Finance · 70 Cities Ranked

Highest Paying Cities for Accountant (2025)

The median Accountant salary is $121,700 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 $96,081 adjusted.

The 70 cities below are ranked by median wage for Accountant, drawn from BLS OEWS. Top-of-list cities typically combine high local labor demand with above-baseline cost-of-living, so the gross-wage ranking partly reflects COL adjustment. Reading the ranking carefully: gross median wage is the headline number, but the cost-adjusted figure (which divides by the city's cost-of-living index) tells a different story for high-COL cities. The ranking sorts on gross wage; the per-city pages surface the adjusted figure.

For workers evaluating Accountant relocation, the top of the ranking is the obvious starting point — but the bottom of the list (low gross wage, low COL) is often where cost-adjusted real income is highest. The role-specific pages link to per-city detail.

$84,578

National Median

$121,700

Highest City

$65,810

Lowest City

Cities Ranked

Ranked by Median Salary

Rank	City	Median	Range (10th-90th)	COL Index	COL-Adjusted	Jobs
1	San Jose, CA	$121,700	$78,440, $196,890	195.8	$62,155	13,180
2	San Francisco, CA	$110,730	$73,420, $180,060	179.6	$61,654	25,170
3	New York, NY	$105,650	$71,850, $174,750	187.2	$56,437	111,930
4	Washington, DC	$102,140	$67,530, $170,980	152.8	$66,846	41,470
5	Bridgeport, CT	$102,020	$69,290, $167,610	137.5	$74,196	5,000
6	Boston, MA	$100,150	$72,450, $161,450	152.1	$65,845	37,150
7	Denver, CO	$100,020	$63,550, $165,010	112.8	$88,670	22,720
8	Seattle, WA	$99,370	$73,250, $160,640	149.4	$66,513	22,100
9	San Diego, CA	$96,340	$62,520, $157,720	160.2	$60,137	13,450
10	Hartford, CT	$95,940	$63,830, $134,970	112.6	$85,204	6,780
11	Providence, RI	$95,020	$60,620, $149,540	119.4	$79,581	8,250
12	Los Angeles, CA	$94,360	$60,310, $154,630	166	$56,843	70,640
13	Charlotte, NC	$92,910	$59,200, $167,330	96.7	$96,081	16,820
14	Portland, OR	$92,200	$64,680, $136,730	130.1	$70,869	10,100
15	Sacramento, CA	$92,110	$61,350, $131,840	124.7	$73,865	13,170
16	Minneapolis, MN	$86,500	$61,940, $145,710	106.2	$81,450	21,820
17	Spokane, WA	$86,350	$61,760, $134,650	97.4	$88,655	2,340
18	Philadelphia, PA	$85,990	$59,560, $139,420	118.4	$72,627	29,370
19	Atlanta, GA	$85,820	$56,490, $153,010	99.2	$86,512	30,150
20	Baltimore, MD	$85,160	$59,170, $146,650	114.2	$74,571	13,550
21	Houston, TX	$85,090	$58,780, $144,190	96.5	$88,176	28,400
22	Colorado Springs, CO	$85,000	$55,530, $143,700	104.5	$81,340	2,580
23	Albany, NY	$84,660	$59,530, $133,670	100.7	$84,071	4,680
24	Richmond, VA	$84,220	$59,290, $134,290	102.1	$82,488	7,920
25	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	$83,920	$57,260, $135,140	122.4	$68,562	9,240
