Actuarial Geographic Locations
Most U.S. actuaries work on the East Coast, Midwest, Texas or California. The reason for this is that most insurance companies and other large employers are located in these states. Therefore, most consulting firms set up offices close to their clients or potential clients. U.S. metropolitan areas with significant pools of actuaries include:
- New York
- Chicago
- Boston
- Philadelphia
- Los Angeles/Orange County
- San Francisco
- Dallas/Ft. Worth
- Minneapolis/St. Paul
- Hartford
- Atlanta
- Baltimore/Washington DC
I stress “metropolitan areas” because often these companies are located in the suburbs of the major cities and not the downtown areas. The two largest markets of New York and Chicago are very good examples of this geographic spread. Actuarial employment in the suburbs of these two cities is far greater than in the cities themselves. If your city is not listed above, don’t despair. If your city has a “major professional sports team” then it’s likely to also have a somewhat smaller, but thriving actuarial employment market. Examples include Cincinnati, Charlotte, Houston, Denver and Indianapolis.
Finally, as discussed in greater detail in Achieving Your Pinnacle, A Career Guide for Actuaries, pension actuaries typically have greater geographic flexibility than most other actuaries. If you have to work in a small city such as Syracuse, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, or Knoxville, you’re much more likely to find employment at a small benefits consulting firm than at an insurance company.
NOTE: The above is an excerpt from Achieving Your Pinnacle: A Career Guide for Actuaries, by Tom Miller, Copyright 2013. It is reprinted here with permission.
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