How much do staff accountants make in 2026?
Staff accountants are counted in the BLS accountants and auditors series, where OEWS May 2025 gives a national median of $83,680 a year ($40.23 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $56,020 and the top 10% at $144,090. That median needs correcting for this title. SOC 13-2011 pools 1,449,500 people from first-year staff to audit and tax managers, and staff roles sit at the bottom of the band — commonly between the 10th and 25th percentiles. The work is the foundation of everything above it: journal entries and accruals, account reconciliations, month-end close tasks, fixed asset and prepaid schedules, accounts payable and receivable support, variance explanations and audit schedule preparation. It is repetitive by design, and that is the point — the close is where you learn how a business actually records what it does. Progression is fast for people who take it seriously: staff to senior typically runs two to four years, and the differentiators are ownership of a clean close, comfort with the ERP rather than only spreadsheets, and progress toward the CPA licence where relevant. Employment is projected to grow 4.6% through 2034 with roughly 124,200 openings a year. → Full staff accountant career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $83,680 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Staff Accountants earn a national median $83,680/yr ($40.23/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 13-2011); the P10 to P90 range is $56,020 to $144,090.
- The BLS series behind this page pools 1,449,500 accountants from first-year staff to audit and tax managers; staff roles sit between the 10th and 25th percentiles of the $56,020 to $144,090 band, not at the $83,680 median.
- The work is month-end close, reconciliations, journal entries and audit schedule preparation — repetitive by design, and the fastest way to learn how a business records what it does.
- Promotion to senior typically takes two to four years, with clean close ownership, ERP fluency and CPA progress as the main differentiators.
US Staff Accountant Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do staff accountants 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 13-2011; 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 13-2011, 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 a staff accountant earn at each career stage?
Staff accounting pay progresses quickly early, then follows specialism and credential. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 13-2011, whose midpoint reflects far more experienced accountants than staff level.
By State
Which states pay staff accountants 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 staff-level work because the pooled series includes managers. Treat them as relative geography rather than as levels.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($96,230), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay staff accountants 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 useful signal is that public accounting firm offices and large corporate finance functions pay by market scale.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a staff accountant’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 staff accountant pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Staff Accountants 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 staff accountant wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a staff accountant 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
Staff Accountant Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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