How much does a an Accountant make a year?

The U.S. median annual wage is $83,680: half of the people in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less. Source: BLS OES May 2025.

What do the highest- and lowest-paid Accountants and Auditors earn?

Nationally, the top 10% earn more than $144,090 a year, and the bottom 10% earn less than $56,020. The middle half sit between $67,020 and $109,810.

Which state has the highest median wage for Accountants and Auditors?

District of Columbia (DC) has the highest published median, $111,530 — about 33% above the national median. 54 of the 54 areas in the survey publish a figure for this occupation.

How many Accountants and Auditors work in the United States?

1,449,500 people worked in this occupation in the May 2025 BLS OES survey.

What education do Accountants and Auditors need?

O*NET rates the education this occupation requires as: Bachelor's. That is a rating of the job, not a survey of what the people doing it studied. O*NET also places the occupation in Job Zone 4 (Considerable preparation).

What is the hourly pay for Accountants and Auditors?

The national median is $40.23 an hour, or $83,680 a year. That is the national figure — we have not loaded BLS's state-level hourly wages.

Accountant Salary by State

How much does a an Accountant make?

U.S. median, per year: $83,680
Middle 50% of workers: $67,020 to $109,810
Employed in the U.S.: 1,449,500 people
Hourly median: $40.23 an hour
Range of state medians: $43,530 to $111,530

Source: BLS OES May 2025 · retrieved 2026-09-15

The full pay ladder

Percentiles split the people doing this job into ten equal groups. P10 is the point that the lowest-paid 10% fall below; P90 is the point only the top 10% rise above. These are national figures, published by BLS.

	Annual	Hourly
P10 — bottom 10%	$56,020	$26.93
P25 — bottom quarter	$67,020	$32.22
Median (P50)	$83,680	$40.23
P75 — top quarter	$109,810	$52.80
P90 — top 10%	$144,090	$69.27
Average (mean)	$94,750	$45.56

P90 is about 2.6 times P10. That is a ratio between two points on the distribution, not between two groups of people.

The state table below is annual: we downloaded only the annual figures for the states. BLS also publishes state hourly wages, and we have not loaded those yet.

Accountant pay across the 54 areas in the BLS survey

All 54 areas in the BLS survey, ranked by median annual wage. 54 publish a figure for this occupation.

District of Columbia (DC)$111,530
+33%#1Employed: 9,810
New York (NY)$102,640
+23%#2Employed: 109,830
New Jersey (NJ)$100,830
+20%#3Employed: 42,250
Massachusetts (MA)$99,460
+19%#4Employed: 46,230
Connecticut (CT)$97,550
+17%#5Employed: 16,770
California (CA)$97,050
+16%#6Employed: 175,360
Colorado (CO)$97,030
+16%#7Employed: 35,410
Washington (WA)$96,550
+15%#8Employed: 34,740
Rhode Island (RI)$95,820
+15%#9Employed: 6,570
Delaware (DE)$95,020
+14%#10Employed: 6,570
Virginia (VA)$93,290
+11%#11Employed: 47,100
Maryland (MD)$89,370
+7%#12Employed: 26,170
Oregon (OR)$85,800
+3%#13Employed: 14,920
New Hampshire (NH)$83,470
level with the U.S.#14Employed: 7,000
Alaska (AK)$83,460
level with the U.S.#15Employed: 2,190
North Carolina (NC)$82,050
−2%#16Employed: 49,270
Georgia (GA)$81,900
−2%#17Employed: 44,020
Minnesota (MN)$81,600
−2%#18Employed: 30,530
Nevada (NV)$81,600
−2%#19Employed: 6,930
Texas (TX)$80,920
−3%#20Employed: 116,470
Illinois (IL)$80,230
−4%#21Employed: 54,930
Utah (UT)$79,990
−4%#22Employed: 15,490
Arizona (AZ)$79,970
−4%#23Employed: 27,410
Wisconsin (WI)$79,400
−5%#24Employed: 25,100
Oklahoma (OK)$79,370
−5%#25Employed: 16,720
Ohio (OH)$79,320
−5%#26Employed: 50,440
Florida (FL)$79,250
−5%#27Employed: 91,000
Kansas (KS)$79,000
−6%#28Employed: 13,610
Pennsylvania (PA)$79,000
−6%#29Employed: 54,290
Vermont (VT)$78,890
−6%#30Employed: 2,630
South Dakota (SD)$78,880
−6%#31Employed: 5,820
Michigan (MI)$78,820
−6%#32Employed: 41,460
New Mexico (NM)$78,580
−6%#33Employed: 6,300
Indiana (IN)$77,720
−7%#34Employed: 25,660
Wyoming (WY)$77,620
−7%#35Employed: 2,670
Maine (ME)$77,480
−7%#36Employed: 3,860
Iowa (IA)$77,440
−7%#37Employed: 13,210
Tennessee (TN)$76,840
−8%#38Employed: 27,340
Missouri (MO)$76,590
−8%#39Employed: 28,000
South Carolina (SC)$76,560
−9%#40Employed: 15,270
Montana (MT)$75,810
−9%#41Employed: 4,730
North Dakota (ND)$75,730
−10%#42Employed: 4,430
Kentucky (KY)$75,270
−10%#43Employed: 11,930
Alabama (AL)$74,880
−11%#44Employed: 24,300
Idaho (ID)$74,730
−11%#45Employed: 5,570
Hawaii (HI)$74,500
−11%#46Employed: 4,670
Louisiana (LA)$73,810
−12%#47Employed: 14,050
West Virginia (WV)$73,320
−12%#48Employed: 4,900
Nebraska (NE)$72,080
−14%#49Employed: 10,340
Mississippi (MS)$68,100
−19%#50Employed: 7,350
Arkansas (AR)$66,330
−21%#51Employed: 7,870
Virgin Islands (VI)$59,060
−29%#52Employed: 340
Guam (GU)$50,410
−40%#53Employed: 610
Puerto Rico (PR)$43,530
−48%#54Employed: 12,370

