Best US Cities for Accountants
Top US cities for Accountants ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $104,500 | 1.45× | +$25,500 |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $98,500 | 1.32× | +$19,500 |
| 3 | Irvine, CA | $97,500 | 1.30× | +$18,500 |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $94,200 | 1.35× | +$15,200 |
| 5 | Boston, MA | $93,900 | 1.22× | +$14,900 |
| 6 | Yonkers, NY | $93,000 | 1.20× | +$14,000 |
| 7 | Honolulu, HI | $92,000 | 1.30× | +$13,000 |
| 8 | Scottsdale, AZ | $92,000 | 1.18× | +$13,000 |
| 9 | Chicago, IL | $90,100 | 1.05× | +$11,100 |
| 10 | Plano, TX | $89,600 | 1.04× | +$10,600 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $104,500 | $50/hr |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $98,500 | $47/hr |
| 3 | Irvine, CA | $97,500 | $47/hr |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $94,200 | $45/hr |
| 5 | Boston, MA | $93,900 | $45/hr |
| 6 | Yonkers, NY | $93,000 | $45/hr |
| 7 | Honolulu, HI | $92,000 | $44/hr |
| 8 | Scottsdale, AZ | $92,000 | $44/hr |
| 9 | Chicago, IL | $90,100 | $43/hr |
| 10 | Plano, TX | $89,600 | $43/hr |
| 11 | Miami, FL | $89,300 | $43/hr |
| 12 | Tampa, FL | $88,700 | $43/hr |
| 13 | Los Angeles, CA | $88,600 | $43/hr |
| 14 | Newark, NJ | $88,300 | $42/hr |
| 15 | San Diego, CA | $88,100 | $42/hr |
| 16 | Wilmington, DE | $87,700 | $42/hr |
| 17 | Anchorage, AK | $87,700 | $42/hr |
| 18 | Dallas, TX | $87,200 | $42/hr |
| 19 | St. Petersburg, FL | $87,200 | $42/hr |
| 20 | Seattle, WA | $86,800 | $42/hr |
| 21 | Long Beach, CA | $86,800 | $42/hr |
| 22 | Anaheim, CA | $86,800 | $42/hr |
| 23 | Charlotte, NC | $86,200 | $41/hr |
| 24 | Frisco, TX | $86,100 | $41/hr |
| 25 | Minneapolis, MN | $85,500 | $41/hr |
| 26 | Chula Vista, CA | $85,500 | $41/hr |
| 27 | Milwaukee, WI | $84,800 | $41/hr |
| 28 | Phoenix, AZ | $84,700 | $41/hr |
| 29 | Philadelphia, PA | $84,700 | $41/hr |
| 30 | Atlanta, GA | $84,700 | $41/hr |
| 31 | Salt Lake City, UT | $84,700 | $41/hr |
| 32 | Kansas City, MO | $83,800 | $40/hr |
| 33 | St. Paul, MN | $83,700 | $40/hr |
| 34 | Nashville, TN | $83,300 | $40/hr |
| 35 | Portland, OR | $83,300 | $40/hr |
| 36 | Sacramento, CA | $83,300 | $40/hr |
| 37 | Riverside, CA | $83,300 | $40/hr |
| 38 | Madison, WI | $83,300 | $40/hr |
| 39 | Omaha, NE | $82,900 | $40/hr |
| 40 | Denver, CO | $82,500 | $40/hr |
| 41 | Pittsburgh, PA | $81,400 | $39/hr |
| 42 | Austin, TX | $81,200 | $39/hr |
| 43 | Baltimore, MD | $81,200 | $39/hr |
| 44 | Stockton, CA | $81,200 | $39/hr |
| 45 | Aurora, CO | $81,200 | $39/hr |
| 46 | Hialeah, FL | $81,200 | $39/hr |
| 47 | Las Vegas, NV | $80,700 | $39/hr |
| 48 | Chandler, AZ | $80,700 | $39/hr |
| 49 | Columbus, OH | $80,000 | $38/hr |
| 50 | Detroit, MI | $80,000 | $38/hr |
| 51 | Buffalo, NY | $80,000 | $38/hr |
| 52 | Henderson, NV | $79,900 | $38/hr |
| 53 | Reno, NV | $79,900 | $38/hr |
| 54 | Gilbert, AZ | $79,900 | $38/hr |
