Average accounting major salary

Updated September 14, 2023

$54,425

$27,00010%

$54,425Median

$107,00090%

What is the average accounting major salary in the US?

Accounting major graduates in America make, on average, $54,425 a year or $26.17 per hour.There is a huge gap between the top 10 percent earners and the bottom 10 percent earners -- about $80,000. The top 10 percent earn over $107,000, while the bottom 10 percent make less than $27,000 annually.professional companies and finance companies have the most job opportunities for accounting majors.The top 5 states when it comes to salaries for accounting major graduates are New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and California.

Best paying cities

$67,030

$66,345

$65,306

Average accounting salary by company

In every industry, there is a range of salaries that an accounting major graduate makes.professional companies and finance companies have the most job opportunities for accounting major graduates.IBM and State Street are the highest paying companies.In addition, companies like Citi and BNY Mellon report highly competitive salaries for accounting major graduates.

Average salary by company

Rank	Company	Zippia score	Average accounting salary
1	1.IBM	4.7	$76,740
2	2.State Street	4.1	$76,251
3	3.Citi	4.6	$76,006
4	4.BNY Mellon	4.4	$75,526
5	5.Ernst & Young	4.7	$75,156
6	6.AIG	4.5	$73,267
7	7.Grant Thornton	4.6	$72,432
8	8.JPMorgan Chase & Co.	4.8	$72,174
9	9.Morgan Stanley	4.6	$70,869
10	10.Merrill Lynch	4.9	$70,229
11	11.HSBC Bank	4.9	$69,876
12	12.General Electric	4.8	$69,507
13	13.Pwc	4.8	$68,718
14	14.Deloitte	4.7	$68,373
15	15.American Express	4.8	$66,754
16	16.Accenture	4.7	$66,081
17	17.Edward Jones	4.5	$65,677
18	18.RSM US	4.4	$64,870
19	19.Amazon	4.7	$63,030
20	20.CVS Health	4.6	$61,751

Average accounting major salary by city

Across America, accounting major graduates make on average $54,425 annually or $26.17 hourly.The city with the highest salaries for accounting major graduates is Washington, DC at $67,030 per year.The average starting salary in Washington, DC for accounting major graduates is $34,000.New York, NY, Richmond, CA, Jersey City, NJ, Hartford, CT, Boston, MA, and Des Moines, WA are the best cities for accounting major graduates looking for a higher than average salary.New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and California are the states with the highest payscale for accounting major graduates.The lowest earning states are Montana, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

Average salary by location

Rank	City	Average accounting salary	Salary range
1	Washington, DC	$67,030	$35k $95k
2	New York, NY	$66,345	$35k $95k
3	Richmond, CA	$65,306	$35k $95k
4	Jersey City, NJ	$64,256	$35k $95k
5	Hartford, CT	$62,524	$35k $95k
6	Boston, MA	$61,740	$35k $95k
7	Des Moines, WA	$59,187	$35k $95k
8	Baltimore, MD	$57,492	$35k $95k
9	Arlington, VA	$57,261	$35k $95k
10	Philadelphia, PA	$55,237	$35k $95k
11	Portland, OR	$54,246	$35k $95k
12	Chicago, IL	$52,611	$35k $95k
13	Detroit, MI	$52,393	$35k $95k
14	Minneapolis, MN	$52,039	$35k $95k
15	Las Vegas, NV	$51,507	$35k $95k
16	San Antonio, TX	$51,455	$35k $95k
17	Cleveland, OH	$51,408	$35k $95k
18	Denver, CO	$51,283	$35k $95k
19	Raleigh, NC	$51,053	$35k $95k
20	Portland, ME	$50,823	$35k $95k

Average accounting major salary by state

The darker areas on the map show where accounting majors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average salary

