Wage range and the certification path
BLS data for May 2025 shows a median annual actuary salary of $130,000, or $62.50 an hour. What stands out in this occupation more than most is the size of the gap between the 10th and 90th percentile: $78,570 at the low end versus $215,100 at the high end, a difference of more than $136,000. That is a wider percentile spread than most professional occupations BLS tracks.
Actuaries advance through SOA or CAS examinations, progressing toward Associate (ASA/ACAS) and Fellow (FSA/FCAS) credentials. BLS says associate-level certification can take up to seven years, with several more years for fellowship. Employers may award raises or bonuses when employees pass exams. That describes one pay practice; it does not establish exams as the main cause of the national percentile spread or rank their effect against tenure, geography or employer.
Pay by industry
BLS breaks out May 2025 actuary wages by industry: finance and insurance paid the highest median at $131,450, followed by management of companies and enterprises, at $129,810. Government employers (excluding state and local education) paid a median of $129,650, and professional, scientific, and technical services paid $124,130.
This breakdown lists wage medians. Employment shares are a separate measure and need the same reference year before being compared with these pay figures. What this wage breakdown does show clearly is that the highest-paying category, management of companies and enterprises, is not the same as "finance and insurance," the industry most people associate with actuarial work by default.
Employment outlook and another licensed profession
BLS projects 22% employment growth for actuaries from 2025 to 2035, classified as much faster than average, adding roughly 7,300 jobs over the decade. That is one of the stronger growth projections among BLS-tracked professional occupations, driven in large part by insurers' and financial firms' growing use of predictive analytics and enterprise risk management, areas where actuarial training applies directly.
The 22% forecast above describes employment in the 2025–2035 projection, not future wages. Actuarial certification and architectural licensure follow different rules. Architects commonly combine education, supervised professional experience and licensing examinations; exam eligibility and the timing of experience depend on the jurisdiction. The architect pay guide covers that occupation's BLS figures.