Side-by-side distribution
Accountant
$85,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 28.3%
- Live roles
- 3,515
Actuary
$135,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 54.8%
- Live roles
- 416
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Accountant Expert
Corporate / Controllership Accountant
Managed Services - Private Asr - Senior Accountant
Forensic Accountant Specialist
Senior Accountant
Lead Tax Accountant, Tax Audit & Compliance
Senior Forward Deployed Accountant
Sr. Accountant
Sr. Accountant, AI Operations
Senior Technical Accountant
Highest-paying jobs
VP, Actuary - Pricing and Product Analytics
Chief Pricing Actuary – Global Wholesale and Specialty
Vice President, Actuary - Life, Absence and Disability Benefits (LAD)
Chief Actuary
Vice President Chief Actuary
Senior Health Actuary
Director, P&C Pricing and Reserving Actuary
AVP, Actuary - Group Benefits and Pet
Vice President, Pricing Actuary
Chief Actuary
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
BDO Canada
|
$79,000 | 28 |
Supporting Strategies
|
$70,200 | 14 |
Cushman & Wakefield
|
$58,275 | 11 |
Hunt St
|
$24,005 | 11 |
CoreWeave
|
$114,000 | 10 |
Colliers International
|
$73,906 | 10 |
Anduril Industries
|
$118,000 | 8 |
| TS Tempur Sealy | $80,750 | 8 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Pacific Life
|
$186,300 | 15 |
Health Care Service Corporation
|
$136,625 | 14 |
AIG
|
$134,500 | 14 |
| NL National Life Insurance Company | $150,313 | 10 |
At-Bay
|
$147,500 | 10 |
|
The Hartford
|
$137,750 | 8 |
| MA Marsh | $133,375 | 8 |
| TB TD Bank | $115,000 | 8 |
Accountant salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $120,000 | 48 |
| Seattle | $103,222 | 6 |
| New York | $102,125 | 84 |
| Boston | $101,750 | 17 |
| Atlanta | $101,750 | 5 |
| Austin | $98,402 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | $95,000 | 23 |
| Chicago | $91,088 | 46 |
| Denver | $90,450 | 28 |
| London | $79,000 | 3 |
Actuary salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $151,700 | 18 |
| Los Angeles | $151,700 | 6 |
| Boston | $143,150 | 27 |
| Atlanta | $140,500 | 20 |
| Seattle | $139,500 | 7 |
| Chicago | $139,500 | 47 |
| New York | $137,500 | 45 |
| London | $135,000 | 3 |
| Denver | $111,375 | 8 |
| Toronto | $104,500 | 19 |
Accountant vs Actuary: which pays more?
The median for Accountant is $85,000 per year (typically $70,000–$104,600), versus $135,000 for Actuary ($102,371–$170,000). That puts Actuary about 59% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Accountant and Actuary are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.