Best programs to become an insurance appraiser
You do not need a college degree to become an insurance appraiser. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate) as the typical entry-level education. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Autobody/Collision and Repair Technology/Technician, as well as Insurance (IPEDS completions).
2 college programs at 331 schools train insurance appraisers, auto damage, graduating 7,150 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $78,240 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About insurance appraisers, auto damage
Appraise automobile or other vehicle damage to determine repair costs for insurance claim settlement. Prepare insurance forms to indicate repair cost or cost estimates and recommendations. May seek agreement with automotive repair shop on repair costs.
Best programs to study to become an insurance appraiser
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 47.0603 | 5,352 | 74.9% | 264 | $37,089 | $11,790 |
| 2 | CIP 52.1701 | 1,798 | 25.1% | 69 | $56,988 | $22,500 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
What insurance appraisers, auto damage earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $95,720 | 310 | 0.69× | 11 | 650 |
| Texas | $79,200 | 910 | 0.87× | 21 | 612 |
| North Carolina | $74,810 | 520 | 1.43× | 18 | 476 |
| Georgia | $81,470 | — | — | 14 | 466 |
| California | $78,930 | 550 | 0.41× | 26 | 427 |
| Oklahoma | $82,340 | — | — | 19 | 417 |
| Illinois | $71,510 | 560 | 1.23× | 10 | 352 |
| Florida | $61,320 | — | — | 21 | 277 |
| Tennessee | $67,080 | 420 | 1.74× | 14 | 264 |
| Kansas | $75,080 | — | — | 14 | 222 |
| Colorado | $71,600 | 330 | 1.53× | 7 | 180 |
| Minnesota | $76,460 | — | — | 13 | 179 |
| Washington | $78,450 | 190 | 0.70× | 8 | 171 |
| Nebraska | $62,350 | 90 | 1.19× | 6 | 156 |
| Wisconsin | $75,260 | — | — | 9 | 152 |
| Mississippi | $71,550 | 120 | 1.43× | 8 | 121 |
| Iowa | $79,090 | — | — | 9 | 115 |
| Indiana | $76,750 | 250 | 1.05× | 7 | 115 |
| Missouri | $67,950 | 190 | 0.87× | 8 | 115 |
| Arkansas | $63,960 | — | — | 7 | 114 |
| South Carolinamoderate | $86,680 | 220 | 1.31× | 4 | 104 |
| Arizona | $86,030 | 40 | 0.18× | 6 | 102 |
| New York | $81,150 | 360 | 0.50× | 8 | 99 |
| Kentuckymoderate | $97,950 | — | — | 4 | 97 |
| Ohio | $63,470 | 820 | 1.98× | 8 | 97 |
| Idaho | $76,110 | — | — | 5 | 61 |
| New Jerseymoderate | $94,280 | — | — | 3 | 58 |
| Michigan | $77,060 | 310 | 0.95× | 7 | 57 |
| Oregonmoderate | $83,270 | 170 | 1.18× | 3 | 50 |
| Louisianamoderate | $72,040 | 100 | 0.73× | 3 | 45 |
| Nevadalimited | $78,510 | 80 | 0.73× | 2 | 45 |
| Utahmoderate | $82,570 | 50 | 0.42× | 3 | 41 |
| Connecticutlimited | $89,740 | 210 | 1.69× | 1 | 39 |
| New Mexicolimited | $78,310 | — | — | 2 | 23 |
| Mainemoderate | $79,510 | 50 | 1.06× | 3 | 19 |
| Virginialimited | $81,470 | — | — | 1 | 19 |
| Massachusettslimited | $79,930 | 680 | 2.52× | 1 | 12 |
Skills and knowledge
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Evaluate practicality of repair as opposed to payment of market value of vehicle before accident.
- Review repair cost estimates with automobile repair shop to secure agreement on cost of repairs.
- Examine damaged vehicle to determine extent of structural, body, mechanical, electrical, or interior damage.
- Prepare insurance forms to indicate repair cost estimates and recommendations.
- Estimate parts and labor to repair damage, using standard automotive labor and parts cost manuals and knowledge of automotive repair.
- Determine salvage value on total-loss vehicle.
- Arrange to have damage appraised by another appraiser to resolve disagreement with shop on repair cost.
Skills
- Writing3.8
- Speaking3.8
- Reading Comprehension3.5
- Active Listening3.5
- Critical Thinking3.4
- Active Learning2.9
- Mathematics2.6
- Monitoring2.5
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.2
- English Language3.8
- Computers and Electronics3.4
- Mechanical3.2
- Administrative3.1
- Education and Training3.0
Abilities
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Oral Expression4.0
- Written Comprehension3.8
- Problem Sensitivity3.8
- Written Expression3.6
- Speech Recognition3.5
Core activities
- Working with Computers4.7
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.5
- Documenting/Recording Information4.5
- Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others4.4
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public4.4
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.3
How to get in
How to become an insurance appraiser
- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Insurance Appraisers, Auto Damage2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 47.0603Autobody/Collision and Repair Technology/Technician
- 52.1701Insurance
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become an insurance appraiser?+
You do not need a college degree to become an insurance appraiser. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate) as the typical entry-level education. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Autobody/Collision and Repair Technology/Technician, as well as Insurance (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming an insurance appraiser?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Autobody/Collision and Repair Technology/Technician, as well as Insurance (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this job, which together graduate about 7,150 people a year.
How much do insurance appraisers, auto damage earn?+
The median is $78,240 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $58,360 at the 10th percentile to $101,590 at the 90th. 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 insurance appraisers, auto damage growing?+
BLS projects a -8.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
331 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 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 insurance appraisers, auto damage work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Appraiser, Material Damage Appraiser, Automobile Appraiser (Auto Appraiser), Automobile Damage Appraiser (Auto Damage Appraiser) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-1032.
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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