Connecticut is amongst the wealthiest states in the country by most metrics. Much of its economy is built on the financial sector, and finance companies are amongst the biggest employers in the state. The state’s prosperity and high per-capita income make it an excellent place for a financial advisor to work and live.
Connecticut is home to almost 1,394 CFPs, according to the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Board. They represent about 1.6% of the total number of certified financial planners in the country. In order to be certified by the CFP Board and become a certified professional, a financial advisor must first become a fiduciary. A fiduciary is legally bound to act based on their clients’ best interests, as opposed to working for commissions, or making a living by the sale of products and services.
Therefore, an aspiring financial planner has two career paths before them – either fee-based advising or commission-based advising. Fee-based advisors make their living through a pre-stated fee for their services rendered to their clients. This fee usually consists of a flat retainer, and/or an hourly rate for investment advice, whereas a commission-based advisor makes a living by earning commission when they sell their financial products or services to their clients.
If you are interested in how salaries for financial advisors, stockbrokers and insurance agents vary across different regions of Arizona, you have come to the right place. We’ve compiled data on the salaries of financial advisors, stockbrokers and insurance agents in Connecticut, across its various metropolitan and nonmetropolitan regions. This data has been acquired from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and is visible below.
Financial Advisor Salary in Connecticut
Below we have data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2019 on the financial advisors in all of Connecticut’s metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. Almost 3K financial advisors live in the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk area, the highest in the state. Another major economic hub, Hartford, is home to 860 professionals.
The mean and median wages are also highest in these two areas. The hourly mean wage is highest in the Hartford area, at $70.14, which is an annual salary of $145,900. It is followed by Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk where the hourly mean wage is $65.41. The hourly median wage is highest in Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk at $48.33, while the hourly median wage in Hartford comes close at $47.28.
Note that annual wages are calculated by multiplying the corresponding hourly wage by 2,080 hours. Also note that that self-employed workers were not counted in this data. Due to missing data, it is hard to tell what the wages of the highest earners in the state look like and where they reside.
Stockbroker Salary in Connecticut
The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk area is also home to the most stockbrokers in the state, with 3,640 professionals working there. Hartford comes second in this metric with a total of 1,360 working professionals. The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk area’s mean hourly wage exceeds those in other areas by a fair margin – the hourly mean wage there is $71.62, while in New Haven, in second place, it is $42.65. The hourly median wage is also highest in the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk area at $60.84, almost double that of its closest competitor, New Haven.
Life/Annuity Producer Salary in Connecticut
In contrast to finance advisors and stockbrokers, who are concentrated in the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk area, Hartford is home to the most life/annuity producers in the state. There are 2,670 professionals in this field living there alone. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk has less than half as many; there are 1,290 life/annuity producers living there.
The mean hourly wage is highest in New Haven, at $43.07, which is an annual salary of $89,580. This is significantly higher than the runner-up, Hartford, where it is $32.46. This difference is smaller when we look at hourly median wages. While New Haven is again the highest in this metric, Danbury offers almost the same hourly median wage – the hourly median wage there is $32.60.
(Salary and job growth data reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2019 for personal financial advisors; securities, commodities and financial services sales agents; and insurance sales agents. Figures represent national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Information accessed February 2021.)