Accountant salary in Portland-South Portland, ME

Pay in Portland-South Portland against Maine and the US

The middle half of accountants in Portland-South Portland earns $66,560–$101,260. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $128,480, only 2.1 times the bottom tenth, against 2.6 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. The mean ($88,300) is 11% 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 $34,700 wide, against $34,780 across Maine and $42,790 nationally: employers in Portland-South Portland 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 $21,470 over the median, the 25th only $13,230 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $27,703 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 Portland-South Portland, and the Maine statewide median of $77,480 falls between the 25th percentile and the median.

What a hire really costs in Portland-South Portland

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 $23,165 to the $79,790 median and brings it to $102,955 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 Portland-South Portland

Of the 17 roles we track in Portland-South Portland, this one ranks #2 by median pay, after project coordinators ($105,530); recruiters come next at $78,100.

Measured against the US median, accountants rank #15 of the 17 roles we track in Portland-South Portland (-4.6%), between sales development representatives (-2.3%) and marketing specialists (-6.8%). The typical role here is at +2.8%, so, measured against the US, accountants cost less in Portland-South Portland than the area's general pay level would suggest. Accountants hold 7.2% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Portland-South Portland, 7.0% across Maine and 9.1% nationally. The job is a smaller part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Maine

Across the 5 areas of Maine with data for this job, the median runs from $70,430 in the Southwest Maine nonmetro area to $79,790 in Portland-South Portland, a gap of $9,360 a year. No other area in Maine has as many accountants, and all 4 others pay less.

Portland-South Portland against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Portland-South Portland is #110 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 Maine, Utica-Rome and Albuquerque pay just above Portland-South Portland and Savannah and Bakersfield-Delano just below. All four are within $170 a year of the median in Portland-South Portland. Of the three markets with about as many accountants, one pays more.

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