Best Actuary programs in Iowa, ranked by enrollment
Analyze statistical data, such as mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates and construct probability tables to forecast risk and liability for payment of future benefits.
14 schools in Iowa run programs that feed this job, graduating 160 people a year. The job pays a median of $128,690 in Iowa across about 530 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Iowa that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
6 programs in Iowa that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Iowa (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Iowa page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 27.0501In Iowa → | 60 | 37.5% | 3 | $59,718 | $20,150 |
| 2 | CIP 52.1304In Iowa → | 57 | 35.6% | 7 | $62,069 | $23,500 |
| 3 | CIP 27.0301In Iowa → | 16 | 10.0% | 6 | $60,930 | $21,143 |
| 4 | CIP 52.0215In Iowa → | 10 | 6.2% | 1 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 5 | CIP 27.0503In Iowa → | 9 | 5.6% | 2 | $59,718 | $20,150 |
| 6 | CIP 27.0599In Iowa → | 8 | 5.0% | 1 | $59,718 | $20,150 |
Top 14 schools in Iowa
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 14 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa State University Ames, IA Public · 3 feeder programs | 54 | Statistics, General | $53,132 | 75% | — | 89% |
| 2 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA Public · 4 feeder programs | 40 | Statistics, General | $75,095 | 75% | — | 84% |
| 3 | Drake University Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Actuarial Science | $80,044 | 74% | $28,855 | 64% |
| 4 | University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Statistics, Other | — | 68% | — | 93% |
| 5 | Graceland University - Lamoni Lamoni, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Mathematics and Statistics | — | 42% | $16,430 | 81% |
| 6 | Northwestern College Orange City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Actuarial Science | — | 66% | $22,419 | 80% |
| 7 | Dordt University Sioux Center, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 4 | Actuarial Science | — | 70% | $24,569 | 68% |
| 8 | Grand View University Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Applied Mathematics, General | — | 54% | $20,840 | 99% |
| 9 | Luther College Decorah, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Mathematics and Statistics | — | 71% | $22,827 | 72% |
| 10 | Simpson College Indianola, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Applied Mathematics, General | — | 63% | $20,710 | 86% |
| 11 | William Penn University Oskaloosa, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Applied Mathematics, General | — | 33% | $21,533 | 52% |
| 12 | Central College Pella, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Actuarial Science | — | 66% | $19,732 | 86% |
| 13 | Emmaus Bible College Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Applied Mathematics, General | — | 83% | $13,586 | 60% |
| 14 | Wartburg College Waverly, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Actuarial Science | — | 64% | $20,228 | 76% |
All 14 schools in Iowa
Every school in Iowa with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa State University | Ames | Public | 54 | 3 |
| University of Iowa | Iowa City | Public | 40 | 4 |
| Drake University | Des Moines | Private not-for-profit | 29 | 1 |
| University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Graceland University - Lamoni | Lamoni | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Northwestern College | Orange City | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Dordt University | Sioux Center | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 2 |
| Grand View University | Des Moines | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Luther College | Decorah | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Simpson College | Indianola | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| William Penn University | Oskaloosa | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Central College | Pella | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
| Emmaus Bible College | Dubuque | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
| Wartburg College | Waverly | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What actuaries earn in Iowa
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $130,000. Iowa pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Iowa employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Iowa
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Actuaries page.
How to become a Actuary
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Iowa
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 9 majors mapped to Actuaries9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 27.0301Applied Mathematics, General
- 27.0304Computational and Applied Mathematics
- 27.0501Statistics, General
- 27.0502Mathematical Statistics and Probability
- 27.0503Mathematics and Statistics
- 27.0599Statistics, Other
- 27.0601Applied Statistics, General
- 52.0215Risk Management
- 52.1304Actuarial Science
Common questions
Answers for people weighing actuaries programs in Iowa.
What degree do you need to become an Actuary?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Statistics, General, which awarded 60 degrees in Iowa in 2024-25, 37.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Actuary?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Statistics, Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration. Together they graduate about 160 people a year in Iowa.
How much do actuaries earn in Iowa?+
The median is $128,690 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 1.0% below the U.S. median of $130,000. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for actuaries growing?+
BLS projects a +21.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 2,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Iowa?+
14 institutions in Iowa reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do actuaries work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Actuary, Pricing Actuary, Actuarial Analyst, Consulting Actuary among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-2011.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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