Best Cities for Accountants and Auditorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where accountants and auditorss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.21	$121,700	$101,248	31%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.17	$111,530	$97,577	23%
3	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.16	$92,910	$96,983	19%
4	Rhode IslandState	1.14	$95,820	$95,343	19%
5	DelawareState	1.12	$95,020	$94,079	17%
6	New JerseyState	1.11	$100,830	$92,675	21%
7	ColoradoState	1.10	$97,030	$92,059	23%
8	MassachusettsState	1.10	$99,460	$91,668	27%
9	New YorkState	1.09	$102,640	$91,236	22%
10	ConnecticutState	1.08	$97,550	$90,660	19%
11	VirginiaState	1.08	$93,290	$90,135	20%
12	WashingtonState	1.08	$96,550	$89,981	24%
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.08	$102,140	$90,550	23%
14	OklahomaState	1.07	$79,370	$89,684	15%
15	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.06	$85,820	$88,657	23%
16	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.06	$80,650	$88,432	18%
17	CaliforniaState	1.05	$97,050	$87,669	28%
18	GeorgiaState	1.05	$81,900	$87,687	21%
19	KansasState	1.05	$79,000	$87,778	16%
20	OhioState	1.05	$79,320	$87,743	16%
21	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.05	$100,150	$88,238	31%
22	IowaState	1.04	$77,440	$86,816	15%
23	North CarolinaState	1.04	$82,050	$86,917	19%
24	South DakotaState	1.04	$78,880	$86,872	15%
25	West VirginiaState	1.04	$73,320	$87,078	14%
26	Columbus, OHMetro	1.04	$81,700	$87,380	19%
27	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$86,500	$86,935	21%
28	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.04	$99,370	$86,938	27%
29	AlabamaState	1.03	$74,880	$85,970	15%
30	IndianaState	1.03	$77,720	$85,878	16%
31	MissouriState	1.03	$76,590	$86,445	16%
32	WisconsinState	1.03	$79,400	$86,024	16%
33	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$80,040	$86,250	19%
34	KentuckyState	1.02	$75,270	$85,051	15%
35	MichiganState	1.02	$78,820	$85,395	17%
36	New MexicoState	1.02	$78,580	$85,413	16%
37	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.02	$82,620	$85,000	23%
38	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.02	$92,200	$85,529	23%
39	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.02	$78,650	$85,489	20%
40	TexasState	1.01	$80,920	$84,644	21%
41	MinnesotaState	1.00	$81,600	$83,265	19%
42	OregonState	1.00	$85,800	$83,301	22%
43	TennesseeState	1.00	$76,840	$83,978	20%
44	WyomingState	1.00	$77,620	$83,462	15%
45	South CarolinaState	0.99	$76,560	$83,217	20%
46	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$85,990	$83,082	22%
47	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.99	$76,940	$83,178	18%
48	IllinoisState	0.98	$80,230	$82,372	20%
49	LouisianaState	0.98	$73,810	$81,920	17%
50	MarylandState	0.98	$89,370	$81,841	23%
51	North DakotaState	0.98	$75,730	$81,782	15%
52	NevadaState	0.97	$81,600	$81,437	21%
53	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$79,000	$81,443	20%
54	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.97	$94,360	$80,996	29%
55	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.97	$78,080	$81,164	24%
56	AlaskaState	0.96	$83,460	$80,019	20%
57	MississippiState	0.96	$68,100	$80,307	16%
58	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.96	$85,160	$80,491	24%
59	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$78,990	$80,193	26%
60	ArizonaState	0.95	$79,970	$79,257	22%
61	UtahState	0.95	$79,990	$79,830	22%
62	MontanaState	0.94	$75,810	$78,641	18%
63	NebraskaState	0.94	$72,080	$78,776	17%
64	New HampshireState	0.94	$83,470	$78,745	23%
65	FloridaState	0.93	$79,250	$78,079	26%
66	IdahoState	0.93	$74,730	$77,440	19%
67	MaineState	0.93	$77,480	$77,635	20%
68	ArkansasState	0.92	$66,330	$76,860	16%
69	VermontState	0.92	$78,890	$76,966	22%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$80,920	$74,581	30%
71	HawaiiState	0.81	$74,500	$67,727	38%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).