The person who evaluates disability claims — typically for SSA, state programs, or private insurers — reviewing medical records, applying disability standards, and being the decision-maker on whether claimants meet the definition of disability for the program.
Disability Analyst pay typically runs $60K–$96K at this level, and jobs in this field are projected to shrink 5% through 2034. The next title up is often Senior Disability Analyst.
Most days tend to involve a blend of medical record review, policy and regulatory analysis, and decision documentation — reading clinical files, evaluating functional capacity, applying program rules, and writing the determinations that get communicated to claimants. You'll often spend part of the time on coordination with consulting physicians, attorneys, and claimants depending on the program.
The harder part is often the volume of files combined with the technical and human weight of disability decisions — claimants are often in genuine distress, and decisions affect livelihoods. You'll typically navigate the regulatory framework carefully, where decisions are appealable and consistency matters.
People who tend to thrive here are detail-rigorous, regulatory-literate, and emotionally durable around medical and functional content. The trade-off is the volume pressure and the cumulative weight of carrying disability determinations. If you find satisfaction in producing decisions that hold up under appeal, the role can be a quietly consequential place in social insurance and disability work.
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Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Business Operations roles →The person who evaluates disability claims — typically for SSA, state programs, or private insurers — reviewing medical records, applying disability standards, and being the decision-maker on whether claimants meet the definition of disability for the program.
Median pay for a Disability Analyst is about $77K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $48K to $112K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, and Judgment and Decision Making.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to decline about 5.1% through 2034, with roughly 305,020 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Senior Disability Analyst, Disability Specialist, and Disability Coordinator.
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