Actuary Salary (2026): SOA/CAS Pay Guide for All 50 States

Credentialed actuaries in the United States earn a national median of $134,160 per year — roughly $64.50/hour. Actuary pay sits firmly in the top tier of U.S. analytical and quantitative professions, supported by the structurally constrained credentialing pipeline (typically 5–10 actuarial exams across 7–10 years), strong demand from the U.S. insurance industry (life, health, P&C, reinsurance), expanding consulting demand at the Big Four actuarial firms, and the emerging shift of actuarial skills into adjacent quantitative finance, predictive analytics, and healthcare-economics roles.

The national median is only the middle of the distribution. Three numbers describe the real range of actuary compensation:

• Entry-level actuaries (10th percentile): $81,084/year — typically actuarial analysts in their first 1–2 years out of college, often with 1–3 exams passed at the SOA preliminary level (P, FM, IFM, FAM-S/FAM-L, SRM, PA) or CAS preliminary level (Exam 1, 2, 3F, MAS-I, MAS-II), working at life/health/P&C insurance companies, pension consulting firms, or reinsurance companies.
• Median actuary (50th percentile): $134,160/year — the working actuary with 3–7 years of experience and ASA (Associate of the Society of Actuaries) or ACAS (Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society) credential, frequently in pricing, reserving, valuation, or product-development roles at major insurers or consulting firms.
• Top-earning actuaries (90th percentile): $221,983/year — Fellow-level credentialed actuaries (FSA — Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, FCAS — Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society) with 10+ years of experience, senior managers and directors at consulting firms (Milliman, WTW, Mercer, Aon, Oliver Wyman), chief actuaries at small-to-mid-size insurers, and senior pricing/product-management leaders at major life/health/P&C carriers.

Geographic location matters less for actuaries than for many professions because the work is concentrated at large insurance employers in a small number of insurance-hub cities (Hartford CT, NYC, Chicago, Boston, Des Moines, Columbus OH, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area). Actuaries in Bridgeport, CT earn a median of $200,342, while colleagues in San Juan, PR earn around $70,279. Exam progression is the dominant near-term pay driver: most insurers pay $2,500–$10,000 per exam passed plus a base-salary step increase, and reaching ASA/ACAS (associate) and FSA/FCAS (Fellow) trigger meaningful step changes worth $15,000–$50,000+ in additional base salary.

Actuary Salary vs FSA/FCAS Salary — Are They the Same?

No — the credential tier carries the single biggest within-occupation pay differential of almost any U.S. profession. Actuary is the broad occupational title; the U.S. actuarial profession splits into two distinct credentialing tracks:

• SOA (Society of Actuaries) — credentials life, health, pension, finance, and predictive analytics actuaries.
  • ASA (Associate of the Society of Actuaries) — preliminary credential; typically 5–7 exams plus Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) coursework + Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice (FAP) e-Learning + Associateship Professionalism Course (APC).
  • FSA (Fellow of the Society of Actuaries) — full credential; requires additional Fellowship-level exams in a specialty track (Life Finance and ERM, Investment & Finance, Group and Health, Individual Life and Annuities, Quantitative Finance and Investment, Retirement Benefits, Corporate Finance and ERM, General Insurance, Predictive Analytics) plus Fellowship Admissions Course (FAC).
  • CERA (Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst) — joint SOA/global credential focused on enterprise risk management.
• CAS (Casualty Actuarial Society) — credentials P&C (property and casualty) insurance actuaries.
  • ACAS (Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society) — preliminary credential; typically 7 exams plus the Course on Professionalism plus VEE.
  • FCAS (Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society) — full credential; requires additional Fellowship-level exams (9 total beyond Associate) and the Course on Professionalism.

Actuaries typically take 5–10 years to reach Fellowship while employed, studying part-time and earning exam passes on a rolling basis. Major employers offer paid study time (4–8 hours per week during exam preparation), exam-pass bonuses ($2,500–$10,000 per exam), and study-material reimbursement (Coaching Actuaries, ASM, ACTEX, GOAL, the Infinite Actuary). Most actuaries earn their first ASA/ACAS within 4–6 years of starting their career and Fellowship within 7–10 years.

