Finance · 25 Cities Ranked

Highest Paying Cities for Accountant (2024)

The median Accountant salary is $121,630 in San Jose, CA, the highest-paying city for this role. After adjusting for cost of living, Charlotte, NC offers the best purchasing power at $88,366 adjusted.

$88,541

National Median

$121,630

Highest City

$77,580

Lowest City

Cities Ranked

Ranked by Median Salary

Rank	City	Median	Range (10th–90th)	COL Index	COL-Adjusted	Jobs
1	San Jose, CA	$121,630	$75,680 – $200,450	195.8	$62,120	13,410
2	San Francisco, CA	$105,750	$72,000 – $177,450	179.6	$58,881	26,600
3	New York, NY	$105,100	$68,790 – $186,880	187.2	$56,143	114,300
4	Washington, DC	$99,440	$64,490 – $167,270	152.8	$65,079	42,320
5	Seattle, WA	$99,380	$69,290 – $153,930	149.4	$66,519	24,880
6	Boston, MA	$97,580	$65,350 – $154,740	152.1	$64,155	36,300
7	Denver, CO	$95,680	$61,200 – $159,290	112.8	$84,823	23,290
8	Los Angeles, CA	$93,890	$60,290 – $154,990	166	$56,560	65,590
9	San Diego, CA	$93,430	$59,750 – $165,090	160.2	$58,321	14,070
10	Charlotte, NC	$85,450	$56,780 – $159,760	96.7	$88,366	15,770
11	Philadelphia, PA	$84,080	$57,630 – $139,140	118.4	$71,014	29,180
12	Portland, OR	$84,030	$60,050 – $130,560	130.1	$64,589	10,750
13	Minneapolis, MN	$83,260	$59,280 – $139,000	106.2	$78,399	21,950
14	Dallas, TX	$82,780	$58,240 – $134,840	104.1	$79,520	34,550
15	Atlanta, GA	$82,340	$51,850 – $151,180	99.2	$83,004	30,610
16	Houston, TX	$81,290	$57,810 – $138,780	96.5	$84,238	27,340
17	Chicago, IL	$81,210	$58,080 – $136,490	107.3	$75,685	41,860
18	Austin, TX	$81,030	$55,890 – $134,990	103	$78,670	12,890
19	Raleigh, NC	$80,650	$55,300 – $134,390	99.8	$80,812	7,710
20	Detroit, MI	$80,320	$56,570 – $135,510	95.1	$84,458	20,750
21	Phoenix, AZ	$80,080	$56,070 – $128,390	100.7	$79,523	19,850
22	Miami, FL	$79,960	$49,990 – $136,000	123.1	$64,955	29,910
23	Nashville, TN	$79,310	$57,040 – $130,000	100.3	$79,073	11,060
24	Tampa, FL	$78,280	$51,330 – $131,970	99.6	$78,594	15,620
25	Salt Lake City, UT	$77,580	$45,390 – $136,580	101.4	$76,509	9,160

Ranked by Purchasing Power (COL-Adjusted)

Cost-of-living adjusted salaries show where your Accountant paycheck goes furthest. A lower COL index means your dollars stretch further.

Rank	City	COL-Adjusted	Raw Median	COL Index
1	Charlotte, NC	$88,366	$85,450	96.7
2	Denver, CO	$84,823	$95,680	112.8
3	Detroit, MI	$84,458	$80,320	95.1
4	Houston, TX	$84,238	$81,290	96.5
5	Atlanta, GA	$83,004	$82,340	99.2
6	Raleigh, NC	$80,812	$80,650	99.8
7	Phoenix, AZ	$79,523	$80,080	100.7
8	Dallas, TX	$79,520	$82,780	104.1
9	Nashville, TN	$79,073	$79,310	100.3
10	Austin, TX	$78,670	$81,030	103
11	Tampa, FL	$78,594	$78,280	99.6
12	Minneapolis, MN	$78,399	$83,260	106.2
13	Salt Lake City, UT	$76,509	$77,580	101.4
14	Chicago, IL	$75,685	$81,210	107.3
15	Philadelphia, PA	$71,014	$84,080	118.4
16	Seattle, WA	$66,519	$99,380	149.4
17	Washington, DC	$65,079	$99,440	152.8
18	Miami, FL	$64,955	$79,960	123.1
19	Portland, OR	$64,589	$84,030	130.1
20	Boston, MA	$64,155	$97,580	152.1
21	San Jose, CA	$62,120	$121,630	195.8
22	San Francisco, CA	$58,881	$105,750	179.6
23	San Diego, CA	$58,321	$93,430	160.2
24	Los Angeles, CA	$56,560	$93,890	166
25	New York, NY	$56,143	$105,100	187.2

Frequently Asked Questions

San Jose, CA pays the highest median Accountant salary at $121,630. However, after cost-of-living adjustment, Charlotte, NC offers the most purchasing power at $88,366 adjusted.

The national median Accountant salary is $88,541 based on BLS data. Salaries range from $77,580 to $121,630 depending on city.

Not necessarily. A city with higher nominal pay may have a higher cost of living that offsets the salary difference. Compare the "COL-Adjusted" column in both tables above — cities with lower costs of living often offer better real purchasing power.