Accountant Salary by State (2026): CPA Pay Compared Across All 50 States

Accountant salary by state varies meaningfully across the U.S. — the spread reflects state-level cost of living, the regional density of Big 4 (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) and second-tier (BDO, Grant Thornton, RSM, Crowe, Baker Tilly, CohnReznick, CliftonLarsonAllen — CLA, Eide Bailly, Mazars, Wipfli) public accounting offices, Fortune 500 corporate finance headquarters, the local mix of tax-season-heavy private accounting practice, and state-level CPA exam and licensure requirements. The national median for Accountants sits at $85,864, but state-by-state pay across the 52 states tracked here ranges widely — from $44,539 in Puerto Rico to $104,806 in District of Columbia.

This page compares the average accountant salary by state across 1690+ metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas — drawing on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for SOC 13-2011 (Accountants and Auditors). If you're a CPA evaluating relocation, a 150-hour candidate planning your first public or industry role, or a controller / CFO benchmarking pay across states, the state-level comparison below is the central reference point.

How Accountant Salary by State Is Measured

The BLS reports state-level accountant salary through three numbers:

• Annual median (50th percentile) — used to rank state-level pay in the table below.
• Annual mean (average) — typically runs 8–15% above median; states with strong Big 4 partner-track and Fortune 500 CFO-organization concentration show wide mean-median spreads.
• Percentile distribution (P10 / P25 / P75 / P90) — P10 reflects entry-level staff accountants at smaller regional firms and entry industry positions; P90 reflects Big 4 senior managers and partners-track seniors, Fortune 500 corporate accounting senior managers / directors, CPA-firm owners, controllers and assistant controllers at large enterprises, tax partners at second-tier firms, forensic and valuation specialists, and senior internal audit / SOX leaders.

The state-comparison table below applies BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) adjustment so both nominal pay and real purchasing power are visible.

1. State Big 4 and Public Accounting Concentration

The single largest non-cost-of-living driver of state-level accountant pay is Big 4 and public accounting firm concentration:

• New York — major Big 4 NYC offices (Deloitte HQ, PwC HQ Manhattan, EY HQ Manhattan, KPMG NYC). Top state-level public accounting pay. NYC senior managers earn $180,000–$280,000+; partners $400,000–$1,000,000+.
• California (LA / SF) — Big 4 LA and SF Bay offices serving entertainment, tech, and PE / VC clients. Strong public accounting pay especially in SF Bay tech audit and M&A tax practice.
• Illinois (Chicago) — Grant Thornton HQ Chicago, RSM HQ Chicago. Big 4 Chicago offices serving Midwest Fortune 500 client base.
• Texas (Houston / Dallas) — Big 4 Houston (energy practice), Dallas (private equity, banking, technology). Rapid growth.
• Massachusetts (Boston) — Big 4 Boston offices serving life sciences, fintech, education clients.
• Other strong public accounting markets — New Jersey, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), Georgia (Atlanta), North Carolina (Charlotte banking), Florida (Miami fintech / PE / Latin America), Washington DC (federal practice — Big 4 federal services).
• Mid-tier and regional firms — CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) Minnesota, Wipfli Wisconsin, Eide Bailly North Dakota, FORVIS Missouri, Plante Moran Michigan. Strong regional pay anchoring.

2. State Fortune 500 Corporate Finance Concentration

State Fortune 500 corporate finance concentration drives state-level industry accountant pay:

• Texas — ExxonMobil, AT&T, Dell, Tesla, Oracle, American Airlines, Charles Schwab, USAA, Phillips 66, Valero. Large CFO organizations.
• New York — JPMorgan, Pfizer, Verizon, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, MetLife, IBM (Armonk), AIG, Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon. Heavy financial services accounting.
• California — Apple, Google / Alphabet, Meta, Wells Fargo, Chevron, Disney, Salesforce, Cisco, Oracle (HQ moved), Intel, AMD.
• Illinois — Boeing (HQ moved), Walgreens Boots Alliance, McDonald's, Caterpillar, Allstate, State Farm, Archer Daniels Midland, Mondelez.
• Other Fortune 500-heavy states — Michigan (auto OEMs Ford, GM, Stellantis), Ohio (Procter & Gamble, Marathon Petroleum, Cardinal Health, Nationwide, Progressive, Cincinnati Financial), Pennsylvania (Comcast, Aramark, Cigna), Arkansas (Walmart, Tyson), Minnesota (UnitedHealth, Target, 3M, General Mills, Best Buy, Cargill), Washington (Microsoft, Amazon, Costco, Boeing, Starbucks, Nordstrom), Massachusetts (Liberty Mutual, MassMutual, Raytheon Technologies), North Carolina (Bank of America, Truist, Duke Energy, Lowe's, Honeywell HQ moved), Connecticut (Cigna, Hartford, Travelers), Georgia (Delta, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, UPS).

