Accountants and Auditors: pay by state
National median: $83,680/yrBLS OEWS OEWSSource: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics · OEWS · May 2025 vintage · released May 2025 · Official API. Below, each state's median wage is adjusted to national prices so you can compare real purchasing power, not just headline pay.
What's the equivalent in another state?
A accountant earning the median$111,530in District of Columbia needs about$98,540in Texas to keep the same purchasing power. The actual median there is $80,920(—).
Show the math
How much the state matters
Nationally, the median accountant earns $83,680 a year. But the state-by-state gap is large: from $111,530 in District of Columbia down to $66,330 in Arkansas — a spread of 68% for the same job.
Where the job really pays best
Headline pay is only half the story. Adjust each state's wage for its cost of living and the map redraws itself. Once prices are accounted for, District of Columbia offers the strongest real pay ($101,483 in national-average terms). New Jersey, by contrast, pays a high nominal $100,830 but slips to 8th on real pay once its price level is factored in.
Every state, ranked by real pay
“Real pay” = median wage ÷ (state price level ÷ 100). Sorted best-first. 100 = US average price level.
| # | State | Median wage | Price level | Real pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $111,530 | 109.9 | $101,483 |
| 2 | Delaware | $95,020 | 99.8 | $95,210 |
| 3 | New York | $102,640 | 107.9 | $95,125 |
| 4 | Connecticut | $97,550 | 103.6 | $94,160 |
| 5 | Colorado | $97,030 | 103.1 | $94,113 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $99,460 | 105.8 | $94,008 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $95,820 | 102.3 | $93,666 |
| 8 | New Jersey | $100,830 | 108.8 | $92,675 |
| 9 | Virginia | $93,290 | 101.1 | $92,275 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | $79,370 | 87.8 | $90,399 |
| 11 | Washington | $96,550 | 107.0 | $90,234 |
| 12 | South Dakota | $78,880 | 88.6 | $89,029 |
| 13 | Iowa | $77,440 | 87.8 | $88,200 |
| 14 | Kansas | $79,000 | 90.1 | $87,680 |
| 15 | California | $97,050 | 110.7 | $87,669 |
| 16 | North Carolina | $82,050 | 94.3 | $87,010 |
| 17 | Ohio | $79,320 | 92.8 | $85,474 |
| 18 | New Mexico | $78,580 | 92.2 | $85,228 |
| 19 | Maryland | $89,370 | 105.0 | $85,114 |
| 20 | North Dakota | $75,730 | 89.0 | $85,090 |
| 21 | Georgia | $81,900 | 96.3 | $85,047 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | $79,400 | 94.1 | $84,378 |
| 23 | Missouri | $76,590 | 90.8 | $84,350 |
| 24 | Alabama | $74,880 | 88.8 | $84,324 |
| 25 | Wyoming | $77,620 | 92.7 | $83,732 |
| 26 | Louisiana | $73,810 | 88.2 | $83,685 |
| 27 | Tennessee | $76,840 | 91.9 | $83,613 |
| 28 | Kentucky | $75,270 | 90.2 | $83,448 |
| 29 | Texas | $80,920 | 97.1 | $83,337 |
| 30 | Indiana | $77,720 | 93.3 | $83,301 |
| 31 | Oregon | $85,800 | 103.4 | $82,979 |
| 32 | Minnesota | $81,600 | 98.6 | $82,759 |
| 33 | Michigan | $78,820 | 96.2 | $81,933 |
| 34 | West Virginia | $73,320 | 89.5 | $81,922 |
| 35 | South Carolina | $76,560 | 93.7 | $81,708 |
| 36 | Nevada | $81,600 | 100.0 | $81,600 |
| 37 | Alaska | $83,460 | 102.4 | $81,504 |
| 38 | Pennsylvania | $79,000 | 97.6 | $80,943 |
| 39 | Utah | $79,990 | 98.9 | $80,880 |
| 40 | Vermont | $78,890 | 98.0 | $80,500 |
| 41 | Illinois | $80,230 | 100.0 | $80,230 |
| 42 | Montana | $75,810 | 94.6 | $80,137 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | $83,470 | 104.2 | $80,106 |
| 44 | Nebraska | $72,080 | 90.1 | $80,000 |
| 45 | Maine | $77,480 | 97.1 | $79,794 |
| 46 | Arizona | $79,970 | 100.7 | $79,414 |
| 47 | Mississippi | $68,100 | 87.0 | $78,276 |
| 48 | Idaho | $74,730 | 95.5 | $78,251 |
| 49 | Florida | $79,250 | 103.4 | $76,644 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $66,330 | 86.9 | $76,329 |
| 51 | Hawaii | $74,500 | 110.0 | $67,727 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics · OEWS · May 2025 · rel. May 2025 · Official API
BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 2026 · Official API