Accounting major average salary by state

State	Average accounting major salary	Average hourly rate
New York	$66,198	$31.83
New Jersey	$64,278	$30.90
Connecticut	$62,684	$30.14
Massachusetts	$61,957	$29.79
California	$61,417	$29.53
Washington	$58,892	$28.31
Delaware	$58,551	$28.15
Rhode Island	$57,870	$27.82
Maryland	$57,299	$27.55
Virginia	$56,112	$26.98
Pennsylvania	$54,917	$26.40
Oregon	$54,827	$26.36
New Hampshire	$54,347	$26.13
Alaska	$53,672	$25.80
Illinois	$52,511	$25.25
Vermont	$52,496	$25.24
Michigan	$52,201	$25.10
Nevada	$52,062	$25.03
Minnesota	$52,055	$25.03
Colorado	$51,434	$24.73
Texas	$51,097	$24.57
North Carolina	$50,557	$24.31
Maine	$50,470	$24.26
Arizona	$50,339	$24.20
Ohio	$50,154	$24.11
Wisconsin	$50,139	$24.11
Georgia	$49,193	$23.65
West Virginia	$47,595	$22.88
Indiana	$47,354	$22.77
North Dakota	$47,199	$22.69
Utah	$47,014	$22.60
Hawaii	$46,848	$22.52
Florida	$46,386	$22.30
Tennessee	$46,246	$22.23
Missouri	$46,126	$22.18
New Mexico	$45,919	$22.08
Iowa	$45,892	$22.06
Idaho	$45,850	$22.04
Kentucky	$45,637	$21.94
South Carolina	$45,517	$21.88
South Dakota	$45,417	$21.84
Alabama	$45,229	$21.74
Wyoming	$45,192	$21.73
Kansas	$45,017	$21.64
Montana	$44,872	$21.57
Oklahoma	$44,619	$21.45
Nebraska	$44,563	$21.42
Louisiana	$44,362	$21.33
Arkansas	$43,196	$20.77
Mississippi	$43,113	$20.73

Highest paying jobs for accounting majors

Rank	Job title	Average salary	Open jobs
1	Controller	$101,204	75,440
2	Senior Business Analyst	$96,843	129,426
3	Assistant Controller	$91,447	58,643
4	Senior Analyst	$84,799	159,807
5	Senior Finance Analyst	$83,222	117,609
6	Finance Associate	$81,338	83,256
7	Senior Internal Auditor	$80,919	24,545
8	Senior Tax Analyst	$79,028	56,996
9	Senior Revenue Accountant	$77,864	35,729
10	Finance Consultant	$77,550	94,259
11	Senior Tax Accountant	$77,536	57,686
12	Certified Public Accountant	$76,692	78,792
13	Business Analyst	$74,430	170,514
14	Senior Auditor	$74,381	23,025
15	Data Analyst	$74,342	167,520
16	Senior Corporate Accountant	$73,008	57,895
17	Analyst	$73,007	253,138
18	Treasury Analyst	$72,666	50,817
19	Senior Accountant	$71,967	76,816
20	Senior Accounting Analyst	$71,248	91,037

Average accounting major salary by industry

Wages for accounting major graduates can differ based on the industry they work in.Our analysis shows that government companies, manufacturing companies, and health care companies pay higher-than-average wages for accounting major graduates.Salaries for accounting major graduates in government companies average $56,588 annually, while manufacturing companies and health care companies pay $40,754 and $39,107, respectively.The types of companies that pay accounting majors the least are in the retail industry, where the average annual salary is $32,644.

Average salary by industry

Rank	Industry	Average accounting major salary	Range
1	Government	$56,588	$25k $64k
2	Manufacturing	$40,754	$25k $64k
3	Health Care	$39,107	$25k $64k
4	Finance	$38,503	$25k $64k
5	Technology	$36,001	$25k $64k
6	Professional	$33,280	$25k $64k
7	Retail	$32,644	$25k $64k

Salary history for accounting major graduates

This data shows the national average salary between 2011-2020 among Accounting major graduates.

Salaries for related majors

Rank	Major	Average salary	Range
1	Project Management	$92,381	$30k $114k
2	General Sales	$84,359	$30k $114k
3	Management Information Systems	$81,267	$30k $114k
4	Construction Management	$78,318	$30k $114k
5	Operations Management	$76,805	$30k $114k
6	Business Economics	$72,447	$30k $114k
7	Small Business Management	$70,935	$30k $114k
8	Management Science	$68,844	$30k $114k
9	Finance	$67,829	$30k $114k
10	Supply Chain Management	$61,407	$30k $114k
11	International Business	$58,124	$30k $114k
12	Human Resources Management	$57,738	$30k $114k
13	Real Estate	$56,531	$30k $114k
14	Management	$56,332	$30k $114k
15	Marketing	$56,295	$30k $114k
16	Business	$50,670	$30k $114k
17	Specialized Sales And Merchandising	$48,480	$30k $114k
18	Business Communications	$44,181	$30k $114k
19	Hospitality Management	$43,446	$30k $114k
20	Secretarial And Administrative Science	$36,615	$30k $114k