Accountant salary and cost of hiring in the US
An accountant goes beyond bookkeeping: month-end close, financial statements, budgets, management reports and support for audits and tax filings.
BLS occupation 13-2011[1]; benefits share[2]. Checked 2026-10-16.
US salary range
| Range | 10th | Median | 90th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $56,020 | $83,680 | $144,090 |
Salary by state
| State | Median | 90th percentile | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $185,220 | 9,810 | |
| New York | $171,030 | 109,830 | |
| New Jersey | $167,080 | 42,250 | |
| Massachusetts | $160,100 | 46,230 | |
| Connecticut | $156,670 | 16,770 | |
| California | $160,520 | 175,360 | |
| Colorado | $162,160 | 35,410 | |
| Washington | $152,310 | 34,740 | |
| Rhode Island | $150,320 | 6,570 | |
| Delaware | $132,550 | 6,570 | |
| Virginia | $156,730 | 47,100 | |
| Maryland | $156,660 | 26,170 | |
| Oregon | $130,650 | 14,920 | |
| New Hampshire | $131,110 | 7,000 | |
| Alaska | $125,810 | 2,190 | |
| North Carolina | $146,100 | 49,270 | |
| Georgia (US state) | $145,960 | 44,020 | |
| Minnesota | $138,960 | 30,530 | |
| Nevada | $128,760 | 6,930 | |
| Texas | $132,040 | 116,470 | |
| Illinois | $131,990 | 54,930 | |
| Utah | $131,590 | 15,490 | |
| Arizona | $128,890 | 27,410 | |
| Wisconsin | $127,800 | 25,100 | |
| Oklahoma | $155,480 | 16,720 | |
| Ohio | $131,400 | 50,440 | |
| Florida | $131,930 | 91,000 | |
| Kansas | $129,800 | 13,610 | |
| Pennsylvania | $130,270 | 54,290 | |
| Vermont | $118,800 | 2,630 | |
| South Dakota | $115,470 | 5,820 | |
| Michigan | $131,080 | 41,460 | |
| New Mexico | $125,420 | 6,300 | |
| Indiana | $125,880 | 25,660 | |
| Wyoming | $126,520 | 2,670 | |
| Maine | $125,130 | 3,860 | |
| Iowa | $123,700 | 13,210 | |
| Tennessee | $122,160 | 27,340 | |
| Missouri | $128,300 | 28,000 | |
| South Carolina | $131,220 | 15,270 | |
| Montana | $125,290 | 4,730 | |
| North Dakota | $124,960 | 4,430 | |
| Kentucky | $121,230 | 11,930 | |
| Alabama | $123,170 | 24,300 | |
| Idaho | $121,820 | 5,570 | |
| Hawaii | $117,840 | 4,670 | |
| Louisiana | $117,110 | 14,050 | |
| West Virginia | $115,210 | 4,900 | |
| Nebraska | $114,530 | 10,340 | |
| Mississippi | $120,290 | 7,350 | |
| Arkansas | $119,520 | 7,870 |
Top-paying metro areas
Areas with at least 500 people in the job.
| Metro area | Median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 13,180 | |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 25,170 | |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 111,930 | |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 41,470 | |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | 5,000 | |
| Midland, TX | 1,240 | |
| Parkersburg-Vienna, WV | 550 | |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 37,150 | |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 22,720 | |
| Boulder, CO | 2,380 |
What the job involves
- Run the month-end close and journal entries
- Prepare P&L, balance sheet and cash-flow reports
- Build budgets and variance analysis
- Support audits and tax preparation
- Improve finance processes and controls
Tools
- QuickBooks, Xero or NetSuite
- Excel (advanced)
- Power BI or Looker Studio
- Ramp or Brex
How to test candidates
- A close task with accruals and prepaid expenses
- Read a P&L and explain three changes
- Which standards and countries they know (US GAAP, IFRS)
Remote work
Remote accountants commonly support US and EU companies; signing off tax returns still needs a locally licensed professional.
Local or remote
We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for accountants we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee[3]; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool[4].
Questions
What is the average accountant salary in the US?
The BLS median was $83,680 a year in May 2025 and the mean $94,750.
Which state pays accountants the most?
District of Columbia, with a median of $111,530 a year.
Sources
- BLS OEWS May 2025, 13-2011: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes132011.htm
- BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, private industry, June 2026: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm
- Silkstaff pricing: https://silkstaff.com/#pricing
- Deel pricing, contractor management: https://www.deel.com/pricing/
How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Data checked 2026-10-16.