Financial Advisor · Illinois · SOC 13-2052
Financial Advisor Salary in Illinois (2026)
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024 reference period · BEA Regional Price Parity 2023 vintage · Last synced 2026-05-08.
TL;DR
- Financial Advisors in Illinois earn a BLS median of $104,310, with real take-home of $105,628 after BEA RPP adjustment.
- Nominal: #11/51 · Real: #15/51 — ranking shifts by 4 positions after RPP.
- Cost adjustment is small — neither an arbitrage state nor a high-cost penalty.
- Quartile range $73,920 (bottom 25%) to $151,160 (top 25%). BLS suppresses the P10 or P90 tail for this state, typically because the top tier exceeds the OES wage cap.
Wage breakdown — Illinois
| Percentile | Nominal (BLS) | Real (BEA RPP-adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (entry tier) | $54,150 | $54,834 |
| P25 (lower quartile) | $73,920 | $74,854 |
| P50 (median) | $104,310 | $105,628 |
| P75 (upper quartile) | $151,160 | $153,070 |
| P90 (top tier) | ||
| Mean | $153,440 | $155,379 |
| Employment | 10,410 Financial Advisors in Illinois | |
Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity
| Component | Illinois index (US = 100) |
|---|---|
| All-items RPP | 98.8 |
| Goods | 101.6 |
| Services | 80.4 |
| Rents | 92.4 |
Illinois's overall RPP (98.8) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.
After-tax take-home — Illinois (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) | $104,310 | nominal median |
| Federal income tax | −$14,195 | 13.6% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied |
| State income tax | −$5,163 | 4.95% flat (2026) |
| FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) | −$7,980 | SS capped at $183,600 wage base |
| Take-home (after-tax) | $76,972 | 73.8% of gross |
| Real take-home (RPP-adjusted) | $77,944 | ÷ (98.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living |
What the Illinois state-tax burden means for Financial Advisor take-home
Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $76,972 (73.8% of gross). After the 98.8 RPP, real take-home is $77,944.
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. Illinois sits at #11 on nominal pay and #15 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Illinois falls 4 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.
Frequently asked questions
- How are Illinois 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.
- How many Financial Advisors does Illinois employ?
- BLS OES counts 10,410 Financial Advisors employed in Illinois in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
- Where does Illinois rank for Financial Advisor pay?
- On nominal BLS wages alone, Illinois 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 Illinois a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Financial Advisors?
- No — Illinois's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
- What are the limits of these Financial Advisor salary numbers?
- BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
- Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Illinois?
- 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 Illinois.
- CFP / CFA / ChFC credential premium in Illinois?
- 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 Illinois, 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.
Cross-comparison: see how Illinois 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.