North Dakota is an economically vibrant and naturally beautiful state in the American Midwest. Thanks to its abundance of natural resources, especially oil, it has some of the highest employment rates in the country.
There are 140 CFPs in the state of North Dakota, according to data collected by the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Board. They represent about 0.2% of the total number of certified financial planners in the country. For the CFP Board to grant you certification and authorization to use the designation, you must fulfill certain requirements as well as pay an ongoing certification fee to the CFP. Most importantly, you must become a fiduciary, and therefore be legally obligated to act in their clients’ best interests.
Aspiring financial advisors therefore have two paths before them – they can either become commission-based advisors, or fee-based advisors, who 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 and other services. Alternatively, a commission-based advisor earns commission from selling financial products and services to their clients. Fee-based advisors require certification to practice their profession, while commission-based advisors do not.
If you are interested in how wages for financial advisors, stockbrokers and insurance agents vary across different regions of North Dakota, you have come to the right place. We have compiled data on the salaries of financial advisors, stockbrokers, and insurance agents in North Dakota, across its various metropolitan and non-metropolitan regions. This data has been acquired from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and is visible below.
Financial Advisor Salary in North Dakota
Fargo is home to 140 financial advisors, representing almost 66% of the state’s total. Meanwhile, the only other area with recorded numbers in the data, Grand Forks, has 70 financial advisors. Fargo has the highest hourly mean wage in the state at $47.20, although numbers for a third of the state’s total are missing due to lack of salary data for Grand Forks. The hourly mean wage is second highest in Bismarck, at $39.87, followed in third and last place by the West North Dakota non-metropolitan area, where the hourly mean wage for a financial advisor is $26.14.
Bismarck holds the highest hourly median wage in the state, at $33.61, although Fargo is close behind with an hourly median wage of $32.64. Out of the recorded areas, the hourly 75th and 90th percentile salaries are highest in Fargo and Bismarck respectively, although 90th percentile salary data is unavailable for Fargo.
Stockbroker Salary in North Dakota
There are 260 stockbrokers in Fargo and 120 in West North Dakota non-metropolitan area. The West North Dakota non-metropolitan area has an hourly mean wage of $53.54, the highest in the state. Fargo and Grand Forks follow with hourly mean wages of $41.01 and $27.20, respectively. The hourly median wage is also highest in the West ND non-metropolitan area at $36.68, followed by Fargo and Grand Forks, where the hourly median wage is $30.62 and $22.08, respectively. While hourly 90thpercentile wages are unavailable for all three areas of North Dakota, the hourly 75th percentile wage data is complete. The West North Dakota non-metropolitan area has the highest 75th percentile hourly wage at $56.20, followed by Fargo and Grand Forks, where the 75th percentile wages are $49.17 and $30.88, respectively.
Life/Annuity Producer Salary in North Dakota
Fargo is home to the most life/annuity producers with 630 professionals calling it home. The West North Dakota non-metropolitan area and Bismarck follow, with 390 and 370 life/annuity professionals residing in these areas, respectively. Fargo has the highest hourly mean wage of $36.10, followed by Grand Forks and West North Dakota non-metropolitan area, where it is $33.24 and $32.34, respectively. The hourly 90th percentile wage is highest in Grand Forks at $71.10, followed by Fargo’s at $65.22.
(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.)