Accountants and Auditors salary in the US
Here is where pay for accountants and auditors stands nationally, built from Census microdata rather than job-board postings.
How much do accountants and auditors earn?
If you lined up all accountants and auditors by pay, the person in the middle would earn about $80,205 a year — 53% more than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. That is good for 43rd place out of 171: better than most, yet well below the highest-paid fields. That estimate rests on 86,050 individual Census survey responses from workers 25 and up.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $183,303 |
| Top 25% start at | $119,324 |
| Median (top 50%) | $80,205 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $53,402 |
How wide is the pay range?
Pay inside this occupation is unusually spread out. Reaching the top 10% takes about $183,303 — 2.3 times the median — while the top 25% starts near $119,324. On the lower side, 25% reported $53,402 or less. These are annual totals, so part-time schedules and partial years pull this number down. The median is 1.5 times that lower-quarter line.
Earnings by age
Mid-career workers out-earn new entrants, but not dramatically — the median goes from $73,463 (25–34) to $87,106 (45–54). By 65+ the median is $60,915, down 30% from the high point, as many people phase into retirement.
Men and women
There is a 21% gap at the median: $92,727 for men and $73,321 for women. Women account for around 60% of the records behind these figures. Part of that difference reflects hours worked and job level within the occupation, which these totals don't control for.
| Group | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $92,727 | 34,578 |
| Women | $73,321 | 51,472 |
Does education change the pay?
Within the same job title, a professional degree goes with a $107,537 median, versus $53,696 for a high school education or less — a 100% difference. The most common credential in the sample is a bachelor's degree, with 50,526 records. Thin cells (under 100 records) aren't shown.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | $53,696 | 1,947 |
| Some college / associate | $55,839 | 8,241 |
| Bachelor's | $79,431 | 50,526 |
| Master's | $94,961 | 22,047 |
| Professional degree | $107,537 | 2,785 |
| Doctorate | $91,662 | 504 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois contribute the largest numbers of survey records for this job. New York pays best of the five ($92,727 median); Florida pays least ($73,463). State figures aren't price-adjusted; 50 states have a large enough sample to report.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $87,107 | 10,806 |
| Texas | $80,721 | 7,511 |
| New York | $92,727 | 6,109 |
| Florida | $73,463 | 5,195 |
| Illinois | $83,527 | 3,896 |
Occupations with similar pay
For comparison, these jobs have medians within a few thousand dollars: market research analysts and marketing specialists ($79,431), education and childcare administrators ($81,220), compliance officers ($81,220), and computer occupations, all other ($81,220). The jobs differ in training and working conditions; matching medians just means the typical paycheck is comparable.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| Market Research Analysts And Marketing Specialists | $79,431 | −1% |
| Education and Childcare Administrators | $81,220 | +1% |
| Compliance Officers | $81,220 | +1% |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | $81,220 | +1% |
| Police Officers | $81,220 | +1% |
About these figures
About the data: the American Community Survey asks people their occupation and earnings; we pool the 2020–2024 responses, convert them to 2024 dollars, and weight each person to represent the population. The 86,050 records for accountants and auditors include part-time workers, so these are annual totals rather than full-time salaries.
See where your pay ranks among accountants and auditors
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Open the calculatorSource: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) — personal earnings (PERNP) in 2024 dollars, person-weighted
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.