Accountant salary in Chattanooga, TN-GA

Pay in Chattanooga against Tennessee and the US

Accountants at the 90th percentile earn $125,050, 2.5 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.6. The middle half of accountants in Chattanooga earns $62,220–$97,890. The mean ($83,350) is 9% 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 $35,670 wide, between the figure for Tennessee ($32,360) and the US figure ($42,790).

What to budget for an accountant here

The step from the 25th percentile to the median is $14,460 a year; from the median to the 75th it is $21,210, or about $27,368 once benefits are added. 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 Chattanooga, and the Tennessee statewide median of $76,840 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in Chattanooga

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 $22,262 to the $76,680 median and brings it to $98,942 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 Chattanooga

Of the 17 roles we track in Chattanooga, this one ranks #2 by median pay, after project coordinators ($87,240); marketing specialists come next at $66,460.

Measured against the US median, accountants rank #8 of the 17 roles we track in Chattanooga (-8.4%), between virtual receptionists (-7.7%) and payroll specialists (-11.0%). The typical role here is at -11.0%, so this job follows the area's general pay level. Accountants hold 6.8% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Chattanooga, 7.5% across Tennessee and 9.1% nationally. The job is a smaller part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Tennessee

Across the 14 areas of Tennessee with data for this job, the median runs from $64,710 in Johnson City to $78,080 in Nashville-Murfreesboro, a gap of $13,370 a year. Of the 3 areas in Tennessee with more accountants than Chattanooga, 1 pays less: Knoxville, TN ($75,380).

Chattanooga against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Chattanooga is #105 of 521 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job, with pay near the middle of the US range. Outside Tennessee, Beaumont-Port Arthur and Helena pay just above Chattanooga and La Crosse-Onalaska and Mankato just below. All four are within $20 a year of the median in Chattanooga. Of the three markets with about as many accountants, two pay more.

Questions

Sources

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