Actuaries Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $129K, rent takes 26.1% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,922/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 $4,972/month. At HUD’s $1,922/month FMR, rent would take 39% 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 — $129K locally vs. $130K nationally, a 1% difference.

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro pays $129K median vs. the U.S. average of $130K — that’s -1%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 105.42), the purchasing-power equivalent is $122K — below the national median.

The median is $129,100 a year, that works out to about $62 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $82,870, and experienced actuaries can clear $178,210. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $7,351/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,922/month, which eats 26.1% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro has a Regional Price Parity of 105.42 (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 $122,463 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.