Accountant Salary by State (2026)

Accountants and Auditors earn the most in District of Columbia at $111,530 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $43,530 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $83,680. All 54 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$111,530

District of Columbia

National median
$83,680

BLS OEWS, May 2025

Lowest median
$43,530

Puerto Rico

States reporting
54

of 54 OEWS areas

Top 5 states for Accountants and Auditors

  1. 1. District of Columbia$111,530 median · $101,482 adjusted · 9,810 employed
  2. 2. New York$102,640 median · $95,107 adjusted · 109,830 employed
  3. 3. New Jersey$100,830 median · $92,670 adjusted · 42,250 employed
  4. 4. Massachusetts$99,460 median · $94,046 adjusted · 46,230 employed
  5. 5. Connecticut$97,550 median · $94,151 adjusted · 16,770 employed

Lowest-paying states for Accountants and Auditors

  1. 54. Puerto Rico$43,530 median · no price parity · 12,370 employed
  2. 53. Guam$50,410 median · no price parity · 610 employed
  3. 52. U.S. Virgin Islands$59,060 median · no price parity · 340 employed
  4. 51. Arkansas$66,330 median · $76,297 adjusted · 7,870 employed
  5. 50. Mississippi$68,100 median · $78,318 adjusted · 7,350 employed

Accountant salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of accountants and auditors OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1District of Columbia$111,530$83,050$156,7309,810$101,482
2New York$102,640$79,760$134,820109,830$95,107
3New Jersey$100,830$80,320$129,28042,250$92,670
4Massachusetts$99,460$79,370$128,56046,230$94,046
5Connecticut$97,550$78,020$123,67016,770$94,151
6California$97,050$75,810$125,850175,360$87,654
7Colorado$97,030$74,900$127,27035,410$94,156
8Washington$96,550$79,180$122,48034,740$90,223
9Rhode Island$95,820$76,400$120,2806,570$93,684
10Delaware$95,020$74,270$120,4506,570$95,203
11Virginia$93,290$74,250$123,51047,100$92,271
12Maryland$89,370$73,100$116,42026,170$85,148
13Oregon$85,800$74,350$104,15014,920$83,010
14New Hampshire$83,470$71,360$105,1607,000$80,132
15Alaska$83,460$72,230$102,4602,190$81,537
16North Carolina$82,050$65,120$108,09049,270$86,986
17Georgia$81,900$64,830$109,11044,020$85,053
18Minnesota$81,600$68,190$105,02030,530$82,741
19Nevada$81,600$68,190$103,6406,930$81,617
20Texas$80,920$65,560$103,760116,470$83,374
21Illinois$80,230$66,290$102,27054,930$80,264
22Utah$79,990$61,910$104,14015,490$80,909
23Arizona$79,970$64,990$103,64027,410$79,432
24Wisconsin$79,400$65,000$100,80025,100$84,383
25Oklahoma$79,370$59,990$104,24016,720$90,354
26Ohio$79,320$63,020$102,23050,440$85,498
27Florida$79,250$62,730$103,14091,000$76,634
28Kansas$79,000$62,960$100,65013,610$87,712
29Pennsylvania$79,000$62,330$99,99054,290$80,966
30Vermont$78,890$66,190$97,1002,630$80,535
31South Dakota$78,880$66,970$97,9205,820$89,043
32Michigan$78,820$63,850$101,03041,460$81,919
33New Mexico$78,580$63,290$99,0906,300$85,217
34Indiana$77,720$62,370$100,12025,660$83,275
35Wyoming$77,620$60,470$100,5602,670$83,741
36Maine$77,480$63,920$98,7003,860$79,835
37Iowa$77,440$62,090$98,15013,210$88,239
38Tennessee$76,840$62,430$94,79027,340$83,640
39Missouri$76,590$60,370$99,58028,000$84,334
40South Carolina$76,560$62,100$99,08015,270$81,665
41Montana$75,810$61,690$97,3204,730$80,099
42North Dakota$75,730$60,960$95,7804,430$85,129
43Kentucky$75,270$61,040$96,78011,930$83,486
44Alabama$74,880$60,840$95,87024,300$84,302
45Idaho$74,730$61,150$93,4005,570$78,256
46Hawaii$74,500$60,710$92,8704,670$67,757
47Louisiana$73,810$59,960$91,83014,050$83,678
48West Virginia$73,320$59,260$91,6604,900$81,925
49Nebraska$72,080$59,990$90,66010,340$79,997
50Mississippi$68,100$57,550$93,6407,350$78,318
51Arkansas$66,330$52,570$88,9507,870$76,297
52U.S. Virgin Islands$59,060$48,130$83,210340N/A
53Guam$50,410$43,220$63,630610N/A
54Puerto Rico$43,530$34,660$57,94012,370N/A

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Accountants and Auditors, that changes the ranking: District of Columbia leads on raw pay at $111,530, while District of Columbia leads once prices are taken into account at $101,482.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Accountant pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Accountants and Auditors the most?

District of Columbia reports the highest median wage for Accountants and Auditors at $111,530 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by New York ($102,640) and New Jersey ($100,830).

Which state pays Accountants and Auditors the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Accountants and Auditors at $43,530 a year, $68,000 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Accountants and Auditors earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts District of Columbia first at $101,482 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $111,530. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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