National benchmark
CPA Salary: How Much Do CPAs Make?
A data-driven look at CPA pay across percentiles, experience, role, and location — built on the verified national pay benchmark for accountants and CPAs.
Median CPA pay · National
$83,680
Midpoint for accountants & auditors
Typical range
$67K–$109.8K
Middle 50% (25th–75th percentile)
Top earners
$144.1K+
90th percentile and above
Hourly equivalent
$40/hr
At a 2,080-hour year
National salary benchmark · May 2025 · verified
How much does a CPA make?
Estimated from the verified national pay benchmark, adjusted for credential, role, experience, and location.
National median
$83,680
The verified federal wage benchmark for accountants & auditors — the anchor under every estimate on this site.
How it’s verifiedLicensed CPA · modeled
$93,700
A modeled ~12% credential premium on top of the benchmark — the license consistently commands higher pay.
What the license is worthTop of the ladder · Chief Financial Officer
$326,400
Pay scales sharply by role — Chief Financial Officer tops the modeled ladder, well above the median.
Pay by roleNational · Accountants & auditors
Verified$40.23/hr median hourly · $94,750 average
CPA salary percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Hourly | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $56,020 | $26.93/hr | Entry-level / lower pay |
| 25th percentile | $67,020 | $32.22/hr | Below median |
| Median (50th) | $83,680 | $40.23/hr | Typical pay |
| 75th percentile | $109,810 | $52.79/hr | Experienced / senior |
| 90th percentile | $144,090 | $69.27/hr | Top earners |
The verified national pay range for accountants and CPAs. Hourly is derived from a 2,080-hour year where not separately reported.
Credential premium
CPA vs. accountant: what the license is worth
The national benchmark covers accountants broadly; the CPA license generally commands a premium and unlocks senior roles. We model that premium on top.
Non-licensed accountant
National median · verified
$83,680
baseCPA (modeled)
+12% credential premium · estimate
$93,700
+12.0%Senior CPA (90th pct)
Experienced / leadership · verified
$144,090
+72.2%
Deltas are measured against the verified national median. The CPA figure is a modeled estimate (a ~12% license premium); the 90th-percentile figure is the verified national upper range.
Want the full breakdown? See CPA vs accountant salary →
Experience
CPA salary by years of experience
Pay rises steeply through the first 12 years as CPAs move from staff to manager and beyond. Entry-level (0–1 years) sits below the occupation median; senior CPAs (13+ years) pull well above it.
| Experience | Est. median | CPA-licensed (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 years | $72,000 | $80,600 |
| 2–4 years | $80,300 | $89,900 |
| 5–7 years | $90,400 | $101,200 |
| 8–12 years | $100,400 | $112,400 |
| 13–20 years | $110,500 | $123,800 |
| 20+ years | $118,800 | $133,100 |
Experience multipliers on the area median; CPA column adds a modeled +12% credential premium.
Median pay by experience band
Estimated pay climbs about 1.6× from entry-level to senior — roughly a $46.8K swing across a career.
Role
CPA salary by role
From staff accountant to CFO — median estimates across the accounting career ladder.
Median pay by role
Estimated median pay roughly 5.0× from the lowest to the highest role on the ladder — about a $261.1K spread.
| Role / level | Low | Est. median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Financial Officer | $326,400 | ||
| Partner | $301,200 | ||
| Director of Finance | $205,000 | ||
| Senior Manager | $171,500 | ||
| Controller | $163,200 | ||
| Tax Manager | $129,700 | ||
| Audit Manager | $129,700 | ||
| Accounting Manager | $118,800 | ||
| Audit Senior | $92,000 | ||
| Tax Senior | $90,400 | ||
| Senior Accountant | $85,400 | ||
| Audit Associate | $69,500 | ||
| Tax Associate | $68,600 | ||
| Staff Accountant | $65,300 |
Role multipliers applied to the BLS national median for Accountants & Auditors. The low–high band is a modeled typical range, not a guaranteed offer.
