What Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents earn in Baltimore County, MD
The median pay for Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents in Baltimore County, MD is $62,080 per year, which works out to $29.85 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metropolitan area, the labor market that Baltimore County, MD belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $82,470, which is 32.8% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 4,750 people working in this occupation across the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Baltimore County, MD has roughly 850,796 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $50,320 a year ($24.19 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $134,740 or more ($64.78 an hour). That is a gap of $84,420 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $55,430 at the 25th percentile and $94,530 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.7 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $29.85 an hour or $62,080 a year at the median for Baltimore County, MD. Before any deductions, that is $5,173 a month, $2,388 every two weeks and $1,194 each week. After taxes the same job pays $23.75 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents this way: "Buy and sell securities or commodities in investment and trading firms, or provide financial services to businesses and individuals. May advise customers about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, commodities, and market conditions."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Make bids or offers to buy or sell securities"; "Monitor markets or positions"; "Agree on buying or selling prices at optimal levels for clients"; "Keep accurate records of transactions".
Job outlook for Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 531,000 jobs in 2025 to 538,500 in 2035, a change of +1.4%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 35,100 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 6.6% of current employment each year. About 6.0% of the people in this occupation are self-employed, and wage figures cover wage and salary workers only.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: moderate-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $78,660 for this occupation; the Baltimore County, MD median of $62,080 is 21.1% below it.
How pay in Baltimore County, MD compares
Compared with the Maryland average
Pay in Baltimore County, MD runs $7,310 below the Maryland average of $69,390, a gap of 10.5%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of Maryland would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes. Within Maryland, the highest median we track for this job is $77,760 in Cecil County, MD.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents is $86,483 across the contiguous United States. At $62,080, Baltimore County, MD pays $24,403 less, which is 28.2% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Baltimore County, MD
Among the 552 occupations with published wages in Baltimore County, MD, Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents ranks number 296 by median pay, ahead of about 46% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $168,520 a year, which is $106,440 more than the median for Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents earning the Baltimore County, MD median of $62,080, they add up to $12,686. The result is $49,394 of take-home pay a year ($4,116 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $20 goes to taxes and $80 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 20.4%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $46,330. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $5,321, an effective 8.6% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $3,849 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $900. FICA totals $4,749, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Maryland
Maryland income tax on this salary is $2,616 a year, or 4.2% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 49% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $218 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Baltimore County, MD
IRS Statistics of Income data for Baltimore County, MD show an average adjusted gross income of $95,693 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 14.6% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 7.4%, compared with the 8.6% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Baltimore County, MD
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Baltimore County, MD: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $49,394 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Baltimore County, MD, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,625 a month ($19,500 a year), and at $2,006 for two bedrooms. For Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents, a one-bedroom absorbs 39.5% of take-home pay and 31.4% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 5.5% of gross pay for Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents in Baltimore County, MD. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Maryland residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,887 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $634, for $2,521 in total. Gasoline in Maryland averages $3.33 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,539.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $26,996 a year in Baltimore County, MD. Subtract that from $49,394 of take-home pay and $22,398 remains, which is $1,867 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 36.1% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Baltimore County, MD
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Baltimore County, MD: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Baltimore County, MD, set beside the Maryland and national medians.
Property taxes in Baltimore County, MD
Homeowners in Baltimore County, MD pay a median of $3,736 a year in real estate taxes, 9% below the Maryland median of $4,093 and 20% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $349,300, the median tax bill is 1.07% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents median of $62,080, a tax bill of that size would equal 6.0% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Baltimore County, MD
Renters in Baltimore County, MD pay a median gross rent of $1,627 a month in the Census survey, 5% below the Maryland median of $1,705. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,625 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $349,300, 17% below the Maryland median of $419,900. Median household income is $91,768, 11% below the Maryland median of $103,678, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 21.2% of that income.
Commuting in Baltimore County, MD
Workers in Baltimore County, MD who travel to a workplace spend an average of 28.0 minutes each way, 10% below the Maryland average of 31.1. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.7 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 16.5% of workers in Baltimore County, MD work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents afford to live in Baltimore County, MD?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $62,080 that ceiling is $1,552 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,625 is $73 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $31.25 an hour; the median for Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents is $29.85, which is 4% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $23.75 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 15.8 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,006 a month means $1,003 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,464 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $29,862.
How fast you can save
At $1,867 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 6 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 12 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents pay in Baltimore County, MD
How much do Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents make per hour in Baltimore County, MD?
The median is $29.85 per hour, based on $62,080 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $24.19 at the 10th percentile to $64.78 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents take home after taxes in Baltimore County, MD?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $62,080 becomes $49,394 a year. That is $4,116 a month, $1,900 every two weeks or $950 a week.
How much tax do Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents pay in Baltimore County, MD?
Total taxes are $12,686 a year, an effective rate of 20.4%: $5,321 federal income tax, $4,749 FICA and $2,616 Maryland income tax.
Do Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents earn more in Baltimore County, MD than elsewhere in Maryland?
No. The local median of $62,080 is -10.5% versus the Maryland average of $69,390, a difference of $7,310 a year.
Can Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents afford a one-bedroom apartment in Baltimore County, MD?
A one-bedroom costs $1,625 a month against take-home pay of $4,116, which is 39.5% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,552 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents in Baltimore County, MD?
About $1,867 a month ($22,398 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $26,996 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Baltimore County, MD at the 30% guideline?
$31.25 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $19,500 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents is $29.85.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Maryland rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.