Florida · Salary guide
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL CPA Salary
CPA and accountant pay across the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro — percentiles and role-by-role estimates vs the national benchmark.
Median CPA pay · Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro
$78,990
Midpoint for accountants & auditors
Typical range
$62.6K–$102.5K
Middle 50% (25th–75th percentile)
Top earners
$132.4K+
90th percentile and above
vs. national
-5.6%
Florida · vs U.S. median
Verified BLS wage benchmark for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro · updated June 2026
How much does a CPA make in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater?
The verified BLS wage measurement for accountants and auditors in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro. The CPA-license premium layered on top is a labeled estimate.
vs. the U.S. benchmark
-5.6%
The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro vs the national median and -0.3% vs Florida statewide.
Florida guideLicensed CPA · modeled
$88,500
A modeled ~12% credential premium on the local median — the license consistently pays more.
What the license is worthTop earners · 90th pct
$132.4K+
The BLS-measured 90th percentile for accountants in this metro — model your own with your role and experience.
Model your payTampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro
verified local median
$78,990
-5.6%Florida statewide
verified state median
$79,250
-5.3%National benchmark
verified
$83,680
base
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater runs -5.6% vs the national median and -0.3% vs Florida statewide. All three are direct BLS wage measurements for accountants and auditors at their own area level.
Cost of living
Real pay in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
What the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater median actually buys once local prices are accounted for. Nominal pay is the verified BLS figure; the buying-power view divides it by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity (2024) for the metro.
Nominal
$79K
Price level
100.9/100
Real pay
$78.3K
Local prices run 1% above the national average, so some of that pay is absorbed by higher local costs — Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater slips 163 places once adjusted for buying power.
Real pay · BEA-adjustedA high nominal salary in an expensive metro can buy less than a smaller salary in a low-cost one. Real pay reorders the map by buying power — but it is not take-home pay: it excludes taxes, benefits, and housing choices.
See real pay across all metros →Best ways to use this page
- 1View percentiles
Find your percentile
See where your pay sits across the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater range, from entry level to top earners.
- 2See pay by role
Check your role
Pay climbs steeply from staff to controller. See the estimate for your title in this metro.
- 3Open the calculator
Model your own number
Set role, experience, license, and employer for a tailored estimate — equity and bonus broken out.
- 4Submit your pay
Add your salary
Anonymous, two minutes. Submissions are how role- and employer-level pay becomes real data.
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro · Accountants & auditors
Verified$37.98/hr median hourly · $88,300 average
Percentiles · Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Verified| Percentile | Annual | Hourly | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $50,300 | $24.18/hr | Entry-level / lower pay |
| 25th percentile | $62,570 | $30.08/hr | Below median |
| Median (50th) | $78,990 | $37.98/hr | Typical pay |
| 75th percentile | $102,490 | $49.27/hr | Experienced / senior |
| 90th percentile | $132,430 | $63.67/hr | Top earners |
By role
CPA roles in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Median estimates by role, scaled to the metro wage level.
Median pay by role
In the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro, estimated pay runs from $112,200 (Accounting Manager) to $308,100 (Chief Financial Officer) — about 2.7× across the ladder.
| Role / level | Low | Est. median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Financial Officer | $308,100 | ||
| Partner | $284,400 | ||
| Director of Finance | $193,500 | ||
| Senior Manager | $161,900 | ||
| Controller | $154,000 | ||
| Tax Manager | $122,400 | ||
| Audit Manager | $122,400 | ||
| Accounting Manager | $112,200 | ||
| Audit Senior | $86,900 | ||
| Tax Senior | $85,300 | ||
| Senior Accountant | $80,600 | ||
| Audit Associate | $65,600 | ||
| Tax Associate | $64,800 | ||
| Staff Accountant | $61,600 |
Role multipliers applied to the BLS national median for Accountants & Auditors. The low–high band is a modeled typical range, not a guaranteed offer.
By experience
CPA pay by experience in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
The metro median scaled across experience bands, with the modeled CPA-license premium. Estimate.
| Experience | Est. median | CPA-licensed (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 years | $67,900 | $76,000 |
| 2–4 years | $75,800 | $84,900 |
| 5–7 years | $85,300 | $95,500 |
| 8–12 years | $94,800 | $106,200 |
| 13–20 years | $104,300 | $116,800 |
| 20+ years | $112,200 | $125,700 |
Experience multipliers on the area median; CPA column adds a modeled +12% credential premium.
By employer
CPA pay by employer type in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Big 4, national, regional, and local firms vs. industry — at a manager-level base on the metro median. Estimate.
| Employer type | Est. manager-level pay | vs. industry |
|---|---|---|
| Big 4 firm | $137,100 | +7.7% |
| National firm | $128,600 | +1.0% |
| Regional firm | $120,000 | -5.7% |
| Local firm | $112,600 | -11.5% |
| Industry / corporate | $127,300 | — |
Employer-type multipliers applied at a manager-level base on the BLS national median.
What affects pay
What drives CPA pay in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
The same factors move pay within a metro. Use the calculator to model your own.
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater market
Tampa Bay pairs finance, insurance, and healthcare with a large tourism and services base, and Florida levies no state income tax. Pay tends to track the national median, strongest in the finance-heavy core.
Cost of labor
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater wages track the local cost of living and employer competition — denser, higher-cost metros pay above the statewide median.
Employer mix
Big 4 and national firms pay a brand premium; regional/local firms and government pay below industry roles at the same level.
Role & experience
Pay roughly doubles from staff to controller. The CPA license adds a modeled premium and unlocks senior roles.
Remote & hybrid
Remote roles can pay to a national band rather than the local one, widening access to higher-paying employers.
How to use these figures
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro 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.
Other metros
Compare nearby metro pay
CPA pay across other major metros — large, high-cost areas pay the strongest.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a CPA make in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater?
- The median accountant/auditor wage in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro is about $78,990 (-5.6% vs national). Licensed CPAs generally earn above this baseline.
- Does Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater pay more than the rest of Florida?
- Large metros like Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater typically pay above their statewide median due to higher cost of living and a denser concentration of large employers and public-accounting firms.
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.
Add your Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater salary
BLS measures the occupation, not your role, firm, or license. Submissions are what add that layer. Anonymous and quick.