Accountant salary in Bismarck, ND

Pay in Bismarck against North Dakota and the US

The middle half of accountants in Bismarck earns $62,090–$95,740. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $109,630, only 2.2 times the bottom tenth, against 2.6 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $33,650 wide, against $34,820 across North Dakota and $42,790 nationally: employers in Bismarck pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for an accountant here

An offer at the 75th percentile instead of the median adds $18,830 a year in pay and about $24,297 in employer cost. Going down to the 25th percentile saves $14,820 in pay. 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 Bismarck, and the North Dakota statewide median of $75,730 falls between the 25th percentile and the median.

What a hire really costs in Bismarck

At the $76,910 median, a local hire costs about $99,239 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $22,329 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 Bismarck

Of the 15 roles we track in Bismarck, this one ranks #2 by median pay, after project coordinators ($88,650); recruiters come next at $75,980.

Measured against the US median, accountants rank #11 of the 15 roles we track in Bismarck (-8.1%), between paralegals (-4.4%) and project coordinators (-13.4%). The typical role here is at +0.1%, so, measured against the US, accountants cost less in Bismarck than the area's general pay level would suggest. Accountants hold 12.8% of the jobs in these 15 roles in Bismarck, 13.1% across North Dakota and 9.2% nationally. The job is a bigger part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in North Dakota

Across the 6 areas of North Dakota with data for this job, the median runs from $66,240 in the East North Dakota nonmetro area to $77,640 in the West North Dakota nonmetro area, a gap of $11,400 a year. The one area in North Dakota with more accountants, Fargo, ND-MN ($76,420), pays less: a bigger pool at a lower median.

Bismarck against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Bismarck is #248 of 521 US areas for this job. Both its size and its pay sit in the middle half of US areas. Outside North Dakota, Pittsburgh and Rocky Mount pay just above Bismarck and Grand Junction and Greenville-Anderson just below. All four are within $50 a year of the median in Bismarck. Of the three markets with about as many accountants, none pays as much.

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Sources

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