Accountant salary in the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area

Pay in the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area against Alabama and the US

The middle half of accountants in the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area earns $58,120–$92,870. The top tenth earns $115,360 or more, 2.4 times the bottom tenth, close to the US pattern of 2.6 times. The mean ($77,150) 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 $34,750 wide, against $35,030 across Alabama and $42,790 nationally: employers in the Northwest Alabama 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 $21,450 over the median, the 25th only $13,300 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $27,677 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 Northwest Alabama nonmetro area, and the Alabama statewide median of $74,880 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area

At the $71,420 median, a local hire costs about $92,155 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $20,735 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 Northwest Alabama nonmetro area

Accountants have the highest median of the 13 roles we track in the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area; virtual receptionists have the lowest, at $30,420.

Measured against the US median, this job is the best paid of the 13 roles we track in the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area (-14.7%); marketing specialists come last (-33.5%). The typical role here is at -21.5%, so, measured against the US, accountants cost more in the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area than the area's general pay level would suggest. Accountants hold 9.3% of the jobs in these 13 roles in the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area, 11.5% across Alabama and 10.0% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in Alabama

Across the 16 areas of Alabama with data for this job, the median runs from $63,250 in Gadsden to $79,220 in Huntsville, a gap of $15,970 a year. Of the 12 areas in Alabama with more accountants than the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area, 5 pay less, the largest of them the Northeast Alabama nonmetro area ($66,010), Daphne-Fairhope, AL ($71,230) and the Southeast Alabama nonmetro area ($65,990).

the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area is #366 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 Alabama, Springfield and Weirton-Steubenville pay just above the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area and Coeur d'Alene and Huntington-Ashland just below. All four are within $580 a year of the median in the Northwest Alabama nonmetro area. Of the three markets with about as many accountants, two pay more.

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