SalaryCPA

Salary database

CPA Salary by State

Accountant and CPA pay varies widely by state labor market. Search, filter, and sort all 50 states plus DC, then drill into any state for metros and roles.

Top-paying state

$111,530

District of Columbia

Lowest state

$66,330

Arkansas

National median

$83,680

Verified benchmark

Above national

13

of 51 states + DC

Which states pay CPAs the most?

Among states, District of Columbia leads at $111,530 median, while Arkansas is lowest at $66,330. The national median is $83,680.

Every state figure is a direct BLS OEWS wage measurement for accountants and auditors in that state.

Best ways to use this page

  1. 1

    Scan the ranking

    States are grouped into above, around, and below the national median so you can place any market at a glance.

    Jump to the database
  2. 2

    Open your state

    Every state opens into a full guide — metros, pay by role and experience, and a local market note.

    See a state guide
  3. 3

    Weigh cost of living

    A higher median is not automatically a better deal. Compare taxes, housing, and commute before you rank a state.

    Read the caveat
  4. 4

    Model your own pay

    Set your state, role, and experience in the calculator for a tailored estimate vs the national benchmark.

    Open the calculator
How to read the dataVerifiedEstimateUser-submitted

All states & DC

Verified

Higher pay isn’t always higher take-home value. Compare a state’s salary against its cost of living, taxes, commute, and job mix before treating it as “better” — a smaller median in a low-cost, no-income-tax state can out-earn a bigger one on paper.

51 states

How to use these figures

State figures here are a direct BLS wage measurement — but they cover accountants and auditors as a single occupation, so they are not specific to the CPA license, your role, or your employer. Use them as a local baseline, then model your own situation and submit a salary to sharpen the employer-level detail BLS does not publish.

Cost of living

Buying-power-adjusted ranking

The ranking above is headline pay. Restating each state's verified median in national-average price terms — using the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis's Regional Price Parities (2024) — reshuffles the map: a high salary in an expensive state can buy less than a smaller one where costs are low.

Real pay · BEA-adjusted

Real pay is a price-level comparison, not take-home. It restates gross wages in national-average dollars so markets compare like for like. It does not model taxes, housing choices, commuting, or benefits — and a higher buying-power figure is not the only thing that makes a state a good place to build a career.

Climb the most after cost of living

Lower-cost states where verified pay stretches furthest.

Fall the most after cost of living

Higher-cost states where local prices absorb more of the paycheck.

Read the full cost-of-living guideNominal medians are verified BLS OEWS measurements; the buying-power adjustment is derived from BEA Regional Price Parities (2024).

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Frequently asked questions

Which state pays CPAs the most?
District of Columbia leads our ranking at $111,530 median for accountants and auditors (+33.3% vs national) — followed by other high-cost-of-living states. Each state figure is a direct BLS wage measurement.
Which state pays CPAs the least?
Arkansas sits at the bottom of the ranking at $66,330 median. Lower-cost-of-living states generally pay below the national median, though local demand and remote roles can close the gap.
Are these state CPA salary figures verified?
The wage figures are: every state median here comes straight from the BLS OEWS release, not scaled from the national number. What is not verified is the CPA cut of it — BLS measures accountants and auditors as one occupation, so the CPA-license premium shown elsewhere on the site stays a labeled estimate.
Do licensed CPAs earn more than these state medians?
Typically yes. The benchmark covers accountants broadly, including non-licensed staff. The CPA license is associated with a modeled pay premium and access to senior roles, so licensed CPAs generally earn above the medians shown.

How to read these numbers

Verified

National, state, and metro pay comes straight from the federal wage measurement for accountants & auditors — direct and source-backed, not scaled from anything.

Market estimate

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.

Full methodology View the source

Get a salary estimate for your state

Pick your state and role in the calculator to see a tailored CPA salary range and how it compares to the national benchmark.

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