Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020
13-2053 Insurance Underwriters
Review individual applications for insurance to evaluate degree of risk involved and determine acceptance of applications.
National estimates for Insurance Underwriters
Industry profile for Insurance Underwriters
Geographic profile for Insurance Underwriters
National estimates for Insurance Underwriters:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Insurance Underwriters:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 101,790 |
2.3 % |
$ 38.65 |
$ 80,390 |
0.9 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Insurance Underwriters:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 20.78 |
$ 26.37 |
$ 34.51 |
$ 47.03 |
$ 62.28 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 43,210 |
$ 54,850 |
$ 71,790 |
$ 97,820 |
$ 129,550 |
Industry profile for Insurance Underwriters:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Insurance Underwriters are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Insurance Underwriters, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Insurance Underwriters:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Insurance Carriers |
56,120 |
4.65 |
$ 39.22 |
$ 81,590 |
| Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities |
31,890 |
2.67 |
$ 38.10 |
$ 79,240 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
4,380 |
0.18 |
$ 35.95 |
$ 74,770 |
| Nondepository Credit Intermediation |
2,600 |
0.45 |
$ 38.94 |
$ 80,990 |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (5221 and 5223 only) |
2,480 |
0.12 |
$ 36.95 |
$ 76,850 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Insurance Underwriters:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Insurance Carriers |
56,120 |
4.65 |
$ 39.22 |
$ 81,590 |
| Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities |
31,890 |
2.67 |
$ 38.10 |
$ 79,240 |
| Nondepository Credit Intermediation |
2,600 |
0.45 |
$ 38.94 |
$ 80,990 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
4,380 |
0.18 |
$ 35.95 |
$ 74,770 |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (5221 and 5223 only) |
2,480 |
0.12 |
$ 36.95 |
$ 76,850 |
Top paying industries for Insurance Underwriters:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities |
810 |
0.09 |
$ 48.45 |
$ 100,770 |
| Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services |
40 |
(7) |
$ 42.34 |
$ 88,060 |
| Office Administrative Services |
180 |
0.04 |
$ 41.68 |
$ 86,690 |
| Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 41.06 |
$ 85,410 |
| Legal Services |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 40.85 |
$ 84,960 |
Geographic profile for Insurance Underwriters:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Insurance Underwriters are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Insurance Underwriters, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Insurance Underwriters:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
9,890 |
0.60 |
0.82 |
$ 40.68 |
$ 84,610 |
| Texas |
7,820 |
0.65 |
0.88 |
$ 36.23 |
$ 75,350 |
| Illinois |
7,150 |
1.27 |
1.74 |
$ 37.34 |
$ 77,660 |
| New York |
7,100 |
0.82 |
1.12 |
$ 50.11 |
$ 104,230 |
| Florida |
6,830 |
0.81 |
1.11 |
$ 33.71 |
$ 70,120 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Insurance Underwriters:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Connecticut |
3,370 |
2.19 |
2.99 |
$ 43.28 |
$ 90,030 |
| Nebraska |
1,500 |
1.59 |
2.17 |
$ 32.93 |
$ 68,500 |
| Georgia |
6,600 |
1.53 |
2.09 |
$ 39.99 |
$ 83,190 |
| Iowa |
1,890 |
1.29 |
1.76 |
$ 33.63 |
$ 69,960 |
| Illinois |
7,150 |
1.27 |
1.74 |
$ 37.34 |
$ 77,660 |
Top paying states for Insurance Underwriters:
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Insurance Underwriters:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
7,560 |
0.86 |
1.17 |
$ 49.63 |
$ 103,240 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
5,900 |
2.24 |
3.06 |
$ 40.57 |
$ 84,380 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
4,870 |
1.12 |
1.52 |
$ 41.41 |
$ 86,130 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
3,970 |
0.68 |
0.93 |
$ 40.39 |
$ 84,010 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
3,870 |
1.08 |
1.47 |
$ 36.74 |
$ 76,420 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
3,040 |
1.13 |
1.54 |
$ 43.73 |
$ 90,950 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT |
2,320 |
4.22 |
5.77 |
$ 42.13 |
$ 87,630 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
1,970 |
0.79 |
1.08 |
$ 32.69 |
$ 68,000 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,790 |
0.77 |
1.05 |
$ 45.59 |
$ 94,820 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
1,690 |
0.80 |
1.09 |
$ 36.94 |
$ 76,830 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Insurance Underwriters:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Bloomington, IL |
1,540 |
18.68 |
25.53 |
$ 27.34 |
$ 56,870 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT |
2,320 |
4.22 |
5.77 |
$ 42.13 |
$ 87,630 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA |
1,230 |
3.46 |
4.73 |
$ 34.61 |
$ 72,000 |
| Lansing-East Lansing, MI |
670 |
3.40 |
4.64 |
$ 30.57 |
$ 63,590 |
| Columbia, MO |
290 |
3.28 |
4.48 |
$ 30.73 |
$ 63,910 |
| Portland-South Portland, ME |
470 |
2.38 |
3.25 |
$ 35.92 |
$ 74,720 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
5,900 |
2.24 |
3.06 |
$ 40.57 |
$ 84,380 |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA |
1,060 |
2.23 |
3.05 |
$ 33.38 |
$ 69,440 |
| Lincoln, NE |
370 |
2.10 |
2.87 |
$ 31.63 |
$ 65,790 |
| Cedar Rapids, IA |
280 |
2.08 |
2.84 |
$ 31.43 |
$ 65,360 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Insurance Underwriters:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 57.22 |
$ 119,010 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 52.43 |
$ 109,060 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill, NC |
70 |
0.24 |
0.32 |
$ 50.71 |
$ 105,470 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
7,560 |
0.86 |
1.17 |
$ 49.63 |
$ 103,240 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 47.93 |
$ 99,700 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
1,580 |
0.61 |
0.83 |
$ 46.19 |
$ 96,080 |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY |
490 |
0.99 |
1.36 |
$ 46.16 |
$ 96,000 |
| Syracuse, NY |
200 |
0.72 |
0.99 |
$ 45.70 |
$ 95,050 |
| Fargo, ND-MN |
60 |
0.41 |
0.56 |
$ 45.66 |
$ 94,970 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,790 |
0.77 |
1.05 |
$ 45.59 |
$ 94,820 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Insurance Underwriters:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Insurance Underwriters:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Insurance Underwriters:
About May 2020 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021
United States Department of Labor
