Hiring a personal financial advisor in Sioux Falls, SD

Employers in the Sioux Falls, SD-MN area pay personal financial advisors a median of $121,350, with the middle half of the market between $83,150 and $148,830. Sioux Falls residents working in business and financial operations occupations report a median of $65,294, which is 46% below what the metro pays for this role.

What does a personal financial advisor earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Sioux Falls, SD-MN area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile	$83,150
Median	$121,350
75th percentile	$148,830

Half of personal financial advisors in this area earn between $83,150 and $148,830. A band set below $83,150 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Sioux Falls residents earn

$65,294

Median earnings of Sioux Falls residents working in business and financial operations occupations, 6,858 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 46% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

The role pays well above the local residential norm, which usually means you can hire from inside Sioux Falls rather than competing for commuters.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Interview clients to determine their current income, expenses, insurance coverage, tax status, financial objectives, risk tolerance, or other information needed to develop a financial plan.
Analyze financial information obtained from clients to determine strategies for meeting clients' financial objectives.
Answer clients' questions about the purposes and details of financial plans and strategies.
Review clients' accounts and plans regularly to determine whether life changes, economic changes, environmental concerns, or financial performance indicate a need for plan reassessment.
Manage client portfolios, keeping client plans up-to-date.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 13-2052.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Project, Microsoft SQL Server.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Sioux Falls?

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.

That matters here, because 37.4% of Sioux Falls adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a workable pool, but the search will reach beyond the city line. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Sioux Falls commute runs 17 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 9.4% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Minnehaha County, accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employs 742 and turns over 8.1% a quarter, with 183 hires against 58 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $5,241 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 median would bill roughly $24,270 to $36,405 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.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a personal financial advisor somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other business and financial operations roles in Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls is the largest of 1 South Dakota cities in this dataset.