Hiring a personal financial advisor in Santa Ana, CA

Do Santa Ana residents in business and financial operations work earn more than employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area pay?

Santa Ana residents working in business and financial operations occupations earn a median of $62,913 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $94,360 as the median of the 29 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 33%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole business and financial operations group, not this one role. In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area the group covers 29 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from tax preparers at $65,120 to personal financial advisors at $124,490 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 29 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

Published wages across this group in the metro run above what Santa Ana residents in it earn, which usually means employers here draw this talent from beyond the city line rather than from inside it.

Is the talent actually in Santa Ana?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. O*NET OnLine, SOC 13-2052.

That matters here, because 18% of Santa Ana adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a thin local pool for a degree-requiring role, so expect to recruit across the metro rather than inside the city. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Santa Ana aged 25 and over.

The average Santa Ana commute runs 24.8 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 8.7% of Santa Ana workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Santa Ana.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Orange County, accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employs 20,735 and turns over 10.1% a quarter, with 3,354 hires against 2,623 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $7,368 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5412.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about personal financial advisors. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a normal churn rate, where a well-run search closes on schedule.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $124,490 median in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $24,898 to $37,347 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring a personal financial advisor in Santa Ana

What does it cost to hire a personal financial advisor in Santa Ana?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $124,490 median wage in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $24,898 to $37,347 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a personal financial advisor in Santa Ana look like?

Employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area pay personal financial advisors a median of $124,490, with the middle half of the market between $77,860 and $179,000 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $77,860 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Do Santa Ana residents in business and financial operations work earn more than employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area pay?

Santa Ana residents working in business and financial operations occupations earn a median of $62,913 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $94,360 as the median of the 29 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 33%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.

Is the talent for this role already in Santa Ana?

This is a job zone 4 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 18% of Santa Ana adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a thin local pool, so expect the search to run across the metro rather than inside the city.

Related

• Hiring Personal Financial Advisors: the role, the pay, the process
• Recruiting services in Santa Ana
• Every California city we cover

Santa Ana is the 14th largest of 21 California cities in this dataset.