Accountants and Auditors
Salary, job outlook, AI risk & career information
Accountants and Auditors in the United States earn a median salary of $83,680 per year — about $40 per hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Roughly 1.6M people work in this occupation nationwide, with projected employment growth of +5%.
AI & Automation Risk
Accountancy is a fundamentally digital occupation centered on data analysis, regulatory compliance, and reporting, all of which are highly susceptible to AI and robotic process automation. While high-level advisory roles and complex forensic audits require human judgment and relationship management, the core tasks of data organization, tax computation, and anomaly detection are increasingly being automated, significantly increasing worker productivity and restructuring the entry-level labor market.
Salary by City — What You Actually Take Home
Real purchasing power = salary adjusted for cost of living. Higher = more money in your pocket.
| City | Local Salary | Cost of Living | Real Purchasing Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parkersburg-Vienna, WVBEST VALUE | $100,420 | Below avg (87.1) | $115,338 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $121,700 | Above avg (110.4) | $110,213 |
| Midland, TX | $100,890 | Below avg (95.8) | $105,332 |
| Midland, MI | $91,790 | Below avg (91.9) | $99,857 |
| Barnstable Town, MA | $96,110 | Average (98.4) | $97,721 |
| Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $99,550 | Above avg (103.2) | $96,482 |
| Springfield, MA | $92,010 | Below avg (96.1) | $95,783 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $110,730 | Above avg (115.6) | $95,776 |
| Longview-Kelso, WA | $93,130 | Average (97.5) | $95,474 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area | $102,020 | Above avg (106.9) | $95,467 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $92,910 | Average (97.3) | $95,441 |
| Carson City, NV | $93,560 | Average (98.1) | $95,343 |
| Boulder, CO | $99,990 | Above avg (105.2) | $95,046 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $100,020 | Above avg (105.8) | $94,553 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $105,650 | Above avg (112.6) | $93,859 |