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Disability insurance rates by income

The more you make, the more you’ll pay for disability insurance. Someone who earns $200,000 can expect to pay between $2,000 and $6,000 a year for disability insurance.

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Andrew HurstSenior Editor & Licensed Auto Insurance ExpertAndrew Hurst is a senior editor and a licensed auto insurance expert at Policygenius. His work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, ValuePenguin, and Property Casualty 360.

Edited by

Anna SwartzAnna SwartzSenior Managing EditorAnna Swartz is a senior managing editor who specializes in home, auto, renters, and disability insurance at Policygenius. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic and a writer at The Dodo. Her work has also appeared in Salon, HuffPost, MSN, AOL, and Heeb.

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Your income doesn’t directly affect what you pay for disability insurance like your age or medical history do, but your rates will be higher if you have a high income because you’re paying more to protect a bigger monthly paycheck.

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Key findings

  • The more you make, the more you’ll pay for a personal disability insurance policy

  • Income affects short and long-term disability insurance rates equally.

  • Your age, medical history, lifestyle and hobbies, and details about your policy and coverage also affect your disability insurance rates.

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Disability insurance rates by yearly income

A good rule of thumb is that disability insurance costs about 1% to 3% of your annual income. Using this range, you can estimate how much your policy will cost based on how much you make (if you want an exact number, we recommend comparing quotes). 

Annual income

Monthly rate

Annual rate

$75,000

$63 to $188

$750 to $2,250

$100,000

$83 to $250

$1,000 to $3,000

$125,000

$104 to $313

$1,250 to $3,750

$150,000

$125 to $375

$1,500 to $4,500

$175,000

$146 to $438

$1,750 to $5,250

$200,000

$167 to $500

$2,000 to $6,000

$225,000

$188 to $563

$2,250 to $6,750

$250,000

$208 to $625

$2,500 to $7,500

$275,000

$229 to $688

$2,750 to $8,250

$300,000

$250 to $750

$3,000 to $9,000

$325,000

$271 to $813

$3,250 to $9,750

$350,000

$292 to $875

$3,500 to $10,500

$375,000

$313 to $938

$3,750 to $11,250

$400,000

$333 to $1,000

$4,000 to $12,000

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Annual and monthly disability insurance rates based on income.

Your benefit amount, not your income, is what affects your rates directly, but you’ll need a higher benefit amount if you have a bigger income to cover. This works the same way for both short and long-term disability insurance.

How much of your income does disability insurance replace?

A policy that covers at least 60% of your pre-tax income means a monthly payout that’s close to your take-home pay. You can also stack your disability insurance coverage with a supplemental policy or use short-term coverage from work until your benefits kick in so you don’t have to go without income.

Disability insurance rates by profession and income

Disability insurance is especially important for people with highly-specialized jobs like doctors, lawyers, or dentists. Not only do these careers mean a larger income to protect, investing years of education or training into a job means even more incentive to get coverage.

Occupation

Monthly rate

Annual rate

Anesthesiologists

$252 to $757

$3,030 to $9,089

Architects

$75 to $226

$904 to $2,713

Cardiologists

$351 to $1,053

$4,213 to $12,640

Dentists

$167 to $502

$2,009 to $6,026

Dermatologists

$273 to $819

$3,277 to $9,830

Emergency medicine physicians

$264 to $792

$3,166 to $9,498

Family medicine physicians

$187 to $561

$2,245 to $6,734

General internal medicine physicians

$188 to $563

$2,253 to $6,758

Lawyers

$147 to $441

$1,765 to $5,294

Neurologists

$213 to $639

$2,555 to $7,665

Nurse practitioners

$107 to $321

$1,285 to $3,855

Obstetricians and gynecologists

$231 to $693

$2,773 to $8,320

Ophthalmologists (except pediatric)

$221 to $664

$2,655 to $7,964

Orthopedic surgeons (except pediatric)

$310 to $929

$3,714 to $11,142

Pediatric surgeons

$302 to $907

$3,630 to $10,889

Pediatricians

$169 to $508

$2,032 to $6,097

Pharmacists

$112 to $337

$1,348 to $4,044

Physicians

$220 to $660

$2,638 to $7,915

Pathologists

$211 to $632

$2,529 to $7,586

Psychiatrists

$206 to $618

$2,474 to $7,421

Radiologists

$274 to $823

$3,291 to $9,872

Registered nurses

$79 to $236

$945 to $2,834

Software developers

$115 to $345

$1,381 to $4,143

Surgeons (other)

$290 to $870

$3,479 to $10,436

Veterinarians

$114 to $341

$1,363 to $4,089

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Annual and monthly disability insurance rates based on average income, data from the 2022 American Community Survey and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Disability insurance rates by state average incomes

Your location doesn’t affect your disability insurance rates like it does with home or auto insurance, but here are disability insurance rates based on the average income in every state.

