Business and Financial Operations Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 13-2072

Loan Officers

The published band from $39,430 to $153,180 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Financial Risk Specialists.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Loan Officers: Financial Risk Specialists ($117K) , Insurance Underwriters ($81K) , Business Operations Specialists, All Other ($83K) , Project Management Specialists ($102K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Loan Officers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 13-2072 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Meet with applicants to obtain information for loan applications and to answer questions about the process
  2. 2. Analyze applicants' financial status, credit, and property evaluations to determine feasibility of granting loans
  3. 3. Approve loans within specified limits, and refer loan applications outside those limits to management for approval
  4. 4. Explain to customers the different types of loans and credit options that are available, as well as the terms of those services
  5. 5. Submit applications to credit analysts for verification and recommendation
  6. 6. Review loan agreements to ensure that they are complete and accurate according to policy
  7. 7. Review and update credit and loan files
  8. 8. Obtain and compile copies of loan applicants' credit histories, corporate financial statements, and other financial information
  9. 9. Work with clients to identify their financial goals and to find ways of reaching those goals
  10. 10. Handle customer complaints and take appropriate action to resolve them
  11. 11. Supervise loan personnel
  12. 12. Stay abreast of new types of loans and other financial services and products to better meet customers' needs

Loan Officers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 13-2072 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.0
  2. 2. Speaking 4.0
  3. 3. Reading Comprehension 3.9
  4. 4. Judgment and Decision Making 3.9
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.8
  6. 6. Writing 3.4
  7. 7. Mathematics 3.3
  8. 8. Social Perceptiveness 3.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.7
  2. 2. Economics and Accounting 3.9
  3. 3. English Language 3.8
  4. 4. Mathematics 3.7
  5. 5. Sales and Marketing 3.5
  6. 6. Law and Government 3.3
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$39,430 to $153,180
median $76,690 · ~3.9× spread
$77K
National median
↑ +2%
Growth 2024-2034
20,300
Annual openings
274,330
Estimated US jobs
Financial Risk Specialists
Highest-pay peer · $117K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Loan Officers

1. Minnesota $95,170
2. Colorado $94,520
3. Kansas $86,970
4. District of Columbia $92,890
5. Oregon $94,440
6. New York $95,710
7. New Jersey $92,920
8. Vermont $88,710
9. Connecticut $95,730
10. Massachusetts $101,600

Other Business and Financial Operations Occupations titles

  1. 1. Financial Risk Specialists $117,330
  2. 2. Insurance Underwriters $81,370
  3. 3. Business Operations Specialists, All Other $83,050
  4. 4. Project Management Specialists $102,320
  5. 5. Personal Financial Advisors $105,070
  6. 6. Credit Analysts $83,510

The OEWS band for Loan Officers runs from $39,430 (10th) to $153,180 (90th), about 3.9× wide, with median $76,690. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +2% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 20,300 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Minnesota at $95,170. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Financial Risk Specialists at $117,330. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Loan Officers pay-rank #23 in Business and Financial Operations Occupations

On the Business and Financial Operations Occupations median table (32 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Loan Officers lands at #23, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Loan Officers is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Loan Officers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 13-2072

Minnesota · top state for Loan Officers

$95K published median

Colorado · #2 state pay

$95K · behind Minnesota

Financial Risk Specialists

Highest-pay peer vs Loan Officers · $117K

Insurance Underwriters

Lower-pay peer beside Loan Officers · $81K

Compare Loan Officers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Loan Officers with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Loan Officers land on the Business and Financial Operations Occupations median table? ▼
Loan Officers is pay-rank #23 of 32 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Human Resources Specialists ($76K), Fundraisers ($73K), Training and Development Specialists ($69K), Property Appraisers and Assessors ($68K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do loan officers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Loan Officers. Leading ones include: Meet with applicants to obtain information for loan applications and to answer questions about the process; Analyze applicants' financial status, credit, and property evaluations to determine feasibility of granting loans; Approve loans within specified limits, and refer loan applications outside those limits to management for approval; Explain to customers the different types of loans and credit options that are available, as well as the terms of those services. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for loan officers? ▼
For SOC 13-2072, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.0), Speaking (4.0), Reading Comprehension (3.9), Judgment and Decision Making (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Economics and Accounting, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Loan Officers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $39,430 and the 90th at $153,180 for Loan Officers (3.9× spread). The national median is $76,690. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Loan Officers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Loan Officers is +2%. Projected annual openings: about 20,300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Loan Officers? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Loan Officers. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Loan Officers? ▼
Minnesota ($95,170), Colorado ($94,520), Kansas ($86,970) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Loan Officers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 13-2072. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Loan Officers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics