Bookkeeper salary in Lancaster, PA

Pay in Lancaster against Pennsylvania and the US

The middle half of bookkeepers in Lancaster earns $42,720–$58,360. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $66,390, only 1.8 times the bottom tenth, against 2.1 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $15,640 wide, against $17,070 across Pennsylvania and $17,950 nationally: employers in Lancaster pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a bookkeeper here

Pay climbs faster above the median than below it here: the 75th percentile is $10,150 over the median, the 25th only $5,490 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $13,097 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 $50,670 falls between the median and the 75th percentile in Lancaster, and the Pennsylvania statewide median of $48,440 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in Lancaster

At the $48,210 median, a local hire costs about $62,206 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $13,996 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 bookkeepers 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 Lancaster

Of the 17 roles we track in Lancaster, this one ranks #10 by median pay, between payroll specialists ($55,140) and HR assistants ($47,640). Project Coordinator is the highest at $95,820.

Measured against the US median, bookkeepers rank #7 of the 17 roles we track in Lancaster (-4.9%), between virtual receptionists (-3.3%) and payroll specialists (-5.4%). The typical role here is at -5.9%, so this job follows the area's general pay level. Bookkeepers hold 10.1% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Lancaster, 8.5% across Pennsylvania and 8.7% nationally. The job is a bigger part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Pennsylvania

Across the 20 areas of Pennsylvania with data for this job, the median runs from $41,730 in Johnstown to $53,500 in Lebanon, a gap of $11,770 a year. Of the 4 areas in Pennsylvania with more bookkeepers than Lancaster, 1 pays less: Pittsburgh, PA ($47,250).

Lancaster against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Lancaster 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 Pennsylvania, Carson City and Tulsa pay just above Lancaster and Monroe and Decatur just below. All four are within $40 a year of the median in Lancaster. Of the three markets with about as many bookkeepers, one pays more.

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Sources

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