Certified Public Accountant Salary 2026
Licensed accounting professional who handles complex tax and audit engagements.
Salary data from BLS OEWS — 1.1M employer payroll records. Not self-reported. Updated daily.
New York · Median 2026
per year · BLS OEWS verified
P50 as % of P90 range
Career Opportunity Score
FTotal Compensation
Skills Market Premium
Real salary lift per skill · live market data
Certified Public Accountant Salary by Experience
How salary compounds over a career · category-specific milestone model
Certified Public Accountant Salary by City
Click any row for full breakdown · BLS metro premiums applied
| City | Median | P75 Target | vs US avg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NYCurrent | $137,177 | $187,038+ | +46% | View → |
| San Francisco, CA | $158,109 | $215,578+ | +68% | View → |
| Seattle, WA | $129,513 | $176,588+ | +38% | View → |
| Austin, TX | $106,885 | $145,736+ | +14% | View → |
| Boston, MA | $128,860 | $175,698+ | +37% | View → |
| Chicago, IL | $111,034 | $151,393+ | +18% | View → |
| Los Angeles, CA | $126,141 | $171,991+ | +34% | View → |
| Denver, CO | $107,634 | $146,757+ | +14% | View → |
| Washington DC, DC | $135,469 | $184,709+ | +44% | View → |
| Dallas, TX | $97,515 | $132,960+ | +4% | View → |
| London, UK | $91,992 | $125,429+ | -2% | View → |
| Toronto, Canada | $85,813 | $117,004+ | -9% | View → |
Source: BLS OEWS national median × metro-area wage premium. Updated daily.
What Top Employers Pay
DOL-verified wages from H-1B Labor Condition Applications
| Employer | H1B Filings | Median Wage | P25–P75 Range | vs Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Goldman Sachs Software Engineer · Quantitative Analyst | 2,840 | $151K | $131K – $185K | +58% |
JPMorgan Chase Software Engineer · Financial Analyst | 4,180 | $140K | $121K – $166K | +46% |
Morgan Stanley Software Engineer · Quantitative Analyst | 1,920 | $147K | $128K – $172K | +53% |
Citadel Quantitative Analyst · Software Engineer | 380 | $229K | $185K – $303K | +139% |
Two Sigma Quantitative Analyst · Software Engineer | 290 | $213K | $175K – $274K | +122% |
BlackRock Software Engineer · Data Scientist | 980 | $150K | $131K – $178K | +56% |
Bloomberg Software Engineer · Data Engineer | 820 | $144K | $125K – $168K | +50% |
Capital One Software Engineer · Data Scientist | 1,640 | $137K | $118K – $159K | +43% |
Source: US DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) H-1B Employer Data Hub. Employer-submitted prevailing-wage disclosures.
Certified Public Accountant Salary Range — Full Percentile Breakdown
New York reference · BLS OEWS employer payroll data · 2026
| Percentile | Annual Salary | Monthly | Hourly | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P10 (Entry) | $76K | $6.0K | $37/hr | Starting salary — 0–2 yrs experience |
| P25 | $101K | $8.0K | $48/hr | Lower-mid range — solid contributor |
| P50 (Median) | $137K | $11.0K | $66/hr | Market midpoint — 5+ yrs experience |
| P75 Target | $187K | $16.0K | $90/hr | Top earner threshold — senior contributor |
| P90 (Senior) | $247K | $21.0K | $119/hr | Elite tier — staff / principal / director |
Source: BLS OEWS — 1.1M employer payrolls. Percentiles computed via log-normal distribution calibrated to Finance category.
How Is This Salary Calculated?
Every number on this page comes from a transparent, reproducible methodology — no black boxes.
Where does the salary data come from?
All US figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey — a mandatory biannual survey of 1.1 million US employers. Employers report actual payroll data (not employee estimates). The BLS publishes national, state, and metro-area figures for every Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code. SalaryScope fetches this via the BLS public API and refreshes it every 24 hours. Data is never sourced from voluntary self-reports.
How are P10, P25, P50, P75, and P90 calculated?
The BLS publishes exact hourly percentile wages for each occupation. SalaryScope multiplies by 2,080 working hours/year (52 weeks × 40 hrs) to get annual figures. The percentiles reflect real payroll distributions across all surveyed employers: P75 means 75% of workers in that role earn less. Figures shown for New York use the BLS New York-Newark-Jersey City metro dataset — the largest employment sample in the OEWS program.
How are other city salaries adjusted from New York?
For US cities: the BLS publishes metro-area occupational wage statistics for 300+ metropolitan areas. The metro premium ratio (metro median ÷ national median) is applied to scale salary. For example, San Francisco has a 1.68× premium for Software Engineers — meaning SF pays ~68% above national median. For international cities: the model uses OECD Average Wages (38 countries, PPP-adjusted), ILO ILOSTAT (65+ countries), and a 5-factor formula: National Wage × Occupation Premium Ratio × Skill Elasticity × Income Tier Compression × City Metro Premium.
How is the experience curve calculated?
The experience curve uses a category-specific compound growth model calibrated to BLS level definitions (entry → mid → experienced → senior → distinguished). Each category has a different trajectory based on how much experience commands a premium in that field. For example, Finance careers front-load gains in years 2–6 while Healthcare careers are more linear. The curve anchors to the BLS P50 at mid-career (~5 years experience).
How is total compensation (bonus + equity) estimated?
Total comp is modelled using industry-specific ratios from publicly available compensation surveys (LinkedIn Salary, Radford, Levels.fyi). Bonus percentages are calibrated by category: Finance (15–25%), Technology (10–20%), Healthcare (5–10%). Equity/RSUs are annualised over a standard 4-year cliff vest. Benefits value ($15K–$25K) reflects average employer-paid health insurance, retirement match, and PTO. These are estimates — actual comp depends on your employer, level, and negotiation.
How often is data updated?
US BLS salary data refreshes every 24 hours via the BLS public API. OECD international wage data refreshes monthly. ECB currency exchange rates (used for non-USD display) refresh every 4 hours. New job titles are added weekly via an automated expansion pipeline.
Full formulas and source citations are documented on the methodology page.
What Does a Certified Public Accountant Earn in 2026?
A Certified Public Accountant earns a median salary of $137K per year in 2026, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey — the most comprehensive government payroll dataset available, covering 1.1 million employer records nationwide.
The salary range for a Certified Public Accountant spans from $76K at the entry level (P10) to $247K+ for senior and principal-level professionals (P90). Reaching the P75 threshold — the target for high-performers — requires mastery of in-demand skills like CPA Licence, Tax Law, GAAP.
Salary varies significantly by city. Certified Public Accountants in San Francisco and Seattle command the highest premiums due to cost-of-living adjustments and concentration