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Best states for a tax preparer
- Rank 1 - 10
- 11 - 20
- 21 - 30
- 31 - 40
- 41 - 51
Do you want to become a tax preparer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, and you wonder what that means or entails? We have the full list of best states for tax preparers that you can check out, before you begin your journey. We wanted to look at the best states for tax preparers -- where there are plenty of tax preparer jobs to go around and tax preparers get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into our dataset of job and salary numbers to figure out which states have the best opportunities for tax preparers. Rhode Island is the best state for tax preparers, where the median salary is $76,825.We found that the Midwest is best for tax preparers, and the Northeast is the worst. San Francisco, CA is the best city in the country for tax preparer jobs, where as Rhode Island is the best state in the country.
10 best states for tax preparers in 2026
1. Rhode Island
Total tax preparer jobs: 91 Average annual salary: $76,825 Lowest 10 percent earn: $42,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $139,000 Location Quotient: 1.21
2. Nevada
Total tax preparer jobs: 145 Average annual salary: $72,479 Lowest 10 percent earn: $41,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $125,000 Location Quotient: 1.12
3. Delaware
Total tax preparer jobs: 89 Average annual salary: $72,606 Lowest 10 percent earn: $39,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $132,000 Location Quotient: 1.14
4. Utah
Total tax preparer jobs: 216 Average annual salary: $67,559 Lowest 10 percent earn: $40,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $112,000 Location Quotient: 1.09
5. District of Columbia
Total tax preparer jobs: 175 Average annual salary: $68,890 Lowest 10 percent earn: $38,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $124,000 Location Quotient: 1.68
6. New York
Total tax preparer jobs: 879 Average annual salary: $68,756 Lowest 10 percent earn: $37,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $125,000 Location Quotient: 1.1
7. New Hampshire
Total tax preparer jobs: 90 Average annual salary: $74,965 Lowest 10 percent earn: $41,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $134,000 Location Quotient: 0.83
8. California
Total tax preparer jobs: 2,344 Average annual salary: $66,448 Lowest 10 percent earn: $37,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $116,000 Location Quotient: 1.29
9. Massachusetts
Total tax preparer jobs: 573 Average annual salary: $67,537 Lowest 10 percent earn: $37,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $121,000 Location Quotient: 1
10. Oregon
Total tax preparer jobs: 251 Average annual salary: $67,196 Lowest 10 percent earn: $39,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $115,000 Location Quotient: 0.98
Tax preparer jobsNear Columbus, OH
How Zippia determines the best states to be a tax preparer
You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.
Detailed list of the best states for a tax preparer
| Rank | State | Average salary | Lowest 10% earn | Population | Job count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island | $76,825 | $42,000 | 1,059,639 | 91 |
| 2 | Nevada | $72,479 | $41,000 | 2,998,039 | 145 |
| 3 | Delaware | $72,606 | $39,000 | 961,939 | 89 |
| 4 | Utah | $67,559 | $40,000 | 3,101,833 | 216 |
| 5 | District of Columbia | $68,890 | $38,000 | 693,972 | 175 |
| 6 | New York | $68,756 | $37,000 | 19,849,399 | 879 |
| 7 | New Hampshire | $74,965 | $41,000 | 1,342,795 | 90 |
| 8 | California | $66,448 | $37,000 | 39,536,653 | 2,344 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | $67,537 | $37,000 | 6,859,819 | 573 |
| 10 | Oregon | $67,196 | $39,000 | 4,142,776 | 251 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $61,817 | $34,000 | 3,588,184 | 289 |
| 12 | Texas | $61,532 | $34,000 | 28,304,596 | 1,298 |
| 13 | Washington | $62,474 | $37,000 | 7,405,743 | 416 |
| 14 | Colorado | $58,149 | $35,000 | 5,607,154 | 434 |
