Mid-career New York baseline: $110,000. Each city lists local-market pay and a COLI-scaled lifestyle equivalent — the equivalent is not market pay.
| # | City | Local market | Lifestyle equivalent | COLI | Take-Home % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zurich | CHF 64,171 | CHF 109,091 | 122.4 | 62.5% |
| 2 | Geneva | CHF 64,171 | CHF 105,704 | 118.6 | 58.5% |
| 3 | New York | $110,000 | $110,000 | 100.0 | 64.4% |
| 4 | San Francisco | $110,000 | $107,360 | 97.6 | 65.4% |
| 5 | Singapore | S$88,845 | S$125,673 | 87.7 | 75.1% |
| 6 | London | £57,982 | £72,477 | 87.5 | 71.4% |
| 7 | Copenhagen | kr 349,134 | kr 598,416 | 85.7 | 59.9% |
| 8 | Amsterdam | €68,086 | €77,039 | 82.6 | 63.0% |
| 9 | Boston | $110,000 | $90,640 | 82.4 | 65.7% |
| 10 | Tel Aviv | ₪217,764 | ₪321,894 | 81.3 | 71.7% |
| 11 | Miami | $110,000 | $88,110 | 80.1 | 74.7% |
| 12 | Washington DC | $110,000 | $87,780 | 79.8 | 66.2% |
| 13 | Seattle | $110,000 | $87,450 | 79.5 | 74.7% |
| 14 | Oslo | kr 574,584 | kr 867,401 | 78.5 | 67.9% |
| 15 | San Diego | $110,000 | $85,250 | 77.5 | 65.4% |
| 16 | Tokyo | ¥6,475,223 | ¥13,171,967 | 77.3 | 71.9% |
| 17 | Los Angeles | $110,000 | $83,930 | 76.3 | 65.4% |
| 18 | Sydney | A$85,966 | A$116,446 | 74.5 | 80.7% |
| 19 | Hong Kong | HK$559,940 | HK$634,024 | 73.6 | 86.1% |
| 20 | Chicago | $110,000 | $80,520 | 73.2 | 69.7% |
| 21 | Dublin | €48,499 | €67,899 | 72.8 | 73.3% |
| 22 | Dubai | AED 231,131 | AED 288,515 | 72.4 | 100.0% |
| 23 | Doha | QAR 208,470 | QAR 278,628 | 69.5 | 100.0% |
| 24 | Seoul | ₩53,068,373 | ₩96,221,340 | 68.9 | 77.5% |
| 25 | Philadelphia | $110,000 | $75,680 | 68.8 | 71.6% |
| 26 | Luxembourg City | €60,624 | €63,795 | 68.4 | 65.3% |
| 27 | Melbourne | A$85,966 | A$106,598 | 68.2 | 80.7% |
| 28 | Abu Dhabi | AED 231,131 | AED 270,184 | 67.8 | 100.0% |
| 29 | Portland | $110,000 | $73,920 | 67.2 | 64.8% |
| 30 | Denver | $110,000 | $72,270 | 65.7 | 70.3% |
| 31 | Vancouver | C$101,273 | C$97,401 | 65.4 | 70.2% |
| 32 | Austin | $110,000 | $71,280 | 64.8 | 74.7% |
| 33 | Tampa | $110,000 | $70,950 | 64.5 | 74.7% |
| 34 | Stockholm | kr 680,973 | kr 643,920 | 64.3 | 59.1% |
| 35 | Perth | A$85,966 | A$99,252 | 63.5 | 80.7% |
| 36 | Atlanta | $110,000 | $69,520 | 63.2 | 69.2% |
| 37 | Nashville | $110,000 | $69,080 | 62.8 | 74.7% |
| 38 | Osaka | ¥6,475,223 | ¥10,701,158 | 62.8 | 71.9% |
| 39 | Dallas | $110,000 | $68,750 | 62.5 | 74.7% |
| 40 | Toronto | C$101,273 | C$92,784 | 62.3 | 68.8% |
| 41 | Edinburgh | £57,982 | £51,438 | 62.1 | 71.9% |
| 42 | Munich | €60,624 | €57,360 | 61.5 | 60.3% |
