the BLS median wage for Financial Advisors in Georgia; $102,069 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
BLS percentiles available for this state: P25 $63,110, P50 $98,490, P75 $187,990. P10 or P90 is suppressed by BLS for this occupation-state cell.
State ranks #22 nationally on nominal wage, #19 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — Georgia

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$45,960	$47,630
P25 (lower quartile)	$63,110	$65,403
P50 (median)	$98,490	$102,069
P75 (upper quartile)	$187,990	$194,820
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$150,650	$156,124
Employment	7,540 Financial Advisors in Georgia

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Georgia index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	96.5
Goods	97.7
Services	92.3
Rents	88.3

Georgia's overall RPP (96.5) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Georgia (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)	$98,490	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$12,915	13.1% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$4,489	5.19% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,534	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$73,552	74.7% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$76,224	÷ (96.5 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.6% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $73,552 (74.7% of gross). After the 96.5 RPP, real take-home is $76,224.

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. Georgia sits at #22 on nominal pay and #19 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Georgia climbs 3 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Financial Advisor make in Georgia?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $98,490 for Financial Advisors in Georgia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $63,110 and the 75th-percentile is $187,990.
How are Georgia 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.
Where does Georgia rank for Financial Advisor pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Georgia 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.
Is Georgia a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Financial Advisors?: No — Georgia's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Georgia?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Georgia.
Wirehouse W-2 vs independent RIA principal vs hybrid in Georgia?: 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 Georgia — 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 Georgia once practice equity and distributions are factored in.
AUM-fee economics — what does it take to earn the Georgia BLS median?: The classic 1% AUM fee on a $50M practice yields $500K gross revenue. After overhead (typically 30-50% of revenue: staff, technology, custodial fees, compliance, rent, marketing) the principal advisor in Georgia nets $250-350K, well above the BLS-reported W-2 median for SOC 13-2052. To match the BLS-reported median for Georgia as a wirehouse W-2 advisor, the typical book size required is $30-40M AUM at standard grid payouts — achievable in 5-10 years with strong recruiting and referral systems. Below that production threshold, wirehouse advisors are typically counseled out or transition to support roles.

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 Georgia 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.