Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of tax preparer salary by state for the United States:
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Rhode Island has the highest tax preparer salary of $76,825
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Montana has the lowest tax preparer salary of $31,044
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The national average salary for tax preparers is $51,020
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The national hourly pay for tax preparers is $24.53
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do tax preparers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for tax preparer by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for tax preparers after this adjustment? That would be Rhode Island.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for tax preparer salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Tax Preparers By State
| Rank | State | Average Tax Preparer Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island | $76,825 | $42,000 | $139,000 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | $74,965 | $41,000 | $134,000 |
| 3 | Delaware | $72,606 | $39,000 | $132,000 |
| 4 | Nevada | $72,479 | $41,000 | $125,000 |
| 5 | New York | $68,756 | $37,000 | $125,000 |
| 6 | Utah | $67,559 | $40,000 | $112,000 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $67,537 | $37,000 | $121,000 |
| 8 | Oregon | $67,196 | $39,000 | $115,000 |
| 9 | California | $66,448 | $37,000 | $116,000 |
| 10 | Maine | $66,330 | $36,000 | $119,000 |
| 11 | New Jersey | $62,724 | $34,000 | $114,000 |
| 12 | Washington | $62,474 | $37,000 | $105,000 |
| 13 | Connecticut | $61,817 | $34,000 | $112,000 |
| 14 | Texas | $61,532 | $34,000 | $108,000 |
| 15 | Idaho | $60,057 | $35,000 | $100,000 |
| 16 | Colorado | $58,149 | $35,000 | $95,000 |
| 17 | New Mexico | $58,095 | $33,000 | $100,000 |
| 18 | Vermont | $57,550 | $31,000 | $103,000 |
| 19 | West Virginia | $55,209 | $30,000 | $98,000 |
| 20 | Alaska | $52,776 | $32,000 | $86,000 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | $52,699 | $28,000 | $95,000 |
| 22 | Maryland | $52,548 | $28,000 | $95,000 |
| 23 | Arkansas | $50,701 | $29,000 | $86,000 |
| 24 | Minnesota | $50,291 | $30,000 | $83,000 |
| 25 | Wisconsin | $49,438 | $28,000 | $85,000 |
| 26 | Mississippi | $49,147 | $28,000 | $86,000 |
| 27 | Wyoming | $48,845 | $30,000 | $79,000 |
| 28 | Georgia | $48,069 | $27,000 | $83,000 |
| 29 | Nebraska | $47,594 | $28,000 | $78,000 |
| 30 | Arizona | $46,906 | $27,000 | $80,000 |
| 31 | Michigan | $46,231 | $25,000 | $82,000 |
| 32 | Florida | $45,492 | $25,000 | $81,000 |
| 33 | Illinois | $44,373 | $25,000 | $76,000 |
| 34 | Oklahoma | $44,033 | $25,000 | $74,000 |
| 35 | Iowa | $43,228 | $25,000 | $72,000 |
| 36 | Ohio | $42,974 | $24,000 | $76,000 |
| 37 | Virginia | $42,251 | $23,000 | $76,000 |
| 38 | North Dakota | $42,094 | $26,000 | $66,000 |
| 39 | Missouri | $42,046 | $24,000 | $70,000 |
| 40 | Tennessee | $40,931 | $23,000 | $70,000 |
| 41 | Alabama | $39,012 | $22,000 | $67,000 |
| 42 | Louisiana | $38,647 | $21,000 | $68,000 |
| 43 | North Carolina | $37,043 | $20,000 | $65,000 |
| 44 | Indiana | $36,651 | $21,000 | $63,000 |
| 45 | Kansas | $36,590 | $21,000 | $61,000 |
| 46 | Kentucky | $35,900 | $20,000 | $62,000 |
| 47 | South Carolina | $34,736 | $19,000 | $60,000 |
| 48 | South Dakota | $34,466 | $21,000 | $55,000 |
| 49 | Hawaii | $31,620 | $23,000 | $42,000 |
| 50 | Montana | $31,044 | $19,000 | $49,000 |
Methodology: Tax Preparer Salary By State
To better understand tax preparer pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for tax preparers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for tax preparers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for tax preparers.
Tax Preparer Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for tax preparers?
The highest-paid state for tax preparers is Rhode Island with an average salary of $76,825 per year.
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What city pays tax preparers the most?
San Francisco, CA pays tax preparers the most with an average salary of $77,904 per year.
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What is the worst state for tax preparers?
The worst state for tax preparers is Montana with an average salary of $31,044 per year.
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.