State

Monthly rate

Annual rate

Alabama

$69 to $207

$830 to $2,490

Alaska

$92 to $277

$1,106 to $3,318

Arizona

$82 to $246

$986 to $2,957

Arkansas

$66 to $199

$796 to $2,388

California

$109 to $327

$1,307 to $3,922

Colorado

$98 to $294

$1,175 to $3,525

Connecticut

$109 to $327

$1,306 to $3,918

Delaware

$87 to $262

$1,046 to $3,138

Florida

$81 to $242

$970 to $2,910

Georgia

$83 to $248

$993 to $2,980

Hawaii

$102 to $307

$1,229 to $3,687

Idaho

$77 to $232

$928 to $2,783

Illinois

$91 to $272

$1,089 to $3,266

Indiana

$74 to $222

$888 to $2,664

Iowa

$77 to $230

$921 to $2,762

Kansas

$79 to $236

$943 to $2,828

Kentucky

$69 to $208

$831 to $2,493

Louisiana

$69 to $208

$832 to $2,495

Maine

$76 to $229

$916 to $2,748

Maryland

$108 to $324

$1,296 to $3,889

Massachusetts

$112 to $336

$1,346 to $4,037

Michigan

$77 to $232

$928 to $2,785

Minnesota

$93 to $278

$1,113 to $3,340

Mississippi

$62 to $185

$741 to $2,224

Missouri

$75 to $225

$900 to $2,699

Montana

$75 to $225

$901 to $2,704

Nebraska

$80 to $239

$955 to $2,866

Nevada

$82 to $245

$980 to $2,939

New Hampshire

$98 to $295

$1,181 to $3,544

New Jersey

$113 to $338

$1,352 to $4,055

New Mexico

$68 to $203

$810 to $2,431

New York

$101 to $302

$1,209 to $3,626

North Carolina

$77 to $232

$929 to $2,786

North Dakota

$81 to $243

$972 to $2,917

Ohio

$76 to $227

$910 to $2,729

Oklahoma

$70 to $211

$844 to $2,532

Oregon

$86 to $258

$1,033 to $3,100

Pennsylvania

$84 to $252

$1,008 to $3,025

Rhode Island

$89 to $266

$1,065 to $3,195

South Carolina

$74 to $221

$885 to $2,655

South Dakota

$76 to $227

$907 to $2,721

Tennessee

$74 to $223

$893 to $2,678

Texas

$85 to $255

$1,022 to $3,066

Utah

$93 to $279

$1,114 to $3,342

Vermont

$82 to $245

$978 to $2,934

Virginia

$100 to $301

$1,206 to $3,617

Washington

$102 to $307

$1,229 to $3,686

West Virginia

$63 to $189

$756 to $2,267

Wisconsin

$79 to $237

$950 to $2,850

Wyoming

$79 to $237

$949 to $2,847

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Annual and monthly disability insurance rates based on average income, data from the 2022 American Community Survey

Read about health insurance coverage by state for people with disabilities

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How do disability insurance companies find out about your income?

Since your disability benefits are based in part on how much you make (and how much you’d need to replace if you couldn’t work), you have to show proof of income when you buy coverage.

Expect to submit documents like your most recent W-2 and 1040 tax form. Documentation is different if you own a business and you don’t have a regular salary — you’d need to provide tax returns and other information proving how much money you take in from your business.

What else affects your disability insurance rates?

Income isn’t the only factor that affects your disability insurance rates. Your rates also depend on details like your:

  • Age: Disability insurance gets more expensive with age. You can lock in lower rates if you buy a policy while you’re young.

  • Benefit period: This is the maximum amount of time your policy will pay out, the longer it is, the more expensive your policy will be.

  • Health and medical history: A serious medical condition, like a past heart attack, stroke, or cancer, will mean higher disability insurance rates.

  • Lifestyle and hobbies: If you’re a smoker or you have a hobby like scuba diving or skydiving insurance that companies view as dangerous, your disability insurance rates will be higher.

  • Premium structure: Your rates will get more expensive over time if you choose a graded-premium policy. Level premiums stay the same over time.

Does income affect disability benefits from Social Security?

Your income can affect your eligibility for Social Security Disability benefits. You can only collect disability benefits if you can’t engage in what’s called Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA), which involves earning more than a certain amount each month. 

As of 2024 you can’t earn more than $1,550 a month and qualify for SSDI benefits, but that ceiling changes every year.

Social Security Disability also has a trial work period where you can work for 9 months and continue receiving benefits — as long as you’re still disabled — to see if you’re able to hold a long-term job. 

There’s no income limit during this time, but after the trial period, you have 36 months when you can work and receive benefits as long as you don’t earn more than the SGA limit.

→ Read more about Social Security Disability Insurance

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Frequently asked questions

How much should you spend on disability insurance?

There’s no one number you should try to spend on disability insurance. Coverage usually costs about 1% to 3% of your annual salary, but that’s just an estimate. You should get coverage that fits your needs and your budget.

Does the cost of disability insurance change if you make more money?

Your disability insurance rates won’t go up as you make more money unless you buy more coverage (and your policy doesn’t have a future increase rider or automatic benefits increase rider).

Can you earn income while on disability?

Sometimes. If you have an own-occupation policy you can collect disability insurance benefits and still earn an income as long as you can no longer do the specific job you had when you bought the policy.

Author

Andrew Hurst is a senior editor and a licensed auto insurance expert at Policygenius. His work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, ValuePenguin, and Property Casualty 360.

Editor

Anna Swartz is a senior managing editor who specializes in home, auto, renters, and disability insurance at Policygenius. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic and a writer at The Dodo. Her work has also appeared in Salon, HuffPost, MSN, AOL, and Heeb.

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