Accountant salary in Athens-Clarke County, GA

Pay in Athens-Clarke County against Georgia and the US

Accountants at the 90th percentile earn $133,440, 2.8 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.6. The middle half of accountants in Athens-Clarke County earns $59,480–$101,380. The mean ($83,710) is 10% 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 $41,900 wide, against $44,280 across Georgia and $42,790 nationally: employers in Athens-Clarke County 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 $25,480 over the median, the 25th only $16,420 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $32,877 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 median and the 75th percentile in Athens-Clarke County, and the Georgia statewide median of $81,900 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in Athens-Clarke County

At the $75,900 median, a local hire costs about $97,935 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $22,035 here. 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 Athens-Clarke County

Of the 15 roles we track in Athens-Clarke County, this one ranks #2 by median pay, after project coordinators ($82,430); executive assistants come next at $69,470.

Measured against the US median, accountants rank #4 of the 15 roles we track in Athens-Clarke County (-9.3%), between executive assistants (-9.3%) and virtual receptionists (-9.8%). The typical role here is at -16.4%, so, measured against the US, accountants cost more in Athens-Clarke County than the area's general pay level would suggest. Accountants hold 7.3% of the jobs in these 15 roles in Athens-Clarke County, 8.7% across Georgia and 9.3% nationally. The job is a smaller part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Georgia

Across the 18 areas of Georgia with data for this job, the median runs from $67,800 in Hinesville to $85,820 in Atlanta-Sandy Springs, a gap of $18,020 a year. Of the 9 areas in Georgia with more accountants than Athens-Clarke County, 5 pay less, the largest of them the South Georgia nonmetro area ($75,440), the North Georgia nonmetro area ($75,830) and Columbus, GA-AL ($73,640).

Athens-Clarke County against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Athens-Clarke County is #320 of 521 US areas for this job. Both its size and its pay sit in the middle half of US areas. Outside Georgia, Kingsport-Bristol and Lewiston-Auburn pay just above Athens-Clarke County and Palm Bay-Melbourne and Gainesville just below. All four are within $80 a year of the median in Athens-Clarke County. Of the three markets with about as many accountants, all three pay more.

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