Best US Cities for Auditors
Top US cities for Auditors ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $105,800 | 1.45× | +$25,800 |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $99,700 | 1.32× | +$19,700 |
| 3 | Irvine, CA | $98,800 | 1.30× | +$18,800 |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $95,400 | 1.35× | +$15,400 |
| 5 | Boston, MA | $95,100 | 1.22× | +$15,100 |
| 6 | Yonkers, NY | $94,100 | 1.20× | +$14,100 |
| 7 | Honolulu, HI | $93,200 | 1.30× | +$13,200 |
| 8 | Scottsdale, AZ | $93,200 | 1.18× | +$13,200 |
| 9 | Chicago, IL | $91,200 | 1.05× | +$11,200 |
| 10 | Plano, TX | $90,800 | 1.04× | +$10,800 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $105,800 | $51/hr |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $99,700 | $48/hr |
| 3 | Irvine, CA | $98,800 | $48/hr |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $95,400 | $46/hr |
| 5 | Boston, MA | $95,100 | $46/hr |
| 6 | Yonkers, NY | $94,100 | $45/hr |
| 7 | Honolulu, HI | $93,200 | $45/hr |
| 8 | Scottsdale, AZ | $93,200 | $45/hr |
| 9 | Chicago, IL | $91,200 | $44/hr |
| 10 | Plano, TX | $90,800 | $44/hr |
| 11 | Miami, FL | $90,400 | $43/hr |
| 12 | Tampa, FL | $89,800 | $43/hr |
| 13 | Los Angeles, CA | $89,700 | $43/hr |
| 14 | Newark, NJ | $89,500 | $43/hr |
| 15 | San Diego, CA | $89,200 | $43/hr |
| 16 | Wilmington, DE | $88,800 | $43/hr |
| 17 | Anchorage, AK | $88,800 | $43/hr |
| 18 | Dallas, TX | $88,400 | $43/hr |
| 19 | St. Petersburg, FL | $88,400 | $43/hr |
| 20 | Seattle, WA | $87,900 | $42/hr |
| 21 | Long Beach, CA | $87,900 | $42/hr |
| 22 | Anaheim, CA | $87,900 | $42/hr |
| 23 | Charlotte, NC | $87,400 | $42/hr |
| 24 | Frisco, TX | $87,100 | $42/hr |
| 25 | Minneapolis, MN | $86,700 | $42/hr |
| 26 | Chula Vista, CA | $86,600 | $42/hr |
| 27 | Milwaukee, WI | $85,900 | $41/hr |
| 28 | Phoenix, AZ | $85,800 | $41/hr |
| 29 | Philadelphia, PA | $85,800 | $41/hr |
| 30 | Atlanta, GA | $85,800 | $41/hr |
| 31 | Salt Lake City, UT | $85,800 | $41/hr |
| 32 | Kansas City, MO | $84,900 | $41/hr |
| 33 | St. Paul, MN | $84,800 | $41/hr |
| 34 | Nashville, TN | $84,400 | $41/hr |
| 35 | Portland, OR | $84,400 | $41/hr |
| 36 | Sacramento, CA | $84,400 | $41/hr |
| 37 | Riverside, CA | $84,400 | $41/hr |
| 38 | Madison, WI | $84,400 | $41/hr |
| 39 | Omaha, NE | $83,900 | $40/hr |
| 40 | Denver, CO | $83,500 | $40/hr |
| 41 | Pittsburgh, PA | $82,500 | $40/hr |
| 42 | Austin, TX | $82,200 | $40/hr |
| 43 | Baltimore, MD | $82,200 | $40/hr |
| 44 | Stockton, CA | $82,200 | $40/hr |
| 45 | Aurora, CO | $82,200 | $40/hr |
| 46 | Hialeah, FL | $82,200 | $40/hr |
| 47 | Las Vegas, NV | $81,800 | $39/hr |
| 48 | Chandler, AZ | $81,800 | $39/hr |
| 49 | Columbus, OH | $81,100 | $39/hr |
| 50 | Detroit, MI | $81,100 | $39/hr |
| 51 | Buffalo, NY | $81,100 | $39/hr |
| 52 | Henderson, NV | $80,900 | $39/hr |
| 53 | Reno, NV | $80,900 | $39/hr |
| 54 | Gilbert, AZ | $80,900 | $39/hr |