3. State Cost of Living and Tax

State cost of living and income tax drive nominal vs real accountant pay:

• State cost of living — California, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington, Hawaii, Maryland lead nominal accountant pay rankings.
• State income tax variation — accountants in Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Nevada, Washington, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, and New Hampshire keep more of every dollar. At senior accountant / controller income levels, state income tax savings can reach $15,000–$50,000 annually.
• State cost-of-living adjusted leaders — Texas (Houston / Dallas), Georgia (Atlanta), North Carolina (Charlotte), Tennessee (Nashville) deliver strong real purchasing power at competitive nominal pay.

4. State CPA Licensure and 150-Hour Rule

State CPA licensure requirements shape supply and state pay distribution:

• 150-hour education requirement — all 50 states + DC require 150 credit hours of education for CPA licensure. Some states allow CPA exam at 120 hours but require 150 for licensure.
• State experience requirements — typically 1–2 years under licensed CPA supervision; some states accept industry experience, others restrict to public accounting.
• Recent CPA pipeline crisis — significant decline in CPA exam candidates over the past 5–10 years. Industry-wide initiatives (AICPA / NASBA Reimagining the CPA, state-level 120-hour-pathway pilots in Minnesota, South Carolina, Utah, Pennsylvania, Indiana, others) responding to supply crisis. Pipeline pressure supports upward state pay.
• State licensure portability — CPA mobility well established for individual licensure across most states.
• State board CPE requirements — vary by state (40 hours annual or 80 hours biennial typical).

How to Compare Accountant Salary by State Effectively

When comparing the average accountant salary by state, work through this checklist:

• Compare nominal and real (cost-adjusted) pay together — a state with the highest nominal median can have lower real purchasing power if its cost of living is higher.
• Check state income tax — accountants in no-tax states (TX, FL, TN, NV, WA, WY, SD, AK, NH) keep more of every dollar. At senior levels, savings can reach $15,000–$50,000 annually.
• Compare percentile distribution, not just median — Big 4 partner-track states show wide P75–P90 spreads driven by partner compensation.
• Factor in employer mix — Big 4 / public accounting (NY, CA, IL, TX, MA, NJ, PA, GA, NC, FL); Fortune 500 industry (TX, NY, CA, IL, MI, OH, PA, AR, MN, WA, MA, NC, CT, GA); regional firms (MN, WI, ND, MO, MI, IL).
• Verify state CPA licensure status — 150-hour rule applies broadly; state-specific experience and ethics exam requirements vary.
• Consider Big-4-to-industry transition — senior associate / manager Big 4 exits at year 3–6 to Fortune 500 industry roles offer significant pay and lifestyle improvements.
• Track CPA pipeline-pressure pay growth — Big 4 raised first-year associate salaries aggressively over 2022–2024.

2026 State-Level Accountant Salary Outlook

Accountant pay has grown at a compound annual rate of 2.61% nationally over the past five years — driven by CPA pipeline shortage forcing Big 4 to raise starting salaries, sustained Fortune 500 corporate finance hiring, expanding state-level adoption of alternative 120-hour pathway pilots responding to pipeline crisis, growing private equity / portfolio company CFO finance hiring, and ongoing tax law complexity (state and local SALT, international tax under OECD Pillar Two, IRA / clean energy tax credits). States with strong Big 4 / second-tier public accounting concentration (NY, CA, IL, TX, MA, NJ, PA, GA, NC, FL), states with rapid Fortune 500 relocation (Texas — Tesla / Oracle / Caterpillar relocations, Florida), and no-state-income-tax states with quality-of-life advantages are seeing the fastest state-level pay growth through 2026. The BLS projects Accountants employment growth at 6% through 2033, keeping steady upward pressure on state-level wages especially for CPAs.

Browse the state-by-state comparison table below to see the $85,864-baseline state ranking, top 10 and bottom 10 states by projected median, regional groupings (Northeast / Midwest / South / West), and direct links to per-state pages for deeper city-level breakdown.