The same job goes by several names in salary surveys and job postings:

• Actuary salary / actuarial analyst salary / actuarial pay
• Actuarial associate salary / senior actuarial analyst pay
• ASA salary / FSA salary / Fellow of the Society of Actuaries pay
• ACAS salary / FCAS salary / Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society pay
• Pricing actuary salary / reserving actuary pay / valuation actuary salary
• Life actuary salary / health actuary pay / P&C actuary salary
• Pension actuary salary / retirement actuary pay
• Consulting actuary salary / Milliman/WTW/Mercer/Aon actuary pay
• Chief actuary salary / Appointed Actuary pay / Chief Reserving Actuary salary

All of these reference SOC code 15-2011 (Actuaries) in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey — the data source used throughout this site.

Compensation Structure: Base, Exam Bonus, Annual Bonus, and Chief Actuary Track

Actuary compensation is heavily structured around exam progression and credential tier. Most actuaries at competitive employers receive base salary plus exam-pass bonus plus annual performance bonus:

• Entry-level actuarial analyst (0–2 years, 0–3 exams): $70,000–$95,000 base + $2,500–$5,000 per exam passed + 5–10% annual bonus.
• Actuarial associate (3–5 years, 4–7 exams, near ASA/ACAS): $90,000–$130,000 base + $5,000–$8,000 per exam passed + 8–15% annual bonus.
• ASA / ACAS-credentialed actuary (5–8 years, recently credentialed): $115,000–$170,000 base + 10–20% annual bonus. The ASA/ACAS credential typically triggers a $15,000–$25,000 base step.
• FSA / FCAS-credentialed actuary (8–12 years, recently Fellow): $155,000–$240,000 base + 15–25% annual bonus. The Fellow credential typically triggers a $25,000–$50,000+ base step.
• Senior FSA / FCAS actuary (12+ years, manager+): $200,000–$320,000+ base + 20–30% annual bonus.
• Director / VP-level actuary at insurance company: $260,000–$420,000+ base + 25–40% bonus + LTI (long-term incentives at public insurers).
• Chief Actuary / Appointed Actuary at major insurer: $400,000–$900,000+ total compensation depending on company size; reaches the very top of the SOC distribution.
• Consulting (Milliman, WTW, Mercer, Aon, Oliver Wyman, Deloitte Consulting Actuarial, EY Actuarial): base + bonus structures slightly above insurance-company pay at senior levels; partner / managing director track at top consulting firms reaches $500,000–$1,500,000+.
• Reinsurance (Munich Re, Swiss Re, RGA, SCOR, Hannover Re, PartnerRe): competitive total compensation reflecting smaller talent pool and global mobility.
• Government and quasi-government (CMS actuaries, SSA actuaries, state insurance department actuaries, PBGC): $90,000–$220,000 on GS pay scale with strong pension and PSLF.
• Tech and data science adjacent (insurance carriers shifting to predictive analytics; insurtech employers — Lemonade, Root, Hippo): emerging segment; competitive total compensation with equity components at some employers.

Total compensation typically includes paid study time (4–8 hours/week during exam season), exam-pass bonuses ($2,500–$10,000 per exam), exam-prep material reimbursement (Coaching Actuaries, ASM, ACTEX, the Infinite Actuary, GOAL), SOA/CAS membership dues, CE budget, and 401(k) match. Many employers also include a defined-benefit pension or generous defined-contribution plan reflecting the insurance industry's long-term-employment culture.

