Local market data · Financial advisors · Chicago
AI for financial advisors in Chicago
The Chicago metro area had 813 financial advisors in 2022, the 4th most of 353 US metros and 3% of all in the country. They employed 5,703 people at an average of $233,566 a year. 90% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.
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A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your financial advisor to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.
Financial advisors in Chicago vs the US
| Chicago metro | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses | 813 | 24,303 |
| People employed | 5,703 | 110,887 |
| Average staff per business | 7.0 | 4.6 |
| Average yearly pay per employee | $233,566 | $169,945 |
| Share with fewer than 10 staff | 90% | 94% |
Pay here is 37% higher than the national average for financial advisors, so every hour of staff time costs more to spend on admin. The average financial advisor here has 7.0 people on payroll, 54% higher than the US figure of 4.6.
How big financial advisors in Chicago are
Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.
Financial advisors by county in the Chicago area
Cook County has the most, with 435 of the metro's 813 (54%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Chicago ranks 2nd for average pay and 9th for the share of small firms.
| County | Businesses | Employees | Avg pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County | 435 | 4,298 | $251,023 |
| DuPage County | 155 | 378 | $110,865 |
| Lake County | 86 | 722 | $259,870 |
| Will County | 37 | 95 | $84,695 |
| Kane County | 34 | 88 | $70,943 |
| McHenry County | 25 | 47 | $82,681 |
| Lake County | 19 | 49 | $64,918 |
| Porter County | 12 | 16 | $114,000 |
| Kendall County | 5 | 4 | $80,250 |
| DeKalb County | 3 | 3 | $18,333 |
Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.
Where AI helps a financial advisor first
A financial advisor gets the most from AI by automating what surrounds the advice: preparing for meetings, turning notes into follow-up tasks, chasing onboarding paperwork and keeping in touch with clients between reviews. The advice itself stays with the advisor. Westward can build these pieces, and a person approves anything that goes out.
What your team's admin hours cost in Chicago
Change any number. The starting values are the Chicago averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.
Those hours cost you$313,600 a year
The share you would hand off$94,080 a year
Hours your team gets back840 a year
See what we would build for thisGuides for financial advisors, one job each
- Get more customers for financial advisors
- Never miss a call for financial advisors
- Follow up automatically for financial advisors
- Booking and scheduling for financial advisors
- More reviews for financial advisors
- Marketing and content for financial advisors
- Show up on Google and ChatGPT for financial advisors
- Cut admin and paperwork for financial advisors
- A dashboard that runs itself for financial advisors
Financial advisors in other big metros
| Metro | Businesses | Avg pay | Rank of 387 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 1,296 | $158,348 | 2nd |
| New York | 1,747 | $317,013 | 1st |
| Miami | 850 | $138,048 | 3rd |
| Dallas | 703 | $186,019 | 5th |
| Houston | 462 | $206,379 | 12th |
| Atlanta | 483 | $197,280 | 11th |
| Washington | 422 | $173,006 | 14th |
| Philadelphia | 585 | $148,292 | 7th |
| Boston | 541 | $181,582 | 8th |
Where these numbers come from
From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 523930 (Investment advice), for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (13 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.
Find the hours your practice can get back
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your financial advisor to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.