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The national median salary for Insurance Underwriters is $81,370 per year ($39.12/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $64,626 and $110,386 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $145,163 per year. There are approximately 105,420 insurance underwriters employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Review individual applications for insurance to evaluate degree of risk involved and determine acceptance of applications.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
-2.6%
Slower than average
Annual openings
8K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
127K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Bachelor's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Insurance Carriers
NAICS 524100
61K
$81,520
Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities
NAICS 524200
36K
$81,060
Management of Companies and Enterprises
NAICS 551100
3K
$82,680
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999200
700
$69,460
Nondepository Credit Intermediation
NAICS 522200
570
$93,210
Wage range across top 5 industries: $69,460 to $93,210 (34% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$26.70
$55,536
P25
$31.07
$64,626
P50MEDIAN
$39.12
$81,370
P75
$53.07
$110,386
P90
$69.79
$145,163
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · finance sector
Hot
Openings Rate
6.0%
Quits Rate
1.2%
Finance and Insurance openings surged to 428K (+98K) in March, pushing the openings rate to 6.0% -- the highest in any major sector. Quits ticked up to 1.2%. Demand for finance talent has reaccelerated sharply.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average insurance underwriters salary?
The national median salary for Insurance Underwriters is $81,370 per year ($39.12/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $64,626 and $110,386 annually.
How much do top-earning insurance underwriters make?
The 90th percentile salary for Insurance Underwriters is $145,163 per year ($69.79/hr). The 75th percentile is $110,386 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for insurance underwriters?
Entry-level Insurance Underwriters (10th percentile) earn approximately $55,536 per year ($26.70/hr). The 25th percentile is $64,626 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.