Find a Job You Really Want In
Accountants are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as accountants in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since accountants are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where accountants have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for accountants.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s accountants:
So there you have it — Accountants And Auditors is the best of the best when it comes to being an accountant.
How did Accountants And Auditors end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for accountants and for more on the top ten states.
If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Virginia
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Virginia Beach
- These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Virginia
How we determined the best states to be an accountant
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Higher Pay
So in order to find out the best states for accountants in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well accountants get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2018:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for accountants in California is $84,430 and the average salary in Illinois is $81,060, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for accountants in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for accountants.
1. Virginia
Total Jobs: 41,230
Average Annual Salary: $85,640
Average Entry Level Salary: $50,370
Average Experienced Salary: $130,400
Location Quotient: 1.24
2. Texas
Total Jobs: 115,270
Average Annual Salary: $80,200
Average Entry Level Salary: $45,290
Average Experienced Salary: $122,810
Location Quotient: 1.09
3. Illinois
Total Jobs: 53,280
Average Annual Salary: $81,060
Average Entry Level Salary: $45,120
Average Experienced Salary: $125,340
Location Quotient: 1.02
4. Delaware
Total Jobs: 5,600
Average Annual Salary: $78,120
Average Entry Level Salary: $51,210
Average Experienced Salary: $115,630
Location Quotient: 1.43
5. Michigan
Total Jobs: 33,610
Average Annual Salary: $74,370
Average Entry Level Salary: $42,890
Average Experienced Salary: $111,240
Location Quotient: 0.89
6. Georgia
Total Jobs: 37,200
Average Annual Salary: $75,930
Average Entry Level Salary: $40,580
Average Experienced Salary: $120,560
Location Quotient: 0.97
7. Colorado
Total Jobs: 36,290
Average Annual Salary: $82,320
Average Entry Level Salary: $43,870
Average Experienced Salary: $127,720
Location Quotient: 1.59
8. North Carolina
Total Jobs: 33,020
Average Annual Salary: $76,880
Average Entry Level Salary: $46,110
Average Experienced Salary: $117,850
Location Quotient: 0.87
9. Oklahoma
Total Jobs: 13,650
Average Annual Salary: $73,040
Average Entry Level Salary: $39,550
Average Experienced Salary: $111,050
Location Quotient: 0.98
10. Ohio
Total Jobs: 45,670
Average Annual Salary: $72,370
Average Entry Level Salary: $41,820
Average Experienced Salary: $110,970
Location Quotient: 0.97
There You Have It – The Best States To Be An Accountant
If you’re looking to start out your career as an accountant these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be an accountant in America:
For more reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Best States For accountants
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virginia | $85,640 |
| 2 | Texas | $80,200 |
| 3 | Illinois | $81,060 |
| 4 | Delaware | $78,120 |
| 5 | Michigan | $74,370 |
| 6 | Georgia | $75,930 |
| 7 | Colorado | $82,320 |
| 8 | North Carolina | $76,880 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | $73,040 |
| 10 | Ohio | $72,370 |
| 11 | New Jersey | $90,400 |
| 12 | Washington | $78,970 |
| 13 | Missouri | $70,240 |
| 14 | Alabama | $70,310 |
| 15 | Tennessee | $69,690 |
| 16 | Indiana | $70,780 |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | $75,250 |
| 18 | New York | $96,300 |
| 19 | Arkansas | $67,700 |
| 20 | Kansas | $66,530 |
| 21 | Nebraska | $67,920 |
| 22 | Minnesota | $72,480 |
| 23 | Utah | $70,980 |
| 24 | Rhode Island | $81,090 |
| 25 | Wyoming | $66,180 |
| 26 | Iowa | $67,030 |
| 27 | Wisconsin | $68,410 |
| 28 | Kentucky | $67,080 |
| 29 | Florida | $71,790 |
| 30 | South Dakota | $65,800 |
| 31 | Connecticut | $84,890 |
| 32 | New Mexico | $66,370 |
| 33 | Mississippi | $62,850 |
| 34 | Maryland | $82,610 |
| 35 | West Virginia | $68,160 |
| 36 | Louisiana | $66,860 |
| 37 | Arizona | $69,190 |
| 38 | Montana | $66,410 |
| 39 | Vermont | $75,360 |
| 40 | Massachusetts | $81,460 |
| 41 | Idaho | $66,110 |
| 42 | Maine | $70,810 |
| 43 | North Dakota | $61,870 |
| 44 | South Carolina | $64,750 |
| 45 | California | $84,430 |
| 46 | New Hampshire | $72,690 |
| 47 | Nevada | $66,600 |
| 48 | Alaska | $82,920 |
| 49 | Oregon | $71,450 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $65,580 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
