Actuary Salary in Houston, TX: Median $79,020 in 2026
Houston (TX) · COL index 101 · Unemployment 4.2% · Metro pop 7,470,000 · Rank #127 of 283 for Actuary salary
A Actuary in Houston earns an estimated median of $79,020 per year. That figure starts from the Texas state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($76,000) and scales it by Houston's composite cost-of-living index of 101 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $43,877; the 90th percentile reaches $138,191. After federal, Texas state (no state income tax), and FICA taxes, a single-filer Actuary takes home approximately $64,142/year — about $5,345/month or $2,467 every other week.
Compared to the national Actuary median of $120,000, Houston pays -34.2%. Relative to the Houston median household income of $67,800, a Actuarysalary runs +16.5%. Local unemployment is 4.2%[3], with an estimated 95 annual Actuary openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (28,400).
Actuary Snapshot — Houston (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Houston | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actuary median salary | $79,020 | $120,000 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $43,877 | $88,030 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $138,191 | $213,900 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $64,142 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $307,493 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,610/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,475/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $80,458 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 101.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 4.2% | — | [3] |
How Actuary Salaries Work in Houston
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Texas state-level OEWS median ($76,000) and scaling by Houston's composite cost-of-living index (101)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and no Texas state income tax — a meaningful wedge worth $3,951–$5,531 per year vs average-tax states[10].
Houston also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. Near-national unemployment means a balanced market — employers and candidates negotiate from roughly equal positions. Median household income in the metro is $80,458, which frames what "a good Actuary salary" means locally: a $$79,020 wage pays about 98% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Actuary Salary & Cost-of-Living Context — Houston
Buy vs rent in Houston
Monthly PITI on the $307,493 median home in Houston is ~$2,429/mo — vs a $1,610/mo median rent. Rent burden on median household income is 24.0%, which falls within the recommended 30% guideline for housing costs.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Houston
Estimated annual expense shares on a $64,142 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Houston's COL index of 101. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Houston's COL index of 101[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,262/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Houston
Renting
Buying
At $5,345/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,604/mo. Houston's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,610/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,475/mo), making rent very affordable on a median Actuary salary. For homebuyers, the 4.0× price-to-income ratio is workable with a strong credit profile and manageable other debts.
How Houston Stacks Up for Actuarys
Against 283 major US cities: Houston ranks #127 for nominal Actuary salary, #137 for rent affordability, and #154 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Houston's nominal wage premium. Actuarys here often trade pay for lifestyle, proximity to employers, or family roots — consider nearby metros on a salary-to-COL basis.
Nearby Cities — Actuary Salary Comparison
Houston's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs TX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston, TX ★ | $79,020 | 101 | $1,262 | — |
| Dallas, TX | $126,000 | 105 | $1,275 | +59.5% |
| San Antonio, TX | $110,400 | 92 | $899 | +39.7% |
| Austin, TX | $145,200 | 121 | $1,300 | +83.8% |
| Fort Worth, TX | $118,800 | 99 | $1,354 | +50.3% |
| El Paso, TX | $100,800 | 84 | $745 | +27.6% |
Actuary Job Market in Houston
Houston has an estimated 95 annual Actuaryopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 28,400 national Actuarys[1]. The 4.2% unemployment rate[3] is near the national average, with steady turnover across most sectors.
Top employers in Houston
About the profession: Actuaries use mathematics and statistics to assess financial risk for insurance companies, pension funds, and other organizations. It is consistently ranked among the best careers in America. Typical entry requirement: bachelor's degree plus professional exams. This is one of the fastest-growing US occupations — 22% projected through 2034[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Houston
Early-career Actuarys in Houston start around $43,877, reach the city median ($79,020) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($138,191) at senior / specialized levels.
Related finance professions in Houston
Calculators for Actuarys in Houston
Other professions in Houston
Frequently Asked Questions — Actuary in Houston
How much does a Actuary make in Houston, TX?
The estimated median salary for a Actuary in Houston is $79,020/year, scaled from the BLS OEWS Texas state median ($76,000) by Houston's composite cost-of-living index of 101 (US = 100). After federal, Texas state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $64,142/year or $5,345/month.
Can a Actuary afford to live in Houston?
On $5,345/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,604/month. Houston's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,610/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,475/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 19.2%, making housing very affordable for a Actuary at the local median. Home-buyers face 4.0× price-to-income, needing roughly 4.0 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Actuary pay in Houston?
On $79,020 gross, a Actuary in Houston pays approximately $8,833 in federal income tax (11.2% effective), $0 in state income tax (Texas has no state individual income tax), and $6,045 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 18.8%. Some Texas cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Houston rank for Actuary salaries vs other cities?
Houston ranks #127 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Actuary salary, #137 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #154 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Actuary in Houston?
On $64,142 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Houston looks like: housing $15,144/yr (23.6%); food $7,743/yr; transportation $6,440/yr; healthcare $4,503/yr; utilities $3,223/yr; savings + discretionary $27,089/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Houston's COL index of 101 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Actuary job market like in Houston?
Houston's unemployment rate is 4.2% across the metro of 7,470,000. Estimated annual Actuary openings: ~95 (extrapolated from 28,400 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The market is near national averages with steady turnover.
Do Houston employers pay above or below the Texas median for Actuarys?
Not consistently — Houston's estimated Actuary median of $79,020 is 34.2% below the national median. The trade-off is usually lower rents and (in some cases) lower state taxes, which can leave real purchasing power competitive.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Houston median is derived from the Texas state-level BLS OEWS median ($76,000), scaled by Houston's composite cost-of-living index of 101. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Actuarymedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses Texas's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 101index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 97.1(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- Texas Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
CalcFi does not sell data. If you spot an error, email hello@calcfi.app with the URL and the correct figure. We review reader corrections within 5 business days.
For personalized calculations, use the Texas Paycheck Calculator.