Accountant salary in the Northern Michigan nonmetro area

Pay in the Northern Michigan nonmetro area against Michigan and the US

The middle half of accountants in the Northern Michigan nonmetro area earns $59,570–$85,440. The top tenth earns $109,760 or more, 2.4 times the bottom tenth, close to the US pattern of 2.6 times. The mean ($75,340) is 8% 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 $25,870 wide, against $37,180 across Michigan and $42,790 nationally: employers in the Northern Michigan nonmetro area 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 $15,700 over the median, the 25th only $10,170 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $20,258 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 the Northern Michigan nonmetro area, and the Michigan statewide median of $78,820 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in the Northern Michigan nonmetro area

At the $69,740 median, a local hire costs about $89,987 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $20,247 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 the Northern Michigan nonmetro area

Of the 17 roles we track in the Northern Michigan nonmetro area, this one ranks #2 by median pay, after project coordinators ($80,840); recruiters come next at $60,280.

Measured against the US median, accountants rank #11 of the 17 roles we track in the Northern Michigan nonmetro area (-16.7%), between administrative assistants (-16.6%) and paralegals (-17.0%). The typical role here is at -15.0%, so this job follows the area's general pay level. Accountants hold 9.7% of the jobs in these 17 roles in the Northern Michigan nonmetro area, 10.2% across Michigan and 9.1% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in Michigan

Across the 19 areas of Michigan with data for this job, the median runs from $69,740 in the Northern Michigan nonmetro area to $91,790 in Midland, a gap of $22,050 a year. All 8 areas in Michigan with more accountants than the Northern Michigan nonmetro area also pay more, among them Detroit-Warren, MI ($80,650) and Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI ($76,270).

the Northern Michigan nonmetro area against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, the Northern Michigan nonmetro area is #232 of 521 US areas for this job. It is a mid-sized market, and its pay is in the bottom quarter of US areas. Outside Michigan, Johnstown and Williamsport pay just above the Northern Michigan nonmetro area and Champaign-Urbana and Texarkana just below. All four are within $300 a year of the median in the Northern Michigan nonmetro area. 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.