Accountant salary in Albany-Schenectady, NY

Pay in Albany-Schenectady against New York and the US

The middle half of accountants in Albany-Schenectady earns $69,790–$107,030. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $133,670, only 2.2 times the bottom tenth, against 2.6 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. The mean ($93,640) is 11% over the median, so a group of high earners pulls the average up; price a typical hire from the median. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $37,240 wide, against $55,060 across New York and $42,790 nationally: employers in Albany-Schenectady pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for an accountant here

Pay climbs faster above the median than below it here: the 75th percentile is $22,370 over the median, the 25th only $14,870 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $28,865 a year in employer cost. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $83,680 falls between the 25th percentile and the median in Albany-Schenectady, and the New York statewide median of $102,640 falls between the median and the 75th percentile.

What a hire really costs in Albany-Schenectady

Pay is only part of it. Benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², which adds about $24,579 to the $84,660 median and brings it to $109,239 a year. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

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 fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in Albany-Schenectady

Of the 17 roles we track in Albany-Schenectady, this one ranks #2 by median pay, after project coordinators ($109,850); recruiters come next at $77,000.

Measured against the US median, accountants rank #10 of the 17 roles we track in Albany-Schenectady (+1.2%), between customer support specialists (+1.3%) and medical administrative assistants (-1.7%). The typical role here is at +1.3%, so this job follows the area's general pay level. Accountants hold 9.0% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Albany-Schenectady, 10.0% across New York and 9.1% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in New York

Across the 16 areas of New York with data for this job, the median runs from $76,510 in the Capital/Northern New York nonmetro area to $105,650 in New York-Newark, a gap of $29,140 a year. Of the 2 areas in New York with more accountants than Albany-Schenectady, 1 pays less: Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY ($82,120).

Albany-Schenectady against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Albany-Schenectady is #52 of 521 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job and one of the better-paying ones. Outside New York, Santa Cruz-Watsonville and Colorado Springs pay just above Albany-Schenectady and Pittsfield and Naples-Marco Island just below. All four are within $340 a year of the median in Albany-Schenectady. Of the three markets with about as many accountants, none pays as much.

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How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.