Accountants & Auditors
The national median wage for accountants & auditors is $79,880 across 1.4M jobs. After cost of living, San Francisco goes furthest at $94,831, and 39 of 78 metros beat the national median once prices are counted.
What the job pays, metro to metro
Each line runs from the lowest metro to the highest. The mark is the national median.
BLS OES, latest release
78 metro areas tracked
Best value: top metros by cost-adjusted wage
Wages adjusted for local cost of living. A longer blue bar means the salary goes further there.
All metro areas
Sorted by cost-adjusted wage. Tap a column head to re-sort; metro names link to the city page where we track one.
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | CA | $107,159 | $94,831 | 15,223 | 25.0 |
| 2 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | VA | $94,135 | $93,203 | 22,152 | 25.0 |
| 3 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | MA | $100,495 | $93,051 | 10,178 | 20.4 |
| 4 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | TX | $89,095 | $91,851 | 18,100 | 25.0 |
| 5 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | CT | $95,124 | $91,465 | 2,501 | 25.0 |
| 6 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $99,679 | $91,449 | 12,943 | 25.0 |
| 7 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | NY | $98,054 | $90,791 | 42,617 | 25.0 |
| 8 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | TX | $87,806 | $90,522 | 16,695 | 23.9 |
| 9 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | IL | $88,034 | $88,923 | 20,391 | 25.0 |
| 10 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | TX | $86,214 | $88,880 | 9,206 | 25.0 |
| 11 | Anchorage, AK | AK | $90,420 | $88,647 | 1,337 | 25.0 |
| 12 | Madison, WI | WI | $82,102 | $88,282 | 2,171 | 25.0 |
| 13 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | GA | $85,157 | $87,791 | 12,346 | 22.4 |
| 14 | Columbus, OH | OH | $80,747 | $87,768 | 4,600 | 23.0 |
| 15 | Kansas City, MO-KS | MO | $80,643 | $87,655 | 5,745 | 25.0 |
| 16 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | WI | $81,515 | $87,651 | 4,867 | 25.0 |
| 17 | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | CT | $90,395 | $86,918 | 2,745 | 25.0 |
| 18 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | OH | $79,655 | $86,582 | 5,658 | 25.0 |
| 19 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | OR | $90,557 | $86,245 | 7,481 | 25.0 |
| 20 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | CO | $87,046 | $86,184 | 7,406 | 24.7 |
| 21 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | NC | $80,922 | $86,087 | 8,904 | 25.0 |
| 22 | Salt Lake City, UT | UT | $81,459 | $85,746 | 3,345 | 22.3 |
| 23 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | MN | $84,005 | $85,719 | 12,221 | 25.0 |
| 24 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | NC | $80,222 | $85,343 | 4,625 | 25.0 |
| 25 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ | DE | $83,631 | $84,476 | 1,280 | 25.0 |
| 26 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | PA | $82,500 | $84,184 | 11,349 | 20.6 |
| 27 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $87,423 | $84,061 | 8,639 | 25.0 |
| 28 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | OH | $77,038 | $83,737 | 4,154 | 25.0 |
| 29 | St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $76,475 | $83,125 | 5,402 | 21.6 |
| 30 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | MI | $77,900 | $82,872 | 8,930 | 22.3 |
| 31 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $92,894 | $82,207 | 31,198 | 25.0 |
| 32 | Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN | TN | $76,406 | $82,157 | 4,020 | 20.1 |
| 33 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | RI | $82,706 | $81,887 | 4,852 | 25.0 |
| 34 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | FL | $83,746 | $81,307 | 15,065 | 25.0 |
| 35 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | NE | $73,167 | $81,297 | 3,436 | 25.0 |
| 36 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | KY | $73,006 | $81,118 | 4,450 | 25.0 |
| 37 | Honolulu, HI | HI | $88,223 | $80,939 | 1,967 | 25.0 |
| 38 | Richmond, VA | VA | $81,630 | $80,822 | 4,362 | 25.0 |
