Actuaries Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $97K, rent takes 25.1% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,519/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new actuaries typically earn — is $63K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,751/month. At HUD’s $1,519/month FMR, rent would take 40% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 25% below the national median — $97K here vs. $130K nationally.

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood pays $97K median vs. the U.S. average of $130K — that’s -25%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.55), the purchasing-power equivalent is $102K — below the national median.

The median is $97,210 a year, that works out to about $47 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $62,520, and experienced actuaries can clear $164,770. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $6,054/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,519/month, which eats 25.1% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood has a Regional Price Parity of 95.55 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median actuaries salary is worth about $101,737 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.