2026 Actuary Salary Projection

Actuary pay has grown at a compound annual rate of 3.20% over the past five years, driven by the structurally constrained credentialing pipeline (5–10 exams across 7–10 years), strong demand from the U.S. insurance industry, expanding consulting demand at Milliman, WTW, Mercer, Aon, and Oliver Wyman, growing demand for predictive-analytics-skilled actuaries (Python, R, machine learning) at insurance companies, and the shift of healthcare actuarial work into health-economics consulting and value-based-care analytics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment for Actuaries to grow 22% through 2033 — much faster than the average for all U.S. occupations — keeping strong upward pressure on wages, especially for credentialed FSA/FCAS actuaries with predictive-analytics fluency.

A chief actuary at a major U.S. life insurer can earn six to eight times what an entry-level actuarial analyst with 1 exam passed takes home. Four factors explain almost all of that gap: credential tier (exam progression and ASA/ACAS/FSA/FCAS), specialty track (life/health vs P&C vs pension vs consulting), employer type, and location and insurance-hub concentration.

1. Credential Tier: The Single Largest Pay Driver

The single biggest pay-shaping driver for an actuary is credential tier — the number of exams passed and progression through the SOA/CAS credentialing pipeline. Actuary career compensation grows in well-defined steps tied to exam passes and credential attainment:

• 0–3 exams passed (entry-level actuarial analyst) — pay near the 10th–25th percentile of the SOC.
• 4–6 exams passed (actuarial associate) — pay near the median; exam-pass bonuses accumulate.
• ASA (Associate of the Society of Actuaries) or ACAS (Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society) — major step change in compensation; typically $15,000–$25,000 base salary jump.
• FSA (Fellow of the Society of Actuaries) or FCAS (Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society) — second major step change; typically $25,000–$50,000+ base salary jump and access to senior actuary / actuarial manager roles.
• FSA + specialty track (Life Finance & ERM, Investment & Finance, Group and Health, Individual Life and Annuities, Quantitative Finance and Investment, Retirement Benefits, Corporate Finance & ERM, General Insurance, Predictive Analytics) — Fellowship specialty supports specific role placement.
• CERA (Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst) — joint SOA/global ERM credential; supports risk-management specialty roles.
• Multiple credentials (FSA + FCAS, or FSA + CFA, or FSA + JD) — rare combination; reaches the very top of the SOC distribution.

Exam progression accelerates pay growth in a way few other professions match. Most insurance employers and consulting firms pay $2,500–$10,000 per exam passed plus a base-salary step increase, and reaching Associate (ASA/ACAS) and Fellow (FSA/FCAS) trigger meaningful step changes.

2. Specialty Track: Life/Health vs P&C vs Pension vs Predictive Analytics

The two professional societies divide the U.S. actuarial profession along specialty lines:

• SOA Life and Annuity Actuaries — pricing and product development for individual life insurance, annuities, structured settlements; senior FSAs at major life insurers (Prudential, MetLife, New York Life, Northwestern Mutual, Lincoln, Pacific Life) reach the top of the SOC distribution.
• SOA Health Actuaries — pricing, reserving, valuation for health insurance, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid managed care; strong demand at major health insurers (UnitedHealthcare, Anthem/Elevance, Cigna, Aetna/CVS, Humana, Centene) and at health-actuarial consulting (Milliman, WTW, Oliver Wyman, Deloitte).
• SOA Retirement Actuaries (pension) — defined-benefit pension valuation, funded-status analysis, ERISA compliance; demand at pension consulting (WTW, Mercer, Aon, Milliman) plus single-employer pension plans plus PBGC.
• SOA Investment & Finance / Quantitative Finance and Investment Actuaries — investment risk management, hedging, ALM, derivative pricing; demand at major insurers' investment departments, reinsurance, and quantitative finance roles adjacent to traditional actuarial.
• CAS Property & Casualty Actuaries — pricing, reserving, predictive modeling for personal lines (auto, homeowners), commercial lines, workers' comp, and reinsurance. FCAS-credentialed actuaries at major P&C insurers (State Farm, Allstate, Progressive, Travelers, Liberty Mutual, GEICO, USAA, Nationwide) and at P&C consulting (Milliman, WTW, Oliver Wyman).
• Predictive Analytics specialty — emerging high-pay segment combining traditional actuarial skills with machine learning, Python/R, and modern data infrastructure; supports premium pay at insurtech employers (Lemonade, Root, Hippo) and at major carriers shifting to predictive-analytics-driven pricing.
• Reinsurance specialty (life, health, P&C) — major reinsurers (Munich Re, Swiss Re, RGA, SCOR, Hannover Re, PartnerRe, Berkshire Hathaway Re) employ specialty actuaries with global mobility and strong total compensation.