| 43 | Minneapolis | $110,000 | $67,540 | 61.4 | 66.8% |
| 44 | Auckland | NZ$92,175 | NZ$107,773 | 60.8 | 73.9% |
| 45 | Houston | $110,000 | $66,220 | 60.2 | 74.7% |
| 46 | Charlotte | $110,000 | $65,780 | 59.8 | 70.2% |
| 47 | Phoenix | $110,000 | $64,790 | 58.9 | 72.2% |
| 48 | Raleigh | $110,000 | $64,460 | 58.6 | 70.2% |
| 49 | Helsinki | €41,038 | €54,282 | 58.2 | 71.4% |
| 50 | Las Vegas | $110,000 | $64,020 | 58.2 | 74.7% |
| 51 | Milan | €29,846 | €53,909 | 57.8 | 66.2% |
| 52 | Nice | €60,624 | €49,152 | 52.7 | 59.1% |
| 53 | Montreal | C$101,273 | C$77,593 | 52.1 | 62.9% |
| 54 | Fukuoka | ¥6,475,223 | ¥8,758,591 | 51.4 | 71.9% |
| 55 | Berlin | €60,624 | €47,753 | 51.2 | 60.3% |
| 56 | Brussels | €41,971 | €46,914 | 50.3 | 65.9% |
| 57 | Rome | €29,846 | €45,981 | 49.3 | 66.2% |
| 58 | Vienna | €41,038 | €44,955 | 48.2 | 62.0% |
| 59 | Paris | €60,624 | €43,743 | 46.9 | 59.1% |
| 60 | Shanghai | ¥162,913 | ¥342,117 | 46.2 | 67.9% |
| 61 | Taipei | NT$1,113,253 | NT$1,558,554 | 44.8 | 86.4% |
| 62 | Beijing | ¥162,913 | ¥322,123 | 43.5 | 67.9% |
| 63 | Riyadh | SAR 181,500 | SAR 175,725 | 42.6 | 90.2% |
| 64 | Panama City | $22,000 | $46,530 | 42.3 | 82.8% |
| 65 | Barcelona | €29,846 | €39,266 | 42.1 | 69.8% |
| 66 | Shenzhen | ¥162,913 | ¥310,275 | 41.9 | 67.9% |
| 67 | São Paulo | R$99,895 | R$231,977 | 41.8 | 69.1% |
| 68 | Guangzhou | ¥162,913 | ¥286,578 | 38.7 | 67.9% |
| 69 | Madrid | €29,846 | €35,442 | 38.0 | 69.8% |
| 70 | Bangkok | ฿477,272 | ฿1,268,181 | 37.2 | 92.8% |
| 71 | Cancún | MX$298,193 | MX$667,206 | 35.8 | 82.6% |
| 72 | Lisbon | €26,115 | €32,364 | 34.7 | 67.3% |
| 73 | Valencia | €29,846 | €31,245 | 33.5 | 69.8% |
| 74 | Santiago | CLP 16,500,000 | CLP 34,237,500 | 33.2 | 78.6% |
| 75 | Kuala Lumpur | RM 89,458 | RM 146,711 | 32.8 | 80.7% |
| 76 | Mexico City | MX$298,193 | MX$605,704 | 32.5 | 82.6% |
| 77 | Montevideo | $U 693,298 | $U 1,502,146 | 32.5 | 78.5% |
| 78 | Split | €20,519 | €29,659 | 31.8 | 60.0% |
| 79 | Málaga | €29,846 | €29,100 | 31.2 | 69.8% |
| 80 | San José (CR) | ₡10,019,277 | ₡17,366,747 | 31.2 | 89.3% |
| 81 | Playa del Carmen | MX$298,193 | MX$574,021 | 30.8 | 82.6% |
| 82 | Athens | €23,317 | €28,540 | 30.6 | 68.9% |
| 83 | Prague | Kč 659,006 | Kč 775,599 | 30.6 | 74.0% |
| 84 | Phuket | ฿477,272 | ฿1,039,772 | 30.5 | 92.8% |
| 85 | Porto | €26,115 | €28,074 | 30.1 | 67.3% |
| 86 | Tallinn | €24,250 | €26,954 | 28.9 | 84.9% |
| 87 | Cape Town | R 360,813 | R 569,283 | 28.4 | 79.2% |
| 88 | Warsaw | zł 103,373 | zł 122,325 | 28.4 | 77.8% |
