Utahns know that the rugged landscape of Utah is the best-kept secret in the nation. The state constantly ranks high on best places to live lists with its easy access to recreation and low income equality. The state has a diverse economy with major sectors such as outdoor recreation, transportation, education, information technology and research, mining and government services.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Utah’s population grew 16% from 2010 to 2019, which is nearly 10% higher than the national population increase of 6.3%. It also has a younger population with 36.7% of its residents younger than 18 and only 11.4% of the population at age 65 and older.
The median household income in Utah in 2019 was $71,621, which is higher than the $62,843 nationally. In addition, the unemployment rate remains low, falling 0.7 percentage points to 3.6% in December 2020, which is more than 3 percentage points lower than the national unemployment rate of 6.7%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If you’re interested in working in finance or financial planning in Utah, you’ll likely be working with younger clients with higher incomes. According to the CFP Board, there are 839 Certified Financial Planners working in Utah, which is 1% of the CFP population nationwide. CFPs have fiduciary responsibility, which means they are required to represent the best interests of their clients, even if those interests aren’t their own.
You’ll also need to determine whether you’ll work on a fee-based model, charging clients a flat fee based on their assets or a commission-based model, which pays you commission when you buy or sell products for your clients.
Here’s a look at the salary rates for financial advisors, stockbrokers and life insurance/annuity producers in the Utah regions of Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area, Logan, Ogden-Clearfield, Provo-Orem, Salt Lake City and St. George.
Financial Advisor Salary in Utah
There are around 630 financial advisors in Utah making an annual mean salary ranging from $54,190 in the lowest-paying region of St. George to $113,790 in Provo-Orem. Experienced financial advisors who make in the 90th percentile compared with their peers can make $86,160 in St. George and up to $195,310 in Ogden-Clearfield, which are the only two regions BLS provided data points for.
In Salt Lake City the average salary was $71,480. Utah’s personal financial advisors earning salaries in the top 25 percent made an average of $70,430; while those earning in the top 10 percent made $121,840 per year on average.
Stockbroker Salary in Utah
Provo-Orem and St. George are the highest-paying regions in Utah for stockbrokers, which is a reversal of the St. George trend we saw for financial advisors. In Provo-Orem, brokers earn an annual mean salary of $95,010 while brokers in St. George earned a mean wage of $98,260 in 2019, the latest year for which the BLS provides data.
Experienced agents in the 75th percentile can earn a wide range of annual salaries, from $55,290 in Ogden-Clearfield to $146,710 in St. George. Clearly, if you want to work as a stockbroker in Utah, St. George is the place to be.
Life/Annuity Producer Salary in Utah
Insurance agents in Utah make more similar annual mean salaries across the state than in the other two job buckets we looked at previously. The lowest annual mean salary for 2019 was Provo-Orem at $41,280 while the highest salary was earned by agents in Salt Lake City at $53,290. At the 90th percentile, though, there are greater disparities. Agents in St. George made the least at $63,810, while agents in Ogden-Clearfield pulled away from the pack with 90th-percentile salaries at $95440.
(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.)