State or territory	Median annual wage	vs U.S. median	Employed	Rank
District of Columbia (DC)	$111,530	+33%	9,810	1
New York (NY)	$102,640	+23%	109,830	2
New Jersey (NJ)	$100,830	+20%	42,250	3
Massachusetts (MA)	$99,460	+19%	46,230	4
Connecticut (CT)	$97,550	+17%	16,770	5
California (CA)	$97,050	+16%	175,360	6
Colorado (CO)	$97,030	+16%	35,410	7
Washington (WA)	$96,550	+15%	34,740	8
Rhode Island (RI)	$95,820	+15%	6,570	9
Delaware (DE)	$95,020	+14%	6,570	10
Virginia (VA)	$93,290	+11%	47,100	11
Maryland (MD)	$89,370	+7%	26,170	12
Oregon (OR)	$85,800	+3%	14,920	13
New Hampshire (NH)	$83,470	level with the U.S.	7,000	14
Alaska (AK)	$83,460	level with the U.S.	2,190	15
North Carolina (NC)	$82,050	−2%	49,270	16
Georgia (GA)	$81,900	−2%	44,020	17
Minnesota (MN)	$81,600	−2%	30,530	18
Nevada (NV)	$81,600	−2%	6,930	19
Texas (TX)	$80,920	−3%	116,470	20
Illinois (IL)	$80,230	−4%	54,930	21
Utah (UT)	$79,990	−4%	15,490	22
Arizona (AZ)	$79,970	−4%	27,410	23
Wisconsin (WI)	$79,400	−5%	25,100	24
Oklahoma (OK)	$79,370	−5%	16,720	25
Ohio (OH)	$79,320	−5%	50,440	26
Florida (FL)	$79,250	−5%	91,000	27
Kansas (KS)	$79,000	−6%	13,610	28
Pennsylvania (PA)	$79,000	−6%	54,290	29
Vermont (VT)	$78,890	−6%	2,630	30
South Dakota (SD)	$78,880	−6%	5,820	31
Michigan (MI)	$78,820	−6%	41,460	32
New Mexico (NM)	$78,580	−6%	6,300	33
Indiana (IN)	$77,720	−7%	25,660	34
Wyoming (WY)	$77,620	−7%	2,670	35
Maine (ME)	$77,480	−7%	3,860	36
Iowa (IA)	$77,440	−7%	13,210	37
Tennessee (TN)	$76,840	−8%	27,340	38
Missouri (MO)	$76,590	−8%	28,000	39
South Carolina (SC)	$76,560	−9%	15,270	40
Montana (MT)	$75,810	−9%	4,730	41
North Dakota (ND)	$75,730	−10%	4,430	42
Kentucky (KY)	$75,270	−10%	11,930	43
Alabama (AL)	$74,880	−11%	24,300	44
Idaho (ID)	$74,730	−11%	5,570	45
Hawaii (HI)	$74,500	−11%	4,670	46
Louisiana (LA)	$73,810	−12%	14,050	47
West Virginia (WV)	$73,320	−12%	4,900	48
Nebraska (NE)	$72,080	−14%	10,340	49
Mississippi (MS)	$68,100	−19%	7,350	50
Arkansas (AR)	$66,330	−21%	7,870	51
Virgin Islands (VI)	$59,060	−29%	340	52
Guam (GU)	$50,410	−40%	610	53
Puerto Rico (PR)	$43,530	−48%	12,370	54

Highest: District of Columbia (DC) at $111,530. Lowest: Puerto Rico (PR) at $43,530.