| 15 | New Jersey | $62,724 | $34,000 | 9,005,644 | 409 |
| 16 | Maine | $66,330 | $36,000 | 1,335,907 | 46 |
| 17 | Idaho | $60,057 | $35,000 | 1,716,943 | 81 |
| 18 | Minnesota | $50,291 | $30,000 | 5,576,606 | 462 |
| 19 | Vermont | $57,550 | $31,000 | 623,657 | 37 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | $52,699 | $28,000 | 12,805,537 | 617 |
| 21 | West Virginia | $55,209 | $30,000 | 1,815,857 | 65 |
| 22 | New Mexico | $58,095 | $33,000 | 2,088,070 | 82 |
| 23 | Alaska | $52,776 | $32,000 | 739,795 | 46 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | $49,438 | $28,000 | 5,795,483 | 325 |
| 25 | Maryland | $52,548 | $28,000 | 6,052,177 | 408 |
| 26 | Arizona | $46,906 | $27,000 | 7,016,270 | 383 |
| 27 | Arkansas | $50,701 | $29,000 | 3,004,279 | 117 |
| 28 | Illinois | $44,373 | $25,000 | 12,802,023 | 977 |
| 29 | Georgia | $48,069 | $27,000 | 10,429,379 | 596 |
| 30 | Iowa | $43,228 | $25,000 | 3,145,711 | 280 |
| 31 | Mississippi | $49,147 | $28,000 | 2,984,100 | 89 |
| 32 | Florida | $45,492 | $25,000 | 20,984,400 | 989 |
| 33 | Michigan | $46,231 | $25,000 | 9,962,311 | 417 |
| 34 | Nebraska | $47,594 | $28,000 | 1,920,076 | 113 |
| 35 | Wyoming | $48,845 | $30,000 | 579,315 | 25 |
| 36 | Missouri | $42,046 | $24,000 | 6,113,532 | 419 |
| 37 | Ohio | $42,974 | $24,000 | 11,658,609 | 588 |
| 38 | Oklahoma | $44,033 | $25,000 | 3,930,864 | 172 |
| 39 | Tennessee | $40,931 | $23,000 | 6,715,984 | 358 |
| 40 | Hawaii | $31,620 | $23,000 | 1,427,538 | 61 |
| 41 | Virginia | $42,251 | $23,000 | 8,470,020 | 485 |
| 42 | North Dakota | $42,094 | $26,000 | 755,393 | 29 |
| 43 | Louisiana | $38,647 | $21,000 | 4,684,333 | 155 |
| 44 | Alabama | $39,012 | $22,000 | 4,874,747 | 207 |
| 45 | North Carolina | $37,043 | $20,000 | 10,273,419 | 500 |
| 46 | Indiana | $36,651 | $21,000 | 6,666,818 | 312 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $35,900 | $20,000 | 4,454,189 | 187 |
| 48 | Montana | $31,044 | $19,000 | 1,050,493 | 64 |
| 49 | Kansas | $36,590 | $21,000 | 2,913,123 | 127 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $34,466 | $21,000 | 869,666 | 37 |
| 51 | South Carolina | $34,736 | $19,000 | 5,024,369 | 182 |
Highest paying states for tax preparers
| Rank | State | Avg. Tax Preparer Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island | $76,825 |
| 2 | Nevada | $72,479 |
| 3 | Delaware | $72,606 |
| 4 | Utah | $67,559 |
| 5 | District of Columbia | $68,890 |
| 6 | New York | $68,756 |
| 7 | New Hampshire | $74,965 |
| 8 | California | $66,448 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | $67,537 |
| 10 | Oregon | $67,196 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $61,817 |
| 12 | Texas | $61,532 |
| 13 | Washington | $62,474 |
| 14 | Colorado | $58,149 |
| 15 | New Jersey | $62,724 |
| 16 | Maine | $66,330 |
| 17 | Idaho | $60,057 |
| 18 | Minnesota | $50,291 |
| 19 | Vermont | $57,550 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | $52,699 |
| 21 | West Virginia | $55,209 |
| 22 | New Mexico | $58,095 |
| 23 | Alaska | $52,776 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | $49,438 |
| 25 | Maryland | $52,548 |
| 26 | Arizona | $46,906 |
| 27 | Arkansas | $50,701 |
| 28 | Illinois | $44,373 |
| 29 | Georgia | $48,069 |
| 30 | Iowa | $43,228 |
| 31 | Mississippi | $49,147 |
| 32 | Florida | $45,492 |
| 33 | Michigan | $46,231 |
| 34 | Nebraska | $47,594 |
| 35 | Wyoming | $48,845 |
| 36 | Missouri | $42,046 |
| 37 | Ohio | $42,974 |
| 38 | Oklahoma | $44,033 |
| 39 | Tennessee | $40,931 |
| 40 | Hawaii | $31,620 |
| 41 | Virginia | $42,251 |
| 42 | North Dakota | $42,094 |
| 43 | Louisiana | $38,647 |
| 44 | Alabama | $39,012 |
| 45 | North Carolina | $37,043 |
| 46 | Indiana | $36,651 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $35,900 |
| 48 | Montana | $31,044 |
| 49 | Kansas | $36,590 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $34,466 |
| 51 | South Carolina | $34,736 |
Tax preparer best states FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025