How much do accounting managers make in 2026?
Accounting managers are counted in the BLS financial managers series, where OEWS May 2025 reports a national median of $166,570 a year ($80.08 an hour), with a 10th percentile near $94,310 and a 90th percentile of $323,270. That median is not an accounting manager's salary, and the reason is pooling: SOC 11-3031 is a single management row covering 841,710 people from first-line accounting managers through controllers, finance directors, vice presidents of finance and chief financial officers. Accounting managers sit in the lower part of that band, commonly around and just above the 10th percentile, with managers at larger and more complex organisations reaching the 25th. The role owns the close and the accounting team: managing the month-end and year-end calendar, reviewing reconciliations and journal entries, maintaining the general ledger and chart of accounts, supervising staff and senior accountants, managing the external audit relationship, enforcing controls and improving processes. Pay follows team size, entity and transaction complexity, and whether the role owns technical accounting positions or escalates them. Employment across the series is projected to grow 14.8% through 2034 with roughly 74,600 openings a year. → Full accounting manager career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $166,570 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Accounting Managers earn a national median $166,570/yr ($80.08/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-3031); the P10 to P90 range is $94,310 to $323,270.
- The $166,570 median comes from a pooled BLS management series that includes controllers, finance directors and chief financial officers — accounting managers sit near the lower end of the $94,310 to $323,270 band.
- The role owns the close and the accounting team: calendar, review, general ledger integrity, staff supervision, audit relationship and controls.
- Team size, entity and transaction complexity, and whether the role owns technical accounting positions are the practical pay drivers.
US Accounting Manager Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do accounting managers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 11-3031; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-3031, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does an accounting manager earn at each career stage?
Accounting management pay follows team size, complexity and technical ownership. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 11-3031, which spans accounting manager through chief financial officer in one row.
By State
Which states pay accounting managers the most in 2026?
State figures are modeled estimates — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations, and they read high for this role because the pooled series includes finance executives. Treat them as relative geography; organisational complexity predicts accounting manager pay better than location does.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($191,560), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay accounting managers the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations, and they carry the same upward bias. Their signal is where larger finance functions concentrate.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise an accounting manager’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does accounting manager pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Accounting Managers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify accounting manager wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does an accounting manager actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Accounting Manager Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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