These are survey estimates, not counts: two neighbouring ranks are not necessarily a real difference. No median or percentile figure on this page carries a relative standard error — the OES data we download has no such field for them — and the state-level relative standard errors are not downloaded either. BLS measures the reliability of an estimate with the relative standard error; its own definition: “The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.”

Nominal wages, with no adjustment for cost of living. A higher state median does not mean a higher standard of living, and it is not a forecast of what any one person would earn.

What the job usually takes

O*NET's preparation level for this occupation, its rated education requirement, and what the people in the occupation reported. These describe the typical route in — they are not requirements you have to meet.

Preparation level (O*NET Job Zone): Zone 4 — Considerable preparation
Usually a bachelor's degree plus several years of related experience.
Rated education requirement: Bachelor's

31.0 · rated by occupational experts · 29 respondents · collected 08/2026

What people in this occupation reported

Bachelor's — 69%
Associate's (2-year) — 6.9%

Its Holland code is CEI

O*NET gives every occupation an interest code: the RIASEC directions its work draws on most. This one is CEI — Conventional · Enterprising · Investigative.

CConventional
EEnterprising
IInvestigative

An occupation's code and a person's code are not the same measurement. The questionnaire asks how much you like an activity; the occupation profile describes how much of that interest area the work contains. No equivalence study links the two, so a match is a starting point for research, not a verdict that this job suits you.

More occupations whose code starts with CEI

Find your own code

O*NET's own relatedness ranking for this occupation: the occupations it judges similar in what workers do, know and are called. It is not a record of who moved where.

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing ClerksConventional · Enterprising
Financial ExaminersConventional · Enterprising · Investigative
Treasurers and ControllersConventional · Enterprising
Tax PreparersConventional · Enterprising
Financial ManagersEnterprising · Conventional

Names are O*NET's official occupation titles — the ones used in U.S. labour-market data.

Common questions

How much does a an Accountant make a year?: The U.S. median annual wage is $83,680: half of the people in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less. Source: BLS OES May 2025.
What do the highest- and lowest-paid Accountants and Auditors earn?: Nationally, the top 10% earn more than $144,090 a year, and the bottom 10% earn less than $56,020. The middle half sit between $67,020 and $109,810.
Which state has the highest median wage for Accountants and Auditors?: District of Columbia (DC) has the highest published median, $111,530 — about 33% above the national median. 54 of the 54 areas in the survey publish a figure for this occupation.
How many Accountants and Auditors work in the United States?: 1,449,500 people worked in this occupation in the May 2025 BLS OES survey.
What education do Accountants and Auditors need?: O*NET rates the education this occupation requires as: Bachelor's. That is a rating of the job, not a survey of what the people doing it studied. O*NET also places the occupation in Job Zone 4 (Considerable preparation).
What is the hourly pay for Accountants and Auditors?: The national median is $40.23 an hour, or $83,680 a year. That is the national figure — we have not loaded BLS's state-level hourly wages.

Where these numbers come from

O*NET Database 31.0 (CC BY 4.0) — occupation names, interest (Holland) codes, Job Zone and the rated education requirement. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), May 2025 release — every wage and employment figure on this page. Retrieved 2026-09-15. Public domain. OES does not include self-employed workers, and annual figures are hourly figures multiplied by 2,080 hours where hourly ones are published.
For these figures, BLS publishes a relative standard error:
- U.S. employment: 1,449,500 — BLS relative standard error 0.5%
- National average annual wage (mean): $94,750 — BLS relative standard error 0.3%
This is BLS's own definition: “The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.”A relative standard error belongs to the figure it is listed against, and to that figure only. The median and the percentile figures on this page have none — the OES data we download carries no relative standard error for them — and the state-level relative standard errors are not downloaded, so no state figure carries one.
O*NET and BLS both use the same SOC occupation code, so the join here is exact: BLS publishes this occupation's wages under 13-2011.

How to cite this page

Accountants and Auditors salary data, Career Interest Test, from O*NET 31.0 and BLS OES May 2025, exported 2026-09-16.

We are not licensed career counselors. The figures on this page are occupation-level statistics published by the U.S. government: they describe what people in this job earn, not what any one person would earn.

Accountants and Auditors