By company type
CPA Salary by Company Type
Where you work shapes CPA pay as much as your title — Big 4, national, regional, and local firms vs. industry. Anchored to the national pay benchmark, adjusted by employer type.
Big 4 (manager)
$145,300
Highest employer premium
Industry / corporate
$134,900
Better hours & equity
National median
$83,680
Verified benchmark
Coverage
5
employer types, all modeled
How does CPA salary vary by company type?
Anchored to OEWS May 2025 — Accountants and Auditors (13-2011). Employer-type adjustments are modeled estimates.
Best ways to use this page
- 1View the benchmark
Compare the benchmark
The table ranks employer types at a like-for-like manager level against the industry baseline.
- 2Read the trade-offs
Understand the trade-off
Brand premium vs hours, balance, and equity — see what each employer type means for pay and lifestyle.
- 3Open the calculator
Model your own pay
Set your employer type, role, and experience in the calculator for a tailored estimate.
Employer benchmark
CPA pay by employer type
Manager-level pay by employer type, each anchored to the national benchmark and measured against the industry midpoint.
| 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.
The employers
What each employer type means for pay
The same title pays differently by firm. Pay tracks brand, client mix, and the trade-off between hours and balance.
Big 4 firm
Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG. The strongest brand premium and fastest early raises, with the longest hours and the partner track at the top.
National firm
Grant Thornton, RSM, BDO and peers. Pay slightly below the Big 4 with a similar public-accounting career path and often better balance.
Regional firm
Strong regional players. Pay runs near or just below the industry midpoint, with more local clients and a shorter ladder.
Local firm
Small local practices. The lowest of the firm types on base pay, but often the most flexibility and client ownership early.
Industry / corporate
Working in a company’s own accounting/finance team. Competitive base, better hours and equity, and the controller → CFO path.
Frequently asked questions
- Which type of firm pays CPAs the most?
- On a like-for-like (manager-level) basis our model puts Big 4 firms highest — about $145,300 — carrying a brand premium over national, regional, and local firms. Industry/corporate roles land near $134,900 with better hours and equity. All figures are modeled estimates on the national benchmark of $83,680.
- Do Big 4 CPAs earn more than industry CPAs?
- Early on, yes — the Big 4 brand premium and faster raises lead. Over a career it narrows: industry controllers and CFOs can out-earn all but the highest firm partners, with far better hours and equity. The right path depends on goals, not just base pay.
- Is company-type pay verified?
- No. The national benchmark (May 2025) publishes one broad national wage for accountants and auditors. The per-employer-type figures here are modeled estimates derived from it with documented multipliers, and are labeled Estimate — this group isn't broken out by firm type in the official data.
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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.
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