Life Actuary Salary

Median Salary

$149,150

Middle 50% Range

$115,000 – $188,542

P25 – P75

Job Postings

1,290

with salary data

Latest Data

Oct 2026

Salary Distribution

Under $50k

28 (2%)

$50k–$75k

76 (6%)

$75k–$100k

115 (9%)

$100k–$125k

163 (13%)

$125k–$150k

300 (23%)

$150k–$175k

179 (14%)

$175k–$200k

162 (13%)

$200k–$250k

182 (14%)

$250k–$300k

77 (6%)

$300k+

8 (1%)

Based on 1,290 job postings with salary data.

Salary by Experience Level

Segment	Median	P25 – P75	Postings
Vice President	$241,100	$188,875 – $260,000	72
Director	$200,000	$185,000 – $223,800	174
Manager	$172,000	$148,500 – $220,250	171
Senior Manager	$170,562	$147,500 – $267,650	100
Individual Contributor	$133,050	$105,250 – $151,550	652
Intern	$57,200	$52,488 – $67,600	84

Salary by State

Segment	Median	P25 – P75	Postings
California	$186,300	$149,150 – $220,900	129
Nebraska	$186,300	$138,541 – $195,500	26
Pennsylvania	$185,000	$185,000 – $185,000	1
Nevada	$184,700	$149,150 – $232,100	4
Florida	$182,575	$149,150 – $255,800	22
DC	$180,000	$147,500 – $212,500	4
Indiana	$179,900	$171,838 – $214,588	8
Ohio	$172,000	$148,000 – $205,500	56
Oregon	$166,250	$112,062 – $191,875	35
Tennessee	$165,825	$135,000 – $188,750	14

Life actuary salary summary

Acturhire currently tracks 1,290 Life actuarial job postings with disclosed salary data. The median salary is $149,150. The middle 50% of postings fall between $115,000 to $188,542, which is often a more useful planning range than a single average.

What affects Life actuarial compensation

Life pay is influenced by role seniority, credential expectations, technical specialization, regulatory complexity, employer type, and whether the role owns pricing, reserving, valuation, modeling, or client-facing work.

How to compare this specialty

Within the available data, California has the highest median compensation at $186,300. Use the experience-level and state breakdowns to separate a true specialty premium from differences in seniority or location mix.

Relevant job postings

Open a role to review the full requirements and compensation details.

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Common Life Actuarial Roles and Credentials

Life actuarial compensation depends on the work being priced, modeled, reserved, valued, or advised on. Seniority, credential expectations, regulatory complexity, and client or stakeholder ownership can all move pay materially within the same specialty.

Common credential signals in this dataset include FSA, ASA, Student_CAS_SOA, Other_US_Actuarial. Use the level and state breakdowns above to understand whether a salary difference is driven by credentials, geography, or seniority.

Related Salary Data

Life salary by level

Life salary by state

Compare actuarial specialties

Filter by experience level, location, and more for Life roles.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What do Life actuaries earn?

Based on 1,290 job postings on Acturhire, the median salary for Life actuaries is $149,150. The middle 50% of Life roles pay between $115,000 and $188,542.

How does Life pay compare to other actuarial specialties?

Life actuaries have a median salary of $149,150, compared with a national median of $138,250 across all Acturhire salary postings. Use the specialty pages to compare Life against P&C, Life, Health, and Retirement compensation.

Which states pay Life actuaries the most?

Among states with sufficient data, California reports the highest median salary for Life actuaries at $186,300.

What designations do Life actuaries typically hold?

Life actuaries commonly hold designations such as ACAS/FCAS (casualty), ASA/FSA (life/health), or EA (pension/retirement), depending on the specialty. Requirements vary by role and seniority.

Do Life actuaries make more than other actuarial specialties?

Compensation varies by seniority and location as much as by specialty. Compare the Life benchmark with P&C, Life, Health, and Retirement salary pages to see whether the difference comes from specialty mix or role level.