| 89 | Lagos | ₦13,915,663 | ₦47,487,199 | 27.3 | 69.5% |
| 90 | Manila | ₱555,384 | ₱1,653,810 | 26.8 | 85.4% |
| 91 | Ho Chi Minh City | ₫247,500,000 | ₫726,000,000 | 26.4 | 77.5% |
| 92 | Budapest | Ft 7,902,108 | Ft 10,312,252 | 26.1 | 66.5% |
| 93 | Lima | S/40,753 | S/105,143 | 25.8 | 84.7% |
| 94 | Buenos Aires | AR$14,710,843 | AR$31,383,133 | 25.6 | 53.8% |
| 95 | Bali (Denpasar) | Rp 152,823,795 | Rp 429,604,669 | 25.3 | 83.9% |
| 96 | Riga | €20,519 | €23,597 | 25.3 | 69.4% |
| 97 | Phnom Penh | $8,800 | $27,280 | 24.8 | 100.0% |
| 98 | Nairobi | KSh 1,136,446 | KSh 3,508,776 | 24.7 | 69.5% |
| 99 | Jakarta | Rp 152,823,795 | Rp 416,020,331 | 24.5 | 83.9% |
| 100 | Hanoi | ₫247,500,000 | ₫662,750,000 | 24.1 | 77.5% |
| 101 | Krakow | zł 103,373 | zł 102,512 | 23.8 | 77.8% |
| 102 | Istanbul | ₺598,456 | ₺813,197 | 23.1 | 61.4% |
| 103 | Bogotá | COP 50,295,181 | COP 104,705,422 | 22.9 | 90.5% |
| 104 | Chiang Mai | ฿477,272 | ฿770,454 | 22.6 | 92.8% |
| 105 | Bucharest | lei 83,792 | lei 104,740 | 22.5 | 55.0% |
| 106 | Mumbai | ₹915,286 | ₹2,041,088 | 22.3 | 93.1% |
| 107 | Casablanca | MAD 96,167 | MAD 236,144 | 22.1 | 77.6% |
| 108 | Bangalore | ₹915,286 | ₹1,903,795 | 20.8 | 93.1% |
| 109 | Medellín | COP 50,295,181 | COP 93,274,699 | 20.4 | 90.5% |
| 110 | Delhi | ₹915,286 | ₹1,784,808 | 19.5 | 93.1% |
| 111 | Marrakech | MAD 96,167 | MAD 205,157 | 19.2 | 77.6% |
| 112 | Chennai | ₹915,286 | ₹1,729,891 | 18.9 | 93.1% |
| 113 | Cairo | E£375,723 | E£901,735 | 16.8 | 70.6% |
Data covers 113 cities. Local market = verified / OECD / COLI badge (same as /is-my-salary-good/). Lifestyle equivalent = NYC baseline × city COLI / 100 — not market pay. Updated 2026.
Typical actuary salary range (New York baseline, USD):
The mid-career actuary New York baseline is $110,000. Each city shows two numbers: local-market pay (verified national stats, OECD estimate, or COLI fallback) and a lifestyle equivalent (NYC baseline scaled by city COLI). The equivalent is not what someone earns locally.
The highest COLI-scaled lifestyle equivalent for a actuary is Zurich at $134,640 USD. That figure is purchasing-power scaled from the New York baseline, not local market pay. See both columns in the table for all 113 cities.
Local-market pay uses the same country multipliers as /is-my-salary-good/ (verified national statistics, OECD wage ratios, or COLI fallback). Lifestyle equivalent starts from the New York baseline and scales by city COLI (NYC = 100). Take-home percentage is tax and social contributions on the local-market figure.