How much do actuarys make in 2026?
Actuaries earn a national median of $130,000 a year, or $62.50 an hour, according to BLS OEWS May 2025 for SOC 15-2011, with the bottom 10% near $78,570 and the top 10% at $215,100 across 26,670 actuaries. This is one of the cleanest occupational codes in the wage data: the title is protected in practice by an examination system rather than by statute, the population is small, and almost everyone in it is doing recognisably the same kind of work. What separates the bottom of the band from the top is mostly credentialing progress and practice area. An analyst two or three exams into the Society of Actuaries or Casualty Actuarial Society sequence sits near the low end; an Associate with most of the sequence behind them sits near the median; a Fellow with a signing role on reserves or pricing sits in the upper quartile. Practice area matters too, with property and casualty pricing, life and annuity valuation, health and pension work all paying differently in the same market. Most employers pay study time, exam fees and a raise on each pass, which is why compensation moves in visible steps rather than smoothly. BLS Employment Projections show 21.8% growth through 2034, one of the strongest rates in the professional data, on a base of roughly 2,400 openings a year. → Full actuary career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $130,000 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Actuarys earn a national median $130,000/yr ($62.50/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 15-2011); the P10 to P90 range is $78,570 to $215,100.
- Exam progress is the dominant early pay lever: most employers attach a defined raise to each Society of Actuaries or Casualty Actuarial Society pass, so compensation moves in steps rather than smoothly.
- Geography matters less here than in most occupations because much actuarial work is remote-capable and concentrated in a handful of insurance centres; the modeled state estimates below should be read as cost-of-living context, not as a hiring map.
- BLS Employment Projections put growth at 21.8% through 2034 with roughly 2,400 openings a year, which is rapid growth on a genuinely small base.
US Actuary Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do actuarys earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 15-2011; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 15-2011, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does an actuary earn at each career stage?
Actuarial pay tracks the exam sequence more than the calendar. Each median below is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 15-2011.
By State
Which states pay actuarys the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates, not BLS state observations: each figure is the national median for SOC 15-2011 multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index. For actuaries the spread is narrower in practice than the model implies, because the work concentrates in a small number of insurance centres and a large share of roles are remote-eligible, which flattens regional differences.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($149,500), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
actuary pay by state — all 3 state guides
By Metro
Which cities pay actuarys the most?
Metro figures are modeled the same way, national median times state wage index times the published metro index, and are not BLS metropolitan observations. Hartford, Des Moines and Columbus do not appear in this table but are genuine actuarial hubs where pay runs well above what a cost-of-living model alone would predict.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise an actuary’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does actuary pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Actuarys sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify actuary wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does an actuary actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Actuary Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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