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Stephanie Horan, CEPF®

Stephanie Horan is a data journalist at SmartAsset. A Certified Educator of Personal Finance (CEPF®), she sources and analyzes data to write studies relating to a variety of topics including mortgage, retirement and budgeting. Before coming to SmartAsset, she worked as an analyst at an asset management firm. Stephanie graduated from Williams College with a degree in Mathematics. Originally from Philadelphia, she has always been a Yankees fan and currently lives in New York.

Posts by Stephanie Horan, CEPF®

SmartAsset 2022 Study: Where Gas Prices Are Highest Going Into the Holidays
Data Studies

Where Gas Prices Are Highest Going Into the Holidays – 2022 Study

With many Americans driving around winter holidays, average gas prices will be at their highest seasonal level ever, according to new data from GasBuddy (a website that tracks local gas prices). The national average is projected to stand at $3.68… read more…

SmartAsset: Financial Advisor Marketing Strategies - 2022 Study
Data Studies

Nearly 60% of Financial Advisors Are Doing More Client Outreach This Year – 2022 Study

Like most client-facing businesses, financial advisory firms tend to have a strong focus on marketing. Those promotional strategies often serve to both engage current clients and expand their business to bring on new clients. And with the end of the… read more…

SmartAsset: Where Millennials Are Moving - 2022 Edition
Data Studies

Where Millennials Are Moving – 2022 Edition

Millennials are increasingly putting down roots whether that is through buying a home, getting involved in their community or working with a local financial advisor to plan for the future. While less than 4% of millennials moved between states in… read more…

SmartAsset: Where Are Young People Buying Homes? - 2022 Edition
Data Studies

Where Are Young People Buying Homes? – 2022 Edition

The housing market has increasingly discouraged young people from buying homes. A June 2022 survey by Money and Morning Consult found that given the state of the housing market over the past two years, 48% of Generation Z and 44%… read more…

SmartAsset: Best Cities to Work From Home - 2022 Edition
Data Studies

Best Cities to Work From Home – 2022 Edition

The share of individuals who work from home has dramatically increased over the past several years. Census Bureau data shows that the estimated percentage of workers in the U.S. who work from home rose from 5.0% to 17.9% between 2016… read more…

SmartAsset: How Much Does the First Year of Homeownership Cost in Large U.S. Cities? – 2022 Edition
Data Studies

How Much Does the First Year of Homeownership Cost in Large U.S. Cities? – 2022 Edition

Mortgage rates have jumped over three percentage points this year, recently hitting new highs above 6.0%. And for new homebuyers, this has dramatically increased the cost of buying a home. Though homebuyers may refinance over the course of their mortgage… read more…

best cities for young professionals
Data Studies

States Losing (And Gaining) The Most Rich Young Professionals – 2022 Edition

Young professionals are generally staying close to home, according to new research. The Census Bureau and Harvard University recently found that 80% of young adults live less than 100 miles from where they grew up. Meanwhile, just 10% had moved… read more…

SmartAsset: Best Cities for Young Financial Advisors to Start Their Careers - 2022 Edition
Data Studies

Best Cities for Young Financial Advisors to Start Their Careers – 2022 Edition

The tight labor market has made it more difficult for some companies to secure top talent. Even financial advisor firms are struggling to find new advisors as their workforce ages. Data from the J.D. Power U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study… read more…

when to buy the dip
Data Studies

How Are Financial Advisors and Investors Responding to the Bear Market? – 2022 Study

In June 2022, U.S. stocks officially entered a bear market as popular market indexes – such as the S&P 500 – fell more than 20% below previous record closes. Those losses have since been met by recent upticks over the… read more…

SmartAsset: Top 50 Fastest-Growing Financial Advisor Firms - 2022 Edition
Data Studies

Top 50 Fastest-Growing Financial Advisor Firms – 2022 Edition

The independent wealth management industry has grown significantly over the past decade and many financial advisors think it will continue to grow looking forward. According to a 2022 Schwab Advisor Services’ Independent Advisor Outlook Study, about 93% of firms expect… read more…

SmartAsset: Where Gas Prices Are Highest (and Lowest) Relative to Incomes - 2022 Study
Data Studies

Where Elevated Gas Prices Are Highest (and Lowest) Relative to Incomes – 2022 Study

After months of climbing gas prices, the national average has hit new highs, reaching $5 per gallon of regular gasoline in June. According to recent data from AAA, the national average for regular gasoline was $4.98 per gallon on June 20, 2022. With these significant increases, Americans across the country are looking for new ways… read more…

2022 SmartAsset Study: Cities With the Most Female Six-Figure Earners
Data Studies

Cities With the Most Female Six-Figure Earners – 2022 Edition

Many Americans agree that amid rising prices and economic uncertainty today, it takes a six-figure salary to get by. However, women continue to be underrepresented in higher-paying jobs. According to 2020 Census data, women make up less than 30% of six-figure earners in the U.S. And while this figure marks progress from a decade prior… read more…

SmartAsset: Financial Advisor and Client Communications - 2022 Edition
Data Studies

Survey: Financial Advisor and Client Communications in 2022

During times of economic instability, financial advice is often in high demand. As increased inflation and the Russia-Ukraine War continue to shake financial markets, many individuals working with financial professionals may rely more heavily on them for advice and planning.… read more…