3. Employer Type

Beyond credential tier and specialty, employer type matters substantially:

• Major life/health/P&C insurance carriers — the broadest employer category. Established career paths from analyst through Chief Actuary; defined-benefit pensions at some employers.
• Reinsurance companies (Munich Re, Swiss Re, RGA, SCOR, Hannover Re, PartnerRe, Berkshire Hathaway Re) — competitive total compensation reflecting smaller talent pool and global mobility.
• Actuarial consulting firms (Milliman, WTW, Mercer, Aon, Oliver Wyman) — high reliable pay through manager + director levels; partner-track / managing-director compensation at top firms reaches the highest pay bands in the profession.
• Big 4 consulting actuarial practices (Deloitte Consulting Actuarial, EY Actuarial, KPMG Actuarial, PwC Actuarial) — competitive base + bonus structures; consulting partner-track equivalent compensation.
• Government and quasi-government actuaries (CMS Office of the Actuary, SSA Office of the Chief Actuary, state insurance department actuaries, PBGC) — stable pay on GS pay scale with strong pension and PSLF; meaningful policy-impact roles.
• Investment management actuaries — major insurers' investment departments, pension fund investment teams, insurance asset managers (BlackRock Insurance, Apollo, KKR, Brookfield).
• Insurtech employers (Lemonade, Root, Hippo, Next Insurance, Hippo) — emerging segment with equity components and predictive-analytics-driven roles.
• Self-employed consulting actuary — established consulting practices specializing in niche markets (Native American tribal pensions, captive insurance, alternative risk transfer); pay distribution wide.

4. Location and Insurance-Hub Concentration

Metropolitan areas with high costs of living offer the highest nominal actuary salaries, but the geography of actuarial employment is more concentrated than for most professions:

• Hartford, Connecticut — historic U.S. insurance capital; concentrates The Hartford, Travelers, Aetna/CVS, Lincoln, MassMutual, and Cigna actuarial employment.
• New York City and Tri-State metro — concentrates major life insurance, reinsurance, and consulting actuarial employment (MetLife, New York Life, Prudential, Munich Re, Swiss Re).
• Chicago — Allstate, CNA, Zurich North America, Aon, and Milliman headquarters; strong P&C and consulting concentration.
• Boston — Liberty Mutual, MassMutual; consulting and life insurance actuarial concentration.
• Des Moines, Iowa — Principal Financial Group, Athene, Nationwide, Voya; major life and annuity actuarial hub.
• Columbus, Ohio — Nationwide, Grange, AssuredPartners; strong P&C and life concentration.
• Philadelphia metro — Lincoln, Cigna, AmeriHealth.
• San Francisco Bay Area — emerging actuarial hub for insurtech (Lemonade, Hippo, Root) and big tech adjacent to actuarial work (Google Health, etc.).
• Remote-work normalization — actuarial work is highly remote-friendly post-2020; senior FSAs and FCAS-credentialed actuaries at consulting firms increasingly work from any state at metro-tier base pay.
• Cost-of-living arbitrage — actuaries in moderate-cost metros (Des Moines, Columbus, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati) capture insurance-hub-tier pay at substantially lower personal expenses.

For a complete city-by-city breakdown of actuary salaries — including BLS percentile data (10th, 25th, 50th/median, 75th, 90th), local cost-of-living adjustments, and 2026 salary projections — browse the 1,661+ metro areas tracked in our dataset below.