How much does a Financial Advisor make in Maryland?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $122,510 for Financial Advisors in Maryland as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $76,260 and the 75th-percentile is $203,690.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Financial Advisor salary in Maryland?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 104.6 for Maryland), the real-wage equivalent is $117,120 — what the $122,510 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $72,905 to $194,729.

How are Maryland 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 Maryland 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. Maryland's overall index of 104.6 reflects rents 119.9, services 108.7, and goods 103.2.

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 Maryland?

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 Maryland.

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

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

Maryland Financial Advisor Salary: BLS $123K Median, Real $117K (2026)

TL;DR

$122,510 is the BLS median wage for Financial Advisors in Maryland; $117,120 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #6 of 51; nominal rank is #7.
BEA RPP near 100 means nominal pay translates almost 1:1 into real take-home.
BLS percentiles available for this state: P25 $76,260, P50 $122,510, P75 $203,690. P10 or P90 is suppressed by BLS for this occupation-state cell.

Wage breakdown — Maryland

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$51,170	$48,919
P25 (lower quartile)	$76,260	$72,905
P50 (median)	$122,510	$117,120
P75 (upper quartile)	$203,690	$194,729
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$173,120	$165,504
Employment	5,560 Financial Advisors in Maryland

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Maryland index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	104.6
Goods	103.2
Services	108.7
Rents	119.9

Maryland's overall RPP (104.6) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Maryland (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)	$122,510	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$18,220	14.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$5,696	2–5.75% (graduated, +county piggyback 2.25–3.2%)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$9,372	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$89,222	72.8% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$85,297	÷ (104.6 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Maryland 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 $89,222 (72.8% of gross). After the 104.6 RPP, real take-home is $85,297. Local-tax overlay: Maryland counties piggyback 2.25–3.2% on state liability — Baltimore City and Howard / Montgomery / PG counties at the top of the range.

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. Maryland sits at #7 on nominal pay and #6 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Maryland climbs 1 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Financial Advisor make in Maryland?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $122,510 for Financial Advisors in Maryland as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $76,260 and the 75th-percentile is $203,690.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Financial Advisor salary in Maryland?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 104.6 for Maryland), the real-wage equivalent is $117,120 — what the $122,510 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $72,905 to $194,729.
How are Maryland 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 Maryland 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. Maryland's overall index of 104.6 reflects rents 119.9, services 108.7, and goods 103.2.
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 Maryland?: 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 Maryland.
Wirehouse W-2 vs independent RIA principal vs hybrid in Maryland?: 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 Maryland — 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 Maryland once practice equity and distributions are factored in.

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 Maryland 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.