How much do accountants make?

Accountant salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Accountants and Auditors (SOC 13-2011) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Accountants in the US earned a median of $83,680 a year ($40.23 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $67,020 to $109,810.

Median annual pay: $83,680; Mean $94,750
Median hourly pay: $40.23; Mean $45.56
Typical range (10th–90th): $56.0K–$144K; $56,020 to $144,090
US jobs: 1,449,500; +5.0% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become an accountant: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: District of Columbia

Accountant pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$56,020
25th percentile$67,020
Median$83,680
75th percentile$109,810
90th percentile$144,090

Half of all accountants earned more than $83,680 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $56,020; the top 10% made over $144,090. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $67,020 to $109,810.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$56,020	$26.93	$4,668
25th	$67,020	$32.22	$5,585
Median (50th)	$83,680	$40.23	$6,973
75th	$109,810	$52.80	$9,151
90th	$144,090	$69.27	$12,008
Mean (average)	$94,750	$45.56	$7,896

Accountant salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for accountants by state. Darker tiles pay more.

Highest-paying states

1. District of Columbia $111,530
2. New York $102,640
3. New Jersey $100,830
4. Massachusetts $99,460
5. Connecticut $97,550

Lowest-paying states

51. Arkansas $66,330
50. Mississippi $68,100
49. Nebraska $72,080
48. West Virginia $73,320
47. Louisiana $73,810

Best after cost of living: District of Columbia. Its median of $111,530 is worth about $101,482 at national-average prices.


Alabama	$74,880	44	$84,302	24	$36.00	24,300	11.50
Alaska	$83,460	15	$81,537	37	$40.13	2,190	6.72
Arizona	$79,970	23	$79,432	46	$38.45	27,410	8.46
Arkansas	$66,330	51	$76,297	50	$31.89	7,870	6.04
California	$97,050	6	$87,654	15	$46.66	175,360	9.63
Colorado	$97,030	7	$94,156	4	$46.65	35,410	12.32
Connecticut	$97,550	5	$94,151	5	$46.90	16,770	9.89
Delaware	$95,020	10	$95,203	2	$45.69	6,570	13.55
District of Columbia	$111,530	1	$101,482	1	$53.62	9,810	13.97
Florida	$79,250	27	$76,634	49	$38.10	91,000	9.16
Georgia	$81,900	17	$85,053	21	$39.37	44,020	9.00
Hawaii	$74,500	46	$67,757	51	$35.82	4,670	7.44
Idaho	$74,730	45	$78,256	48	$35.93	5,570	6.50
Illinois	$80,230	21	$80,264	41	$38.57	54,930	9.01
Indiana	$77,720	34	$83,275	30	$37.36	25,660	8.02
Iowa	$77,440	37	$88,239	13	$37.23	13,210	8.47
Kansas	$79,000	28	$87,712	14	$37.98	13,610	9.47
Kentucky	$75,270	43	$83,486	28	$36.19	11,930	5.96
Louisiana	$73,810	47	$83,678	26	$35.49	14,050	7.26
Maine	$77,480	36	$79,835	45	$37.25	3,860	6.02
Maryland	$89,370	12	$85,148	19	$42.97	26,170	9.47
Massachusetts	$99,460	4	$94,046	6	$47.82	46,230	12.71
Michigan	$78,820	32	$81,919	34	$37.89	41,460	9.41
Minnesota	$81,600	18	$82,741	32	$39.23	30,530	10.35
Mississippi	$68,100	50	$78,318	47	$32.74	7,350	6.32
Missouri	$76,590	39	$84,334	23	$36.82	28,000	9.54
Montana	$75,810	41	$80,099	43	$36.45	4,730	9.25
Nebraska	$72,080	49	$79,997	44	$34.65	10,340	10.09
Nevada	$81,600	19	$81,617	36	$39.23	6,930	4.47
New Hampshire	$83,470	14	$80,132	42	$40.13	7,000	10.24
New Jersey	$100,830	3	$92,670	8	$48.48	42,250	9.86
New Mexico	$78,580	33	$85,217	18	$37.78	6,300	7.24
New York	$102,640	2	$95,107	3	$49.35	109,830	11.34
North Carolina	$82,050	16	$86,986	16	$39.45	49,270	9.97
North Dakota	$75,730	42	$85,129	20	$36.41	4,430	10.31
Ohio	$79,320	26	$85,498	17	$38.14	50,440	9.09
Oklahoma	$79,370	25	$90,354	10	$38.16	16,720	9.79
Oregon	$85,800	13	$83,010	31	$41.25	14,920	7.58
Pennsylvania	$79,000	29	$80,966	38	$37.98	54,290	8.95
Rhode Island	$95,820	9	$93,684	7	$46.07	6,570	13.10
South Carolina	$76,560	40	$81,665	35	$36.81	15,270	6.62
South Dakota	$78,880	31	$89,043	12	$37.92	5,820	12.72
Tennessee	$76,840	38	$83,640	27	$36.94	27,340	8.34
Texas	$80,920	20	$83,374	29	$38.91	116,470	8.28
Utah	$79,990	22	$80,909	39	$38.46	15,490	8.92
Vermont	$78,890	30	$80,535	40	$37.93	2,630	8.66
Virginia	$93,290	11	$92,271	9	$44.85	47,100	11.46
Washington	$96,550	8	$90,223	11	$46.42	34,740	9.78
West Virginia	$73,320	48	$81,925	33	$35.25	4,900	6.98
Wisconsin	$79,400	24	$84,383	22	$38.17	25,100	8.53
Wyoming	$77,620	35	$83,741	25	$37.32	2,670	9.50