| 39 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | IA | $71,348 | $80,166 | 2,595 | 25.0 |
| 40 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | NH | $83,537 | $79,559 | 1,032 | 20.6 |
| 41 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | IN | $73,016 | $79,365 | 7,272 | 25.0 |
| 42 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | AL | $71,393 | $79,326 | 3,449 | 25.0 |
| 43 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | LA | $69,801 | $79,319 | 2,723 | 25.0 |
| 44 | Fargo, ND-MN | ND | $70,365 | $79,062 | 837 | 20.9 |
| 45 | Baton Rouge, LA | LA | $69,344 | $78,800 | 2,029 | 25.0 |
| 46 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | NV | $76,168 | $78,524 | 7,271 | 25.0 |
| 47 | Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI | MI | $73,797 | $78,507 | 2,958 | 25.0 |
| 48 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | SC | $72,922 | $78,411 | 1,911 | 25.0 |
| 49 | Portland-South Portland, ME | ME | $75,587 | $77,925 | 1,350 | 25.0 |
| 50 | Cheyenne, WY | WY | $70,870 | $77,879 | 325 | 21.7 |
| 51 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | AR | $67,648 | $77,756 | 2,550 | 25.0 |
| 52 | Tulsa, OK | OK | $68,275 | $77,585 | 2,056 | 20.6 |
| 53 | Boise City, ID | ID | $70,122 | $77,057 | 2,344 | 25.0 |
| 54 | Columbia, SC | SC | $71,434 | $76,811 | 2,545 | 25.0 |
| 55 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $86,629 | $76,663 | 7,019 | 23.4 |
| 56 | Oklahoma City, OK | OK | $67,449 | $76,647 | 5,344 | 25.0 |
| 57 | Sioux Falls, SD | SD | $67,350 | $76,534 | 802 | 20.1 |
| 58 | Pittsburgh, PA | PA | $74,703 | $76,228 | 7,082 | 25.0 |
| 59 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | AZ | $76,004 | $75,251 | 11,591 | 25.0 |
| 60 | Wichita, KS | KS | $67,568 | $75,076 | 1,112 | 22.2 |
| 61 | Billings, MT | MT | $67,422 | $74,913 | 868 | 25.0 |
| 62 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $72,344 | $74,581 | 923 | 25.0 |
| 63 | Albuquerque, NM | NM | $67,008 | $74,453 | 2,587 | 25.0 |
| 64 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | TX | $71,482 | $73,693 | 6,011 | 24.0 |
| 65 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | TN | $67,653 | $72,745 | 2,781 | 25.0 |
| 66 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | FL | $74,767 | $72,589 | 8,050 | 25.0 |
| 67 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | VA | $73,043 | $72,320 | 5,007 | 25.0 |
| 68 | Tucson, AZ | AZ | $72,854 | $72,133 | 3,433 | 25.0 |
| 69 | Knoxville, TN | TN | $67,074 | $72,123 | 2,317 | 23.2 |
| 70 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $80,940 | $71,628 | 6,321 | 25.0 |
| 71 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | FL | $73,326 | $71,190 | 5,980 | 23.9 |
| 72 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | CA | $79,234 | $70,119 | 9,951 | 24.9 |
| 73 | Jacksonville, FL | FL | $71,662 | $69,575 | 3,712 | 24.8 |
| 74 | Charleston, WV | WV | $61,640 | $68,489 | 702 | 25.0 |
| 75 | El Paso, TX | TX | $66,150 | $68,196 | 1,884 | 25.0 |
| 76 | Jackson, MS | MS | $59,244 | $68,097 | 1,414 | 25.0 |
| 77 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | NY | $70,432 | $65,215 | 3,094 | 25.0 |
| 78 | Rochester, NY | NY | $69,822 | $64,650 | 3,331 | 25.0 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Accountants & Auditors?
The national median annual wage for accountants & auditors is $79,880, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) data.
Where do accountants & auditors earn the most after adjusting for cost of living?
After adjusting for local cost of living, the top-paying metro areas for accountants & auditors are San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA ($94,831), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($93,203), Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($93,051).
How many metro areas have data for accountants & auditors?
We show wage and employment estimates for accountants & auditors across 78 metro areas in the United States. The national median wage is the latest BLS OES figure; individual metro values are modeled from it using local cost of living and regional labor-market patterns rather than taken from the published metro-level OES tables.