2022 SmartAsset Study: Best-Paying Places for Financial Advisors
Data Studies

Best-Paying Places for Financial Advisors – 2022 Edition

Most financial advisors fall in the 90th percentile of U.S. workers according to average annual earnings. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the average financial advisor made about $120,000 in 2021, more than double the income of the average worker who earned $58,300 in the same year. Though the advisory career sets many individuals up… read more…

2022 SmartAsset Study: Places Where Inflation Has Spiked the Most
Data Studies

Places Where Inflation Has Spiked the Most – 2022 Edition

With rapidly climbing food, rent and gas prices, inflation is the highest it has been in four decades. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the change in prices paid by urban consumers for goods and services, increased 7.9% during the 12-month period that ended in February… read more…

2022 SmartAsset Study: Financial Advisor Succession Planning
Data Studies

Survey Reveals Details About Financial Advisor Succession Planning

Though financial advisors expertly help clients plan for their future, they sometimes neglect to apply the same forethought to their own firms. In fact, only 27% of financial advisors have a succession plan or any formal preparations to transition their business, according to a 2018 Financial Planning Association (FPA) report. The need to have such… read more…

SmartAsset: Best (and Worst) Housing Markets for Growth and Stability - 2022 Edition
Data Studies

Best (and Worst) Housing Markets for Growth and Stability – 2022 Edition

Editor’s Note: This study was originally published in March 2022. Home prices shot up an average of roughly 17% during 2021 and continued to rise during the first month of this year, according to Freddie Mac data. This spike has… read more…

Data Studies

Best Places for Black Entrepreneurs – 2022 Study

Nationally, less than 3% of businesses are Black-owned. However, over the past two years, the number of Black-owned businesses has grown by 8.52%, according to Census Bureau data. This exceeds the rate at which all businesses are growing (0.46%). Some parts of the country provide a more favorable environment for Black entrepreneurs to set up… read more…

2022 Study: A Look at Home Affordability in the U.S.
Data Studies

How Home Affordability Is Changing Across the U.S. – 2022 Study

Finding an affordable home has become an increasingly daunting endeavor. As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the U.S., home prices soared while incomes remained stagnant. In fact, Zillow and Census Bureau data shows that between 2019 and 2020, the average home value rose at a rate more than double the median household income (5.09%… read more…

SmartAsset 2022 Edition: Fastest-Growing STEM Jobs in the U.S.
Data Studies

Fastest-Growing STEM Jobs in the U.S. – 2022 Edition

Over the next 10 years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects there to be 821,300 new openings for STEM jobs, according to recent estimates. This represents a roughly 9% increase in the number of STEM jobs in the U.S. However, not all STEM jobs are projected to grow at the same rate. In this study,… read more…

2022 SmartAsset Study: Cities With the Highest and Lowest Real Minimum Wage
Data Studies

Cities With the Highest and Lowest Real Minimum Wage – 2022 Study

As federal efforts to increase the minimum wage have stalled, many states and cities are paving the way to pay workers more than $7.25 an hour. On January 1, 2022, a total of 20 states raised their minimum wage, with the largest increases taking place in Virginia (from $9.50 to $11) and Delaware (from $9.25… read more…

SmartAsset 2022 Study: Industries Most and Least Affected by COVID-19
Data Studies

Industries Where Employment Was Most and Least Affected by COVID-19 – 2022 Study

Census Bureau data from 2019 to 2020 shows the largest single-year drop in national employment. There were roughly 5.7 million fewer Americans employed in 2020 when compared with the prior year. Relative to total employment, the number of workers fell by an average of 3.58% from 2019 to 2020. Some industries were more affected than… read more…

SmartAsset 2021 Study: States Where COVID-19 Most Affected Women Workers
Data Studies

States Where COVID-19 Most Affected Women Workers – 2021 Study

Research has shown that the COVID-19 recession was particularly harmful for working women. A recent report from the Brookings Institution highlights two primary reasons why this was the case. Firstly, the COVID-19 recession had an outsized impact on low-wage jobs and women are disproportionately represented in low-wage jobs. According to their findings, 46% of working… read more…

SmartAsset 2021 Study: Which Workers Should Expect an End-of-Year or Holiday Bonus?
Data Studies

Which Workers Should Expect an End-of-Year or Holiday Bonus? – 2021 Study

As the holidays approach, some workers may look forward to a bump in their paychecks with employers paying out bonuses. Across the many different types of bonuses allotted to workers (i.e. referrals, cash profit-sharing, etc.), data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that end-of-year bonuses – which are generally determined by hard work… read more…

SmartAsset 2021 Study: Places Where People Are Refinancing Most
Data Studies

Places Where People Are Refinancing Most – 2021 Study

Many homeowners were incentivized to refinance their homes after mortgage rates reached historic lows in 2020. And Freddie Mac data shows that this caused mortgage refinancing activity to hit its second-highest milestone since peaking in 2003. For a comparison, there were about $2.6 trillion in inflation-adjusted refinance originations for the year 2020, compared with $3.9 trillion in 2003. Though refinancing… read more…