The Average Starting Salary for Actuaries
Actuaries are risk assessors for companies and insurance agencies. They analyze statistical data and financial reports to estimate the likely cost of events like death, injury or property loss to a company or organization. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 18,220 actuaries working in the United States as of May 2008. Earnings are dependent on a number of factors, including industry and geographic location.
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Starting Salary
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According to a May 2010 salary survey conducted by Payscale.com, the median expected annual salary for actuaries with less than one year of work experience falls between $45,342 and $55,978. A separate report by the same company places the median expected hourly wage range for starting actuaries at $15.08 through $23.75.
Salary Increases
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The salaries for actuaries tend to increase steadily along with work experience. According to the Payscale.com report, the median expected hourly wage for actuaries with between one and four years of work experience falls between $50,797 and $69,828. That salary range increases to $73,103 through $103,826 for actuaries with between five and nine years of work experience. Those who have been on the job for between 10 and 19 years can expect to bring home between $92,748 and $140,528.
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Average Salaries
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According to a May 2008 report by the BLS, the mean annual wage for actuaries with all levels of work experience was $95,980. That works out to a mean hourly wage of $46.14. The median 50 percent brought home between $62,020 and $119,110 annually. The 10 percent of actuaries who earned the highest incomes made upward of $160,780 per year. The lowest-earning tenth made less than $49,150. A June 2009 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers places the average annual starting salaries for job applicants with a bachelor's degree in actuarial science at $56,320.
Industry
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Among the many factors that influence the average and starting salaries of actuaries is the industry in which they are employed. According to a May 2008 BLS report, actuaries working in the management, scientific and technical services industry earned a mean annual wage of $110,980. Those employed by insurance carriers made $92,660, while actuaries in what the BLS classifies as the "management of companies and enterprises" industry bring home $92,280 annually. Actuaries in the insurance and employee benefit funds industry make a mean annual wage of $99,740. The federal executive branch pays its actuaries a mean annual salary of $103,570.
Geographic Location
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Geographic location is another factor that can impact earnings of actuaries. In general, actuaries who work in metropolitan areas earn higher salaries than their counterparts who work in nonmetropolitan areas, where the cost of living is relatively lower. According to a May 2008 BLS report, the highest-paid actuaries lived in New Mexico and Pennsylvania. The mean annual wage for actuaries in those states were $115,550 and $114,100, respectively.
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