26	Austin, TX	$83,120	$57,660, $130,130	103	$80,699	12,480
27	Dallas, TX	$82,620	$57,940, $133,540	104.1	$79,366	37,450
28	Reno, NV	$82,370	$59,670, $129,210	106.5	$77,343	1,480
29	Chicago, IL	$82,360	$59,530, $134,100	107.3	$76,757	41,360
30	Anchorage, AK	$82,150	$59,550, $123,450	127	$64,685	1,160
31	Buffalo, NY	$82,120	$56,550, $135,370	92.5	$88,778	4,870
32	Salt Lake City, UT	$82,100	$51,470, $131,730	101.4	$80,966	8,660
33	Raleigh, NC	$81,950	$57,120, $134,220	99.8	$82,114	9,190
34	Columbus, OH	$81,700	$56,610, $132,330	93.1	$87,755	11,410
35	Tulsa, OK	$81,320	$50,710, $132,990	86.8	$93,687	5,110
36	Madison, WI	$81,130	$60,770, $122,930	103.8	$78,160	4,440
37	Miami, FL	$80,920	$50,280, $132,540	123.1	$65,735	30,950
38	Rochester, NY	$80,890	$58,030, $130,690	92.9	$87,072	4,370
39	Phoenix, AZ	$80,820	$58,000, $129,170	100.7	$80,258	21,360
40	Detroit, MI	$80,650	$58,080, $133,870	95.1	$84,805	19,390
41	Cincinnati, OH	$80,640	$57,740, $132,680	91.2	$88,421	10,050
42	Las Vegas, NV	$80,530	$57,740, $128,110	109	$73,881	4,680
43	Milwaukee, WI	$80,290	$60,340, $132,150	97.4	$82,433	7,960
44	Greensboro, NC	$80,170	$52,710, $136,310	91.3	$87,809	3,300
45	Kansas City, MO	$80,040	$54,680, $130,320	95.4	$83,899	11,260
46	Jacksonville, FL	$79,960	$51,800, $130,620	95.1	$84,080	6,890
47	Albuquerque, NM	$79,880	$55,990, $126,260	94	$84,979	3,260
48	Bakersfield, CA	$79,620	$55,090, $133,810	100.6	$79,145	1,870
49	Indianapolis, IN	$79,290	$52,820, $129,180	90.1	$88,002	11,210
50	Des Moines, IA	$79,290	$56,390, $128,130	93.3	$84,984	4,850
51	Wichita, KS	$79,270	$52,810, $133,460	84	$94,369	3,120
52	Tampa, FL	$78,990	$50,300, $132,430	99.6	$79,307	14,770
53	St. Louis, MO	$78,880	$51,040, $130,340	90	$87,644	13,610
54	Fresno, CA	$78,690	$56,700, $128,600	105.5	$74,588	2,810
55	Birmingham, AL	$78,660	$52,140, $128,530	90.4	$87,013	7,790
56	San Antonio, TX	$78,650	$56,080, $127,640	91.5	$85,956	8,360
57	Orlando, FL	$78,630	$50,510, $130,770	103.1	$76,266	10,410
58	Nashville, TN	$78,080	$53,650, $125,740	100.3	$77,846	11,290
59	New Orleans, LA	$77,940	$52,630, $121,170	95.9	$81,272	3,740
60	Lexington, KY	$77,780	$53,900, $125,880	91.3	$85,192	1,830
61	Oklahoma City, OK	$77,280	$48,330, $131,160	86.5	$89,341	6,700
62	Omaha, NE	$77,030	$53,120, $119,820	91.8	$83,911	5,170
63	Memphis, TN	$76,960	$49,580, $122,830	84	$91,619	4,390
64	Pittsburgh, PA	$76,940	$51,040, $124,880	92.3	$83,359	10,430
65	Greenville, SC	$76,870	$52,090, $130,420	90.1	$85,316	2,890
66	Boise, ID	$76,700	$52,460, $123,820	102.1	$75,122	3,140
67	Louisville, KY	$76,320	$53,070, $121,630	90.2	$84,612	4,590
68	Tucson, AZ	$76,320	$52,580, $121,600	95.4	$80,000	2,570
69	Knoxville, TN	$75,380	$50,470, $125,680	90.3	$83,477	3,240
70	Little Rock, AR	$65,810	$46,460, $112,870	88.2	$74,615	2,620

