Underwriter Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 2,012 US job postings by 496 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for underwriters: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 2,012 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for underwriters in US job postings is $120,000 a year (691 postings from 180 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $90,000 to $147,000.
- The skills that most set underwriter postings apart are underwriting, analytical skills.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 4 years of experience.
Underwriter job postings in the US, October 2026
- $120,000
- Median advertised pay (691 postings)
- $90,000–$147,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 2,012
- US job postings from 496 employers
- 4 years
- Median experience asked
How much does an underwriter make?
The median advertised pay is $120,000 a year, from 691 US job postings by 180 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $175,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 691 US underwriter job postings: median $120,000 a year, middle half $90,000 to $147,000.
- Median: $120,000
- 25th percentile: $90,000
- 75th percentile: $147,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $30K–$40K | 0.6% |
| $40K–$50K | 3.0% |
| $50K–$60K | 3.7% |
| $60K–$70K | 4.2% |
| $70K–$80K | 6.0% |
| $80K–$90K | 7.4% |
| $90K–$100K | 6.9% |
| $100K–$110K | 8.5% |
| $110K–$120K | 9.8% |
| $120K–$130K | 8.9% |
| $130K–$140K | 9.2% |
| $140K–$150K | 8.2% |
| $150K–$160K | 8.1% |
| $160K–$170K | 4.5% |
| $170K–$180K | 2.8% |
| $180K–$190K | 2.5% |
| $190K–$200K | 1.6% |
| $200K–$210K | 1.2% |
| $210K–$220K | 0.6% |
| $220K–$230K | 0.3% |
| $230K–$240K | 0.6% |
| $240K–$250K | 0.3% |
| $250K–$260K | 0.4% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an annual salary | $123,000 | $98K–$150K | 603 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $120,000 | $90K–$147K | 691 |
What is the starting salary for an underwriter?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Underwriter levels and pay
Levels as they appear in job titles, ordered by the median experience asked. Senior underwriters have a median advertised pay of $129,000 a year.
| Level in title | Share of postings | Median experience asked | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| No level in title | 80.2% | 4 years | $120,000 |
| Senior | 12.7% | 5 years | $129,000 |
Highest-paying underwriter jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Underwriter (general) | $120,000 | 564 | 159 |
Skills employers ask for in underwriter job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 54% |
| Analytical skills | 36% |
| Organizational skills | 26% |
| Excel | 19% |
| Interpersonal skills | 18% |
| Attention to detail | 17% |
| Problem-solving | 17% |
| Microsoft Office | 16% |
| Underwriting | 13% |
| Work independently | 12% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set underwriters apart
- Underwriting205.4× as often as in all postings · 13%
- Analytical skills4.9× as often as in all postings · 36%
- Underwriting experience693.9× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Negotiation skills12.2× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Negotiation8.2× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Decision-making skills8.4× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Presentation skills4.4× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Oral and written communication skills3.8× as often as in all postings · 5%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a underwriter job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does an underwriter do?
Employers post these jobs as Senior Underwriter, Underwriting Manager, Underwriting Specialist, Commercial Underwriter, Associate Underwriter and other titles. The largest specializations are Underwriting Manager (9%), Underwriting Assistant (9%).
The closest official occupation is Insurance Underwriters (13-2053.00). Its most important tasks:
- Examine documents to determine degree of risk from factors such as applicant health, financial standing and value, and condition of property.
- Decline excessive risks.
- Write to field representatives, medical personnel, or others to obtain further information, quote rates, or explain company underwriting policies.
- Evaluate possibility of losses due to catastrophe or excessive insurance.
- Review company records to determine amount of insurance in force on single risk or group of closely related risks.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be an underwriter?
Among 964 postings that state a minimum, the median is 4 years. Under 1% say 0 years and 7% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 964 US underwriter job postings: median 4 years, and 7% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | under 1% |
| 1 yr | 6% |
| 2 yrs | 18% |
| 3-4 yrs | 26% |
| 5-7 yrs | 38% |
| 8-9 yrs | 5% |
| 10+ yrs | 6% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Other names for an underwriter: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Underwriter | 236 (47.6%) |
| Senior Underwriter | 80 (16.1%) |
| Underwriting Manager | 42 (8.5%) |
| Underwriting Specialist | 39 (7.9%) |
| Commercial Underwriter | 33 (6.7%) |
| Associate Underwriter | 31 (6.2%) |
| Underwriting Intern | 31 (6.2%) |
| Executive Underwriter | 25 (5.0%) |
| Mortgage Underwriter | 25 (5.0%) |
| Sr. Underwriter | 20 (4.0%) |
| Underwriter I | 17 (3.4%) |
| Production Underwriter | 16 (3.2%) |
| Underwriter II | 16 (3.2%) |
| Consumer Loan Underwriter | 15 (3.0%) |
| Underwriting Director | 14 (2.8%) |
| Surety Underwriter | 13 (2.6%) |
| Loan Underwriter | 13 (2.6%) |
| Property Underwriter | 12 (2.4%) |
| Underwriting Consultant | 12 (2.4%) |
| Commercial Lines Underwriter | 10 (2.0%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Underwriter compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Underwriter | $120K | 4 years | 2,012 | – |
| Loan Officer | $102K | 3 years | 4,867 | 18 |
| Credit Analyst | $104K | 3 years | 940 | 18 |
| Claims Adjuster | $78K | 3 years | 2,669 | 18 |
| Sales Manager | $120K | 4 years | 11,547 | 19 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Loan Officer | 18 | $102K |
| Credit Analyst | 18 | $104K |
| Claims Adjuster | 18 | $78K |
| Sales Manager | 19 | $120K |
| Account Manager | 18 | $118K |
| Business Development Manager | 18 | $142K |
Applying for underwriter jobs?
- Underwriter resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find underwriter jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does an underwriter make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 20 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.