| 55 | Charleston, SC | $79,900 | $38/hr |
| 56 | Cleveland, OH | $79,600 | $38/hr |
| 57 | Winston-Salem, NC | $79,600 | $38/hr |
| 58 | Orlando, FL | $79,400 | $38/hr |
| 59 | Raleigh, NC | $79,000 | $38/hr |
| 60 | Virginia Beach, VA | $79,000 | $38/hr |
| 61 | Chesapeake, VA | $79,000 | $38/hr |
| 62 | North Las Vegas, NV | $79,000 | $38/hr |
| 63 | Boise, ID | $79,000 | $38/hr |
| 64 | Fresno, CA | $79,000 | $38/hr |
| 65 | Worcester, MA | $79,000 | $38/hr |
| 66 | Lincoln, NE | $78,700 | $38/hr |
| 67 | Colorado Springs, CO | $78,600 | $38/hr |
| 68 | Bakersfield, CA | $78,600 | $38/hr |
| 69 | Birmingham, AL | $78,200 | $38/hr |
| 70 | Norfolk, VA | $78,100 | $38/hr |
| 71 | Jacksonville, FL | $77,700 | $37/hr |
| 72 | Mesa, AZ | $77,700 | $37/hr |
| 73 | Houston, TX | $77,300 | $37/hr |
| 74 | Fort Worth, TX | $77,300 | $37/hr |
| 75 | Tucson, AZ | $77,300 | $37/hr |
| 76 | Glendale, AZ | $77,300 | $37/hr |
| 77 | Garland, TX | $77,300 | $37/hr |
| 78 | Spokane, WA | $77,300 | $37/hr |
| 79 | Fort Wayne, IN | $77,300 | $37/hr |
| 80 | Arlington, TX | $76,800 | $37/hr |
| 81 | Tallahassee, FL | $76,800 | $37/hr |
| 82 | Albuquerque, NM | $76,400 | $37/hr |
| 83 | New Orleans, LA | $76,400 | $37/hr |
| 84 | San Antonio, TX | $76,000 | $37/hr |
| 85 | Grand Rapids, MI | $76,000 | $37/hr |
| 86 | Cincinnati, OH | $75,500 | $36/hr |
| 87 | Lexington, KY | $75,500 | $36/hr |
| 88 | Corpus Christi, TX | $75,500 | $36/hr |
| 89 | Greensboro, NC | $75,500 | $36/hr |
| 90 | Knoxville, TN | $75,500 | $36/hr |
| 91 | El Paso, TX | $75,100 | $36/hr |
| 92 | St. Louis, MO | $75,100 | $36/hr |
| 93 | Indianapolis, IN | $74,700 | $36/hr |
| 94 | Louisville, KY | $74,700 | $36/hr |
| 95 | Memphis, TN | $74,200 | $36/hr |
| 96 | Oklahoma City, OK | $74,200 | $36/hr |
| 97 | Toledo, OH | $73,800 | $35/hr |
| 98 | Lubbock, TX | $73,800 | $35/hr |
| 99 | Wichita, KS | $72,900 | $35/hr |
| 100 | Mobile, AL | $72,900 | $35/hr |
Does location actually decide Accountant pay?
Accountant work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $72,900 in Mobile to $104,500 in San Francisco — a spread of 43%.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
The nominal ranking and the useful ranking are not the same. In San Francisco, $104,500 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $68,500 a year after housing. In Mobile, $72,900 against $850 leaves about $62,700. The top still wins after rent, but by $5,800 rather than the $31,600 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
What puts a metro near the top here is employer density, not price level. San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); New York City (JPMorgan Chase, NYC Health + Hospitals); Irvine (University of California, Irvine, Broadcom). Where finance employers compete for the same candidates, offers rise above what the local cost of living alone would predict.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.