Careers / Actuaries

Actuaries — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$130,000

United States, 2025

Employment

26,670

United States, 2025

Typical education

Not recorded

Job Zone 4

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

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.

O*NET code
15-2011.00
Job zone
4
Experience required
None

Typical tasks

  • Analyze data to determine premium rates required and cash reserves and liabilities necessary to ensure payment of future benefits.
  • Analyze statistical information to estimate mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates.
  • Design, review, and help administer insurance, annuity and pension plans, determining financial soundness and calculating premiums.
  • 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.
  • Provide advice to clients on a contract basis, working as a consultant.
  • Determine, or help determine, company policy, and explain complex technical matters to company executives, government officials, shareholders, policyholders, or the public.
  • Construct probability tables for events such as fires, natural disasters, and unemployment, based on analysis of statistical data and other pertinent information.
  • Determine equitable basis for distributing surplus earnings under participating insurance and annuity contracts in mutual companies.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$78,570
10th
$97,680
25th
$130,000
Median
$170,650
75th
$215,100
90th

10th percentile

$78,570

25th percentile

$97,680

75th percentile

$170,650

90th percentile

$215,100

Most important skills

  • Mathematics4.4
  • Reading Comprehension4.1
  • Complex Problem Solving4.0
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Critical Thinking4.0
  • Judgment and Decision Making4.0
  • Writing3.9
  • Speaking3.9
  • Systems Evaluation3.9
  • Systems Analysis3.8
  • Active Learning3.4
  • Operations Analysis3.1

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 18 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

18

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Mathematics4.45.0Not selected5.0
Reading Comprehension4.14.9Not selected4.9
Complex Problem Solving4.04.9Not selected4.9
Critical Thinking4.04.9Not selected4.9
Judgment and Decision Making4.04.8Not selected4.8
Systems Evaluation3.94.6Not selected4.6
Systems Analysis3.84.8Not selected4.8
Speaking3.94.3Not selected4.3
Active Listening4.04.1Not selected4.1
Writing3.94.0Not selected4.0
Active Learning3.43.9Not selected3.9
Time Management3.03.5Not selected3.5
Monitoring3.03.5Not selected3.5
Negotiation3.03.3Not selected3.3
Operations Analysis3.13.0Not selected3.0
Service Orientation3.03.0Not selected3.0
Coordination3.03.0Not selected3.0
Social Perceptiveness3.03.0Not selected3.0

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
Bridgeport, CT$194,1302202025
San Francisco, CA$175,3302202025
CT$166,8001,3802025
Hartford, CT$166,8009602025
DC$166,2301602025
Las Vegas, NV$163,350802025
New York, NY$161,4602,7802025
NY$156,4802,6302025
Washington, DC$144,6805202025
Waterbury, CT$143,430302025
NJ$142,8001,2602025
Raleigh, NC$142,1801202025
New Haven, CT$141,020402025
Miami, FL$139,8103102025
Phoenix, AZ$138,5701702025
Portland, ME$138,220502025
AL$136,9501902025
AZ$135,8702002025
Madison, WI$135,3301702025
Seattle, WA$134,7202302025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Actuaries to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.