State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
Actuary Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
The median pay for Actuaries is $130,000 a year ($62.50/hr), according to BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employment is projected to grow 21.8% through 2034, with about 2,400 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
SOC 15-2011Computer and MathematicalLast updated August 23, 2026
- Median pay
- $130,000
- Projected growth
- +21.8%
- Openings a year
- 2,400
- Typical education
- Bachelor's
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Actuarial Analyst, Actuarial Associate, Actuarial Consultant, Actuary, Consulting Actuary, Corporate Actuary.
How much do Actuaries make?
10th percentile$78,570
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$97,680
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$130,000
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$170,650
Upper quartile
90th percentile$215,100
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $130,000 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $62.50/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $141,480 |
| People employed | 26,670 |
Versus all US occupations
At $130,000, Actuaries earn 155% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $79,020 a year.
Versus computer and mathematical occupations
Inside the Computer and Mathematical group, where the middle occupation pays $116,580, this is 12% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $215,100 or more while the bottom 10% earn $78,570, a gap of 2.7×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 91% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Connecticut pays the most at $166,800, and still leads at $160,988 once local prices are taken into account.
Which states pay Actuaries the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | $166,800 | $160,988 | 1,380 |
| District of Columbia | $166,230 | $151,254 | 160 |
| New York | $156,480 | $144,995 | 2,630 |
| New Jersey | $142,800 | $131,244 | 1,260 |
| Alabama | $136,950 | $154,183 | 190 |
| Arizona | $135,870 | $134,956 | 200 |
| Washington | $134,720 | $125,891 | 360 |
| Utah | $132,720 | $134,245 | 180 |
| Nevada | $132,370 | $132,398 | 120 |
| Florida | $132,110 | $127,749 | 1,300 |
Is Actuary a growing career?
Actuaries21.8%
All US occupations3.1%
+21.8% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
Much faster than average
BLS projects employment of Actuaries to change 21.8% over 2024–2034, roughly 7.0× the 3.1% projected for all occupations. That is 7,300 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 2,400 openings are projected each year, 7.1% of the 33,600 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Actuaries will be needed to develop, price, and evaluate a variety of insurance products and calculate the costs of new risks.
More actuaries also will be needed to help companies manage their own risk, a practice known as enterprise risk management. These actuaries help companies adjust their business or investment strategies across all areas of operation.
Insurance companies will need actuaries to analyze the large amount of information, such as medical or property data, collected from consumers. These data will allow insurance companies to develop new products, set competitive prices, predict consumer behavior, and improve projections of future risks and costs.
How to become an Actuary
To enter the occupation, actuaries typically need a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, actuarial science, statistics, or some other analytical field. Students must complete coursework in subjects such as economics, applied statistics, and corporate finance and must pass a series of exams to become certified.
| Typical entry-level education | Bachelor's degree |
|---|---|
| Preparation needed (O*NET job zone) | Medium preparation |
| Work experience in a related occupation | None |
| Typical on-the-job training | Long-term on-the-job training |
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as actuaries.
- Bachelor's Degree78.6%
- Post-Baccalaureate Certificate10.7%
- First Professional Degree10.7%
What does an Actuary do?
Analyze statistical data, such as mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates and construct probability tables to forecast risk and liability for payment of future benefits. May ascertain insurance rates required and cash reserves necessary to ensure payment of future benefits.
Actuaries analyze the financial costs of risk and uncertainty. They use mathematics, statistics, and financial theory to assess the risk of potential events, and they help businesses and clients develop policies that minimize the cost of that risk. Actuaries’ work is essential to the insurance industry.
Day-to-day tasks
- Ascertain premium rates required and cash reserves and liabilities necessary to ensure payment of future benefits.
- Collaborate with programmers, underwriters, accounts, claims experts, and senior management to help companies develop plans for new lines of business or improvements to existing business.
- Determine, or help determine, company policy, and explain complex technical matters to company executives, government officials, shareholders, policyholders, or the public.
- Analyze statistical information to estimate mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates.
- Negotiate terms and conditions of reinsurance with other companies.
- Design, review, and help administer insurance, annuity and pension plans, determining financial soundness and calculating premiums.
- Provide advice to clients on a contract basis, working as a consultant.
- Construct probability tables for events such as fires, natural disasters, and unemployment, based on analysis of statistical data and other pertinent information.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Working conditions and hours
Most actuaries work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week.
Where the work happens
- Indoors, in a climate-controlled space, every day
Physical demands
- Seated for more than half the working day
Working with people
- Face-to-face discussions every day
Schedules: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition. Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey, showing only the signals people in the job report decisively one way or the other.
Where actuaries work
| Finance and insurance | 78% |
|---|---|
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 14% |
| Management of companies and enterprises | 3% |
| Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals | 3% |
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition.
Core skills
- Reading Comprehension4.3/5
- Mathematics4.3/5
- Critical Thinking4.3/5
- Active Listening4.0/5
- Speaking3.9/5
- Writing3.5/5
- Active Learning3.3/5
- Monitoring3.1/5
Transferable skills
- Judgment and Decision Making4.3/5
- Complex Problem Solving4.0/5
- Systems Evaluation4.0/5
- Systems Analysis3.9/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.0/5
- Coordination3.0/5
- Service Orientation3.0/5
- Operations Analysis3.0/5
Tools and software
- Analytical or scientific software · in demand
- Business intelligence and data analysis software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Development environment software · in demand
- Object or component oriented development software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Process mapping and design software · in demand
- Project management software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
- Compliance software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
What personality type suits an Actuary?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realistic1.8
Investigativeprimary4.5
Artistic1.1
Social2.5
Enterprisingprimary3.3
Conventionalprimary6.3
Day to day this is work built around organising, following procedures and working precisely with data, combined with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data.
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Actuary: frequently asked questions
How much do Actuaries make?
Actuaries earn a median of $130,000 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is 155% above the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $62.50/hr. The middle half earn between $97,680 and $170,650. The top 10% earn $215,100 or more.
Do you need a degree to become an Actuary?
Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Actuaries, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as medium preparation. BLS also lists long-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 78.6% hold bachelor's degree.
Is Actuary a growing career?
Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 21.8% over 2024–2034, more than double the 3.1% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 2,400 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does an Actuary do?
Actuaries analyze the financial costs of risk and uncertainty. A core O*NET task: ascertain premium rates required and cash reserves and liabilities necessary to ensure payment of future benefits. Employers most often ask for Analytical or scientific software, Business intelligence and data analysis software, Data base user interface and query software.
Which states pay Actuaries the most?
The highest state medians for Actuaries are Connecticut ($166,800), District of Columbia ($166,230), New York ($156,480) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits an Actuary?
O*NET scores Actuaries highest on the Conventional, Investigative and Enterprising interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISTJ, ESTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.