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.
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 |
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 |
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 for different professions
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 |
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
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
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.