| 55 | Charleston, SC | $80,900 | $39/hr |
| 56 | Cleveland, OH | $80,600 | $39/hr |
| 57 | Winston-Salem, NC | $80,600 | $39/hr |
| 58 | Orlando, FL | $80,400 | $39/hr |
| 59 | Raleigh, NC | $80,000 | $38/hr |
| 60 | Virginia Beach, VA | $80,000 | $38/hr |
| 61 | Chesapeake, VA | $80,000 | $38/hr |
| 62 | North Las Vegas, NV | $80,000 | $38/hr |
| 63 | Boise, ID | $80,000 | $38/hr |
| 64 | Fresno, CA | $80,000 | $38/hr |
| 65 | Worcester, MA | $80,000 | $38/hr |
| 66 | Lincoln, NE | $79,700 | $38/hr |
| 67 | Colorado Springs, CO | $79,600 | $38/hr |
| 68 | Bakersfield, CA | $79,600 | $38/hr |
| 69 | Birmingham, AL | $79,200 | $38/hr |
| 70 | Norfolk, VA | $79,100 | $38/hr |
| 71 | Jacksonville, FL | $78,700 | $38/hr |
| 72 | Mesa, AZ | $78,700 | $38/hr |
| 73 | Houston, TX | $78,200 | $38/hr |
| 74 | Fort Worth, TX | $78,200 | $38/hr |
| 75 | Tucson, AZ | $78,200 | $38/hr |
| 76 | Glendale, AZ | $78,200 | $38/hr |
| 77 | Garland, TX | $78,200 | $38/hr |
| 78 | Spokane, WA | $78,200 | $38/hr |
| 79 | Fort Wayne, IN | $78,200 | $38/hr |
| 80 | Arlington, TX | $77,800 | $37/hr |
| 81 | Tallahassee, FL | $77,800 | $37/hr |
| 82 | Albuquerque, NM | $77,400 | $37/hr |
| 83 | New Orleans, LA | $77,400 | $37/hr |
| 84 | San Antonio, TX | $76,900 | $37/hr |
| 85 | Grand Rapids, MI | $76,900 | $37/hr |
| 86 | Cincinnati, OH | $76,500 | $37/hr |
| 87 | Lexington, KY | $76,500 | $37/hr |
| 88 | Corpus Christi, TX | $76,500 | $37/hr |
| 89 | Greensboro, NC | $76,500 | $37/hr |
| 90 | Knoxville, TN | $76,500 | $37/hr |
| 91 | El Paso, TX | $76,000 | $37/hr |
| 92 | St. Louis, MO | $76,000 | $37/hr |
| 93 | Indianapolis, IN | $75,600 | $36/hr |
| 94 | Louisville, KY | $75,600 | $36/hr |
| 95 | Memphis, TN | $75,200 | $36/hr |
| 96 | Oklahoma City, OK | $75,200 | $36/hr |
| 97 | Toledo, OH | $74,700 | $36/hr |
| 98 | Lubbock, TX | $74,700 | $36/hr |
| 99 | Wichita, KS | $73,800 | $35/hr |
| 100 | Mobile, AL | $73,800 | $35/hr |
Does location actually decide Auditor pay?
Auditor work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $73,800 in Mobile to $105,800 in San Francisco — a spread of 43%.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In San Francisco, $105,800 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $69,800 a year after housing. In Mobile, $73,800 against $850 leaves about $63,600. The top still wins after rent, but by $6,200 rather than the $32,000 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
Pay follows employer concentration more than cost of living. Among the top of this list: San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); New York City (JPMorgan Chase, NYC Health + Hospitals); Irvine (University of California, Irvine, Broadcom). A Auditor at a large employer in a metro where finance work clusters will typically out-earn the local median for the role — the ranking reflects where those employers sit.
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.