Actuaries Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $128K, rent takes 23.1% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,810/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new actuaries typically earn — is $83K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $4,965/month. At HUD’s $1,810/month FMR, rent would take 36% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $128K locally vs. $130K nationally, a 2% difference.

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington pays $128K median vs. the U.S. average of $130K — that’s -2%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 102.55), the purchasing-power equivalent is $125K — below the national median.

The median is $127,770 a year, that works out to about $61 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $82,750, and experienced actuaries can clear $218,360. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $7,847/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,810/month, which eats 23.1% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington has a Regional Price Parity of 102.55 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median actuaries salary is worth about $124,593 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.