Despite Wyoming’s status as the 10th-largest state in the United States, it also is the least populous and densely populated state in the country. Tourists from around the world make their pilgrimages to the great Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, but as a Wyoming resident, they’re right in your backyard. It’s a great place to live and work, especially for the 300 financial planners serving clients in this tax-friendly state.
Wyoming residents are among the least taxed in the nation since the state doesn’t have individual or corporate income taxes, which makes it an ideal location to start a career. Additionally, Wyoming doesn’t assess taxes on any retirement income you may have earned in other states. The state also has a low sales tax rate of only 4% and is known for its business-friendly climate.
If you live in Wyoming and are considering a degree in finance or financial planning and want to know your projected salary for work as a financial advisor, stockbroker or life/annuity producer, you’ve come to the right place.
Overall, nonfarm employment in Wyoming was 273,500 in December 2020, according to the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Research & Planning. So, while there are fewer potential clients in Wyoming, there also are fewer competitors in the marketplace.
According to the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Board, there are 72 CFPs in Wyoming, which represents 0.1 % of the financial planners in the U.S. Being a CFP requires you to be a fiduciary, which requires advisors to act on behalf of their clients and not advise based on an advisor’s own self-interest, commission, products or services.
Another consideration is whether you’ll pursue employment as a fee-based advisor who charges clients flat fees to manage their money or a commission-based advisor, where you earn commission when you sell financial products or services to clients.
We have salary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Casper and Cheyenne, as well as the regions of Eastern Wyoming and Western Wyoming below, for financial advisors, stockbrokers and insurance agents.
Financial Advisor Salary in Wyoming
There are more than 300 professionals employed as financial advisors in Wyoming, as of 2019 BLS data. The mean, or average, annual salary for Cheyenne is $94,860, while the salary for advisors in Western Wyoming (nonmetropolitan area) is $95,010. See the table below for additional data on the hourly mean compensation and salaries for professionals in the 75th and 90thpercentiles of all financial advisors.
Keep in mind that the hourly rate is a breakdown of the salary, not a representation of what an advisor, stockbroker or insurance agent is charging their clients.
Stockbroker Salary in Wyoming
The data for stockbrokers in Wyoming didn’t include any professionals in the city of Cheyenne, which is the state capital. The annual mean salary 2019 in Casper was $55,470. Interestingly, the salaries are highest in the non-metro area of Eastern Wyoming where the annual mean salary is $71,150. In Western Wyoming, the salary is $60,120. Additional data points are provided for the hourly mean wage and the 90th and 75th percentile salaries for 2019, according to the BLS.
Life/Annuity Producer Salary in Wyoming
The salaries for life/annuity producers are lower than that of stockbrokers and personal financial advisors. There were 480 professionals in Wyoming in 2019 who sold life insurance and annuity products. In the city of Casper, the annual mean wage was $46,320; in Cheyenne, the annual salary was higher at $57,040, while agents in the Eastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan region made the highest annual salaries at an average of $65,180. The Eastern Wyoming region likely includes the college town of Laramie, which is home to Wyoming’s lone university.
Find additional data on hourly mean wage, annual median salary and how much agents make at the higher end of the pay scale below.
(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.)