Actuarial Science Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Actuarial Science maps to BLS occupations averaging about $111,866, with roughly 211,810 workers nationwide in those roles. About 1,082 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median in-state published tuition is about $11,679.
Key Statistics
Actuarial Science: what the data shows
Common questions about actuarial science degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a actuarial science degree?
A Actuarial Science program is classified under NCES CIP 52.1304 in the Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods field family (52.13).
A program that focuses on the mathematical and statistical analysis of risk, and their applications to insurance and other business management problems. Includes instruction in forecasting theory, quantitative and non-quantitative risk measurement methodologies, development of risk tables, secondary data analysis, and computer-assisted research methods
IPEDS counted 1,082 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of actuarial science degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 52.13 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Business Statistics (CIP 52.1302)
- Management Science (CIP 52.1301)
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other (CIP 52.1399)
How long does it take to get a actuarial science degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 52.1304 in our file:
- 1,082 Bachelor's (82.3% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 232 Master's (17.7% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Biological Scientists, All Other (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 52.1304, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a actuarial science degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Actuarial Science to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Biological Scientists, All Other | 59,710 | $93,330 |
| Soil and Plant Scientists | 16,600 | $71,410 |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | 84,930 | $80,060 |
| Conservation Scientists | 25,590 | $67,950 |
| Animal Scientists | 2,470 | $79,120 |
| Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | 22,510 | $99,240 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a actuarial science degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods bachelor's program family: median debt $29,826, median earnings $86,176 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.50.
About 3.0% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $11,679 and median net price is $19,555.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Actuarial Science and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$11,679 Median In-State Public
$45,920 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Actuarial Science majors are, on average, $11,679 for in-state public colleges, and $45,920 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Actuarial Science programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Actuarial Science from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Actuarial Science.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 2 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 3 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 4 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 5 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Actuarial Science programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles City College | CA | $1,238 |
| 2 | Los Angeles City College | CA | $1,238 |
| 3 | Central New Mexico Community College | NM | $2,060 |
| 4 | Central New Mexico Community College | NM | $2,060 |
| 5 | Wake Technical Community College | NC | $2,254 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Actuarial Science programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | NY | $3,033 |
| 2 | CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | NY | $3,033 |
| 3 | CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | NY | $3,033 |
| 4 | Washtenaw Community College | MI | $3,249 |
| 5 | CUNY City College | NY | $3,776 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Actuarial Science programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Actuarial Science programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Actuarial Science is in IN (120 completions). That state represents about 11.1% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is WI (0.14% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| IN | 120 | 11.1% | 0.12% |
| WI | 110 | 10.2% | 0.14% |
| PA | 105 | 9.7% | 0.06% |
| IL | 84 | 7.8% | 0.06% |
| MI | 69 | 6.4% | 0.06% |
| OH | 66 | 6.1% | 0.05% |
| IA | 58 | 5.4% | 0.12% |
| CT | 53 | 4.9% | 0.11% |
| FL | 52 | 4.8% | 0.02% |
| NY | 50 | 4.6% | 0.02% |
| CA | 44 | 4.1% | 0.01% |
| NE | 44 | 4.1% | 0.14% |
| TX | 34 | 3.1% | 0.01% |
| MN | 29 | 2.7% | 0.03% |
| TN | 22 | 2.0% | 0.03% |
| MA | 19 | 1.8% | 0.01% |
| MO | 17 | 1.6% | 0.02% |
| NC | 17 | 1.6% | 0.01% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 52.13 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Business Statistics CIP 52.1302
- Management Science CIP 52.1301
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other CIP 52.1399
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 52.1304 in the survey year used in our extract (1,314 total across levels below).
- 1,082 Bachelor's (82.3% of IPEDS total)
- 232 Master's (17.7% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $111,866. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Actuarial Science graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Biological Scientists, All Other | $124,288 | 59,710 |
| Soil and Plant Scientists | $94,151 | 16,600 |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | $110,339 | 84,930 |
| Conservation Scientists | $90,227 | 25,590 |
| Animal Scientists | — | 2,470 |
| Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | $122,337 | 22,510 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods CIP family (50 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Actuarial Science graduate.
- $29,826 median federal loan debt among completers
- $86,176 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.50 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 3.0% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$111,866 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Actuarial Science majors is $111,866.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Actuarial Science majors.
Occupations by Share
211,810 2023 Workforce
The number of Actuarial Science graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Actuarial Science by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Actuarial Science in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Actuarial Science.
Age distribution for Actuarial Science degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
1,082 Total Degrees Awarded
678 Male (62.66%)
404 Female (37.34%)
Gender distribution of Actuarial Science degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
676 White (62.48%)
118 Asian (10.91%)
62 Hispanic or Latino (5.73%)
38 Two or More Races (3.51%)
26 Black or African American (2.40%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Actuarial Science degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Actuarial Science are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Actuarial Science.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Actuarial Science field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Actuarial Science majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Actuarial Science majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Actuarial Science majors.
About
A program that focuses on the mathematical and statistical analysis of risk, and their applications to insurance and other business management problems. Includes instruction in forecasting theory, quantitative and non-quantitative risk measurement methodologies, development of risk tables, secondary data analysis, and computer-assisted research methods
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Actuarial Science.
CIP Code
52.1304 - Actuarial Science
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $29,826 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $86,176, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.50. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Actuarial Science graduate.
Men earned 37.6% of 1,363 Actuarial Science completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $111,866. The largest mapped role by headcount is Biological Scientists, All Other (59,710 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $11,679 in-state at public colleges and $45,920 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.