How much does a Financial Advisor make in Vermont?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $81,360 for Financial Advisors in Vermont as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $54,990 and the 75th-percentile is $169,990.

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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 97.1 for Vermont), the real-wage equivalent is $83,754 — what the $81,360 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $56,608 to $174,991.

How are Vermont 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.

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

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

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 Vermont?

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

AUM-fee economics — what does it take to earn the Vermont 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 Vermont nets $250-350K, well above the BLS-reported W-2 median for SOC 13-2052. To match the BLS-reported median for Vermont 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.

How Much Do Financial Advisors Make in Vermont? $81K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

$81,360 is the BLS median wage for Financial Advisors in Vermont; $83,754 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
Financial Advisor ranking: #35 on the BLS table, #39 once cost of living is in.
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
P25-P75 spread runs $54,990 to $169,990; P10 floor $49,990, P90 ceiling $234,100.

Wage breakdown — Vermont

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$49,990	$51,461
P25 (lower quartile)	$54,990	$56,608
P50 (median)	$81,360	$83,754
P75 (upper quartile)	$169,990	$174,991
P90 (top tier)	$234,100	$240,987
Mean	$114,990	$118,373
Employment	480 Financial Advisors in Vermont

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Vermont index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	97.1
Goods	97.9
Services	122.1
Rents	82.3

Vermont's overall RPP (97.1) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Vermont (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)	$81,360	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$9,146	11.2% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,325	3.35–8.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,224	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$62,665	77.0% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$64,509	÷ (97.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.1% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $62,665 (77.0% of gross). After the 97.1 RPP, real take-home is $64,509.

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. Vermont sits at #35 on nominal pay and #39 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Vermont falls 4 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Financial Advisor make in Vermont?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $81,360 for Financial Advisors in Vermont as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $54,990 and the 75th-percentile is $169,990.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Financial Advisor salary in Vermont?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 97.1 for Vermont), the real-wage equivalent is $83,754 — what the $81,360 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $56,608 to $174,991.
How are Vermont 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.
Is Vermont a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Financial Advisors?: No — Vermont's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
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 Vermont?: 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 Vermont — 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 Vermont once practice equity and distributions are factored in.
AUM-fee economics — what does it take to earn the Vermont 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 Vermont nets $250-350K, well above the BLS-reported W-2 median for SOC 13-2052. To match the BLS-reported median for Vermont 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 Vermont 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.