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	$96,081	$92,910	96.7
2	Wichita, KS	$94,369	$79,270	84
3	Tulsa, OK	$93,687	$81,320	86.8
4	Memphis, TN	$91,619	$76,960	84
5	Oklahoma City, OK	$89,341	$77,280	86.5
6	Buffalo, NY	$88,778	$82,120	92.5
7	Denver, CO	$88,670	$100,020	112.8
8	Spokane, WA	$88,655	$86,350	97.4
9	Cincinnati, OH	$88,421	$80,640	91.2
10	Houston, TX	$88,176	$85,090	96.5
11	Indianapolis, IN	$88,002	$79,290	90.1
12	Greensboro, NC	$87,809	$80,170	91.3
13	Columbus, OH	$87,755	$81,700	93.1
14	St. Louis, MO	$87,644	$78,880	90
15	Rochester, NY	$87,072	$80,890	92.9
16	Birmingham, AL	$87,013	$78,660	90.4
17	Atlanta, GA	$86,512	$85,820	99.2
18	San Antonio, TX	$85,956	$78,650	91.5
19	Greenville, SC	$85,316	$76,870	90.1
20	Hartford, CT	$85,204	$95,940	112.6
21	Lexington, KY	$85,192	$77,780	91.3
22	Des Moines, IA	$84,984	$79,290	93.3
23	Albuquerque, NM	$84,979	$79,880	94
24	Detroit, MI	$84,805	$80,650	95.1
25	Louisville, KY	$84,612	$76,320	90.2
26	Jacksonville, FL	$84,080	$79,960	95.1
27	Albany, NY	$84,071	$84,660	100.7
28	Omaha, NE	$83,911	$77,030	91.8
29	Kansas City, MO	$83,899	$80,040	95.4
30	Knoxville, TN	$83,477	$75,380	90.3
31	Pittsburgh, PA	$83,359	$76,940	92.3
32	Richmond, VA	$82,488	$84,220	102.1
33	Milwaukee, WI	$82,433	$80,290	97.4
34	Raleigh, NC	$82,114	$81,950	99.8
35	Minneapolis, MN	$81,450	$86,500	106.2
36	Colorado Springs, CO	$81,340	$85,000	104.5
37	New Orleans, LA	$81,272	$77,940	95.9
38	Salt Lake City, UT	$80,966	$82,100	101.4
39	Austin, TX	$80,699	$83,120	103
40	Phoenix, AZ	$80,258	$80,820	100.7
41	Tucson, AZ	$80,000	$76,320	95.4
42	Providence, RI	$79,581	$95,020	119.4
43	Dallas, TX	$79,366	$82,620	104.1
44	Tampa, FL	$79,307	$78,990	99.6
45	Bakersfield, CA	$79,145	$79,620	100.6
46	Madison, WI	$78,160	$81,130	103.8
47	Nashville, TN	$77,846	$78,080	100.3
48	Reno, NV	$77,343	$82,370	106.5
49	Chicago, IL	$76,757	$82,360	107.3
50	Orlando, FL	$76,266	$78,630	103.1
51	Boise, ID	$75,122	$76,700	102.1
52	Little Rock, AR	$74,615	$65,810	88.2
53	Fresno, CA	$74,588	$78,690	105.5
54	Baltimore, MD	$74,571	$85,160	114.2
55	Bridgeport, CT	$74,196	$102,020	137.5
56	Las Vegas, NV	$73,881	$80,530	109
57	Sacramento, CA	$73,865	$92,110	124.7
58	Philadelphia, PA	$72,627	$85,990	118.4
59	Portland, OR	$70,869	$92,200	130.1
60	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	$68,562	$83,920	122.4
61	Washington, DC	$66,846	$102,140	152.8
62	Seattle, WA	$66,513	$99,370	149.4
63	Boston, MA	$65,845	$100,150	152.1
64	Miami, FL	$65,735	$80,920	123.1
65	Anchorage, AK	$64,685	$82,150	127
66	San Jose, CA	$62,155	$121,700	195.8
67	San Francisco, CA	$61,654	$110,730	179.6
68	San Diego, CA	$60,137	$96,340	160.2
69	Los Angeles, CA	$56,843	$94,360	166
70	New York, NY	$56,437	$105,650	187.2

Frequently Asked Questions

San Jose, CA pays the highest median Accountant salary at $121,700. However, after cost-of-living adjustment, Charlotte, NC offers the most purchasing power at $96,081 adjusted.

The national median Accountant salary is $84,578 based on BLS data. Salaries range from $65,810 to $121,700 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.