Location
CPA salary by state
The highest-paying states for accountants and auditors.
| Rank | State | Median | 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $111,530 | $185.2K |
| 2 | New York | $102,640 | $171K |
| 3 | New Jersey | $100,830 | $167.1K |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $99,460 | $160.1K |
| 5 | Connecticut | $97,550 | $156.7K |
| 6 | California | $97,050 | $160.5K |
| 7 | Colorado | $97,030 | $162.2K |
| 8 | Washington | $96,550 | $152.3K |
| 9 | Rhode Island | $95,820 | $150.3K |
| 10 | Delaware | $95,020 | $132.6K |
Metro
CPA salary by metro area
Large, high-cost metros pay the strongest CPA wages. Each bar is relative to the top metro; the chip shows the gap to the national benchmark.
- 1San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$121,700+45.4%
- 2San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$110,730+32.3%
- 3New York-Newark-Jersey City$105,650+26.3%
- 4Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$102,140+22.1%
- 5Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury$102,020+21.9%
- 6Midland$100,890+20.6%
- 7Parkersburg-Vienna$100,420+20.0%
- 8Boston-Cambridge-Newton$100,150+19.7%
Firm type
Big 4 vs. regional vs. industry
Where you work shapes pay as much as your title. Big 4 and national firms pay a brand premium; industry competes with balance and equity.
Manager-level pay by employer type
At manager level, the top employer type is estimated to pay about $26K more than the lowest.
| Employer type | Est. manager-level pay | vs. industry |
|---|---|---|
| Big 4 firm | $145,300 | +7.7% |
| National firm | $136,200 | +1.0% |
| Regional firm | $127,100 | -5.8% |
| Local firm | $119,300 | -11.6% |
| Industry / corporate | $134,900 | — |
Employer-type multipliers applied at a manager-level base on the BLS national median.
Why the license pays
The CPA license premium, explained
The CPA license is the clearest signal of technical competence in accounting. It is often a hard requirement for sign-off authority on audits, for many controller and CFO postings, and for partner track in public accounting. That gatekeeping is what creates a durable pay premium.
We model the credential as a premium on the national benchmark (currently a modeled +12%). As verified submissions accumulate, we calibrate this premium by role, industry, and region rather than applying a single flat number. Until then, the premium is clearly labeled as an estimate.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a CPA make?
- The verified national pay benchmark for accountants and auditors is $83,680 per year (May 2025). CPAs are a subset of this group and typically earn above it — the license commonly adds a 10–15% premium, and pay scales sharply with role, experience, and location. (No official source publishes a CPA-only wage, so the CPA premium is a labeled estimate.)
- Do CPAs earn more than non-licensed accountants?
- Yes. The CPA license is consistently associated with higher pay, faster promotion, and access to senior roles (controller, partner, CFO) that often require or strongly prefer the credential. We model this as a credential premium on top of the national benchmark.
- Which CPA roles pay the most?
- Partner, CFO, and Director of Finance sit at the top, followed by Controller and senior managers. Public-accounting managers and industry controllers both reach strong six figures.
- Where do CPAs earn the most?
- High-cost metros and states pay the most. Among states, District of Columbia leads at $111,530 median — a direct BLS wage measurement for accountants and auditors in that state.
How to read these numbers
National, state, and metro pay comes straight from the federal wage measurement for accountants & auditors — direct and source-backed, not scaled from anything.
Role, experience, CPA-license, and employer figures are modeled on top of that measurement and labeled Estimate — the federal data does not break those out, so we never present them as measurements.
See your personal CPA salary estimate
Answer a few questions about your role, license, experience, and location to get a tailored range — then compare it to local and national benchmarks.
Related pages
Big 4 CPA Salary
Tax CPA Salary
Audit CPA Salary
Controller Salary
Accounting Manager Salary
Staff Accountant Salary
Senior Accountant Salary
Tax Senior Salary
Audit Senior Salary
Tax Manager Salary
Audit Manager Salary
CFO Salary
Finance Director Salary
CPA vs Accountant
Public Accounting vs Industry
CPA Salary by Company Type
Real Pay (Cost of Living)
CPA salary by state
CPA salary by city
CPA salary by role
Salary calculator
Methodology & sources