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for accountants

387 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$121,700	$110,213	13,180
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$110,730	$95,776	25,170
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$105,650	$93,859	111,930
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$102,140	$93,806	41,470
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$102,020	$95,467	5,000
Midland, TX	$100,890	$105,332	1,240
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV	$100,420	$115,338	550
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$100,150	$92,504	37,150
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$100,020	$94,553	22,720
Boulder, CO	$99,990	$95,046	2,380

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	111,930	$105,650	$93,859
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	70,640	$94,360	$83,088
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	41,470	$102,140	$93,806
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	41,360	$82,360	$79,502
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	37,450	$82,620	$80,144
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	37,150	$100,150	$92,504
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	30,950	$80,920	$70,886
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	30,150	$85,820	$85,770
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	29,370	$85,990	$83,849
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	28,400	$85,090	$86,273

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves accountant pay: employers and settings

Employer type is the clearest pay lever for accountants in the official data. Federal government accountants and auditors have the highest median among employer types ($120,520) and include agency auditors and examiners. Corporate headquarters, counted under management of companies, pay $91,940 and consulting firms pay $91,720. Accounting and tax firms, the largest employer, have a median of $81,490 and pay more as staff move up to senior, manager and partner. State government pays $77,450.

Location matters too. The District of Columbia has the highest median, $111,530, and it still leads after adjusting for living costs at $101,482. New York follows at $102,640, and New Jersey is third at $100,830, just above Massachusetts. Arkansas is lowest at $66,330.

Across the occupation, pay runs from $56,020, the 10th percentile, to $144,090, the 90th. BLS does not break that range down by title or credential, but the CPA license and promotion to manager or controller are the usual ways accountants move up within it.

Where accountants work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services	22.8%	$81,490
Management of Companies and Enterprises	7.3%	$91,940
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals	3.6%	$80,310
Real Estate	3.2%	$87,580
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	3.2%	$91,720
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals	3.1%	$77,450

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	1,295,270	$84,090
Federal government (incl. Postal Service)	22,370	$120,520
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	60,520	$76,780
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	71,340	$79,930

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Accountant pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$83.7K $67.2K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $67,190 in 2015 to $83,680 in 2025, up 25% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $90,827 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay fell 8% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What accountants do

An accountant prepares, checks and explains an organization's financial records: the books, the tax returns, and the financial statements that owners, lenders, investors and regulators rely on. Auditors fall under the same official occupation. They test whether those records are accurate and whether the controls around them work.

The largest group, 22.8% in our data, works at accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll firms, from small local practices to the large public accounting firms that audit public companies. Others work inside companies as staff accountants, cost accountants and internal auditors, or for federal, state and local governments, real estate firms and consulting firms. About 5.5% are self-employed, often running tax or bookkeeping practices.

Most of the work happens at a desk with accounting software and spreadsheets: closing the books each month, reconciling accounts, preparing returns, and writing up findings. Public accounting auditors also visit client offices. The job is usually full time, with long weeks during tax season, at quarter-end and in audit busy season. A CPA license is not required for most accounting jobs, but it is required to sign audit reports filed with the SEC.

A typical day

Record transactions and post adjusting journal entries during the monthly close
Reconcile bank, payroll and vendor accounts and track down differences
Prepare financial statements and management reports on budgets, costs and cash flow
Prepare and review individual, business or nonprofit tax returns and estimated payments
Test samples of invoices, contracts and approvals during an audit, and document findings
Review internal controls and recommend fixes to prevent errors or fraud
Explain results to managers, clients or audit committees and answer questions from tax authorities

Also called: accounting, auditor, accountants, certified public accountant, accounting officer, audit partner, cost accountant, cpa (certified public accountant).

How to become an accountant

Full guide

To become an accountant, you earn a bachelor's degree in accounting or a related business field, which takes about 4 years. To become a CPA, you also pass the four-section Uniform CPA Examination and meet your state's education and experience rules: either 150 semester hours plus 1 year of experience, or, in states that have adopted it, 120 hours plus 2 years.

Typical time: 4 years (accountant); 6 years (CPA); Fastest: About 4 years (accountant); about 5 to 6 years (CPA)
Minimum education: Bachelor's degree in accounting or a related field (CPA license: 120 or 150 semester hours, depending on pathway and state)
License: Not required for most accounting jobs; CPA license from a state board of accountancy required to sign SEC audit reports and offer public attest services
Typical training cost: $42.0K–$52.2K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming an accountant: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 4 years (accountant); 6 years (CPA); Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $42.0K–$52.2K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $83,680; $32,700 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 50–62%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($32,700 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in about 1.3–1.6 years after training ends (4 years (accountant); 6 years (cpa) in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for accountants

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +5.0%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 1,595,200; 1,674,600 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 115,300; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 5.5%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects employment of accountants and auditors to grow from 1,595,200 in 2025 to 1,674,600 in 2035, an increase of 5%, compared with 3.5% for all occupations. That works out to about 115,300 openings a year, most of them from accountants retiring or moving into other jobs.

Demand tracks the economy: more businesses mean more books to keep, returns to file and statements to audit. Cloud software and AI are automating routine tasks like data entry and matching transactions. BLS expects that to shift accountants toward analysis and advice rather than reduce the number of jobs.

Related careers and their pay

Financial Advisor$105,070
Financial Analyst$102,740
Business Analyst$101,860
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks$50,670
Financial Examiners$94,160

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Accountant salary FAQ

How much do accountants make an hour?

The median hourly wage for accountants was $40.23 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $26.93 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $69.27. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays accountants the most?

District of Columbia has the highest median pay for accountants, $111,530 a year, followed by New York ($102,640) and New Jersey ($100,830). After adjusting for each state's price level, District of Columbia comes out ahead at about $101,482 in national-average dollars.

Do accountants make six figures?

Some do: based on the BLS percentiles, between 25% and 50% of accountants earn more than $100,000 a year. The median is $83,680, and the top 10% earn more than $144,090. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

Do you need to be a CPA to work as an accountant?

No. Most accounting jobs, such as staff accountant, cost accountant, payroll or internal auditor, require a bachelor's degree but not a license. A CPA license is required to sign audit reports for companies that file with the SEC and to offer certain attest services to the public. Many accountants still earn the CPA because it opens manager, partner and controller roles and helps with pay.

What is the difference between an accountant and an auditor?

Accountants prepare financial records, statements and tax returns. Auditors examine records prepared by others to check their accuracy and test the controls behind them. External auditors at public accounting firms issue opinions on a client's statements, while internal auditors work for one organization and review its own processes. BLS counts both in one occupation, and many people do both kinds of work over a career.

Do accountants work long hours during tax season?

Many do. Most accountants work full time, but tax preparers and public accounting staff often work longer weeks from January through April, and auditors face similar crunches around year-end and quarterly reporting deadlines. Corporate and government accountants usually have steadier hours, with heavier weeks during the monthly close and annual budget or audit periods.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 13-2011
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (13-2011.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Accountants and Auditors, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
Everything You Need to Know About the CPA Exam, AICPA & CIMA · checked October 28, 2026
New CPA Licensure Pathways and CPA Mobility, National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) · checked October 28, 2026
CPA Exam: Pennsylvania, National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) · checked October 28, 2026
Accountants and Auditors (13-2011.00), O*NET OnLine · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026
How to earn the CMA Certification, Institute of Management Accountants · checked October 28, 2026
Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), The Institute of Internal Auditors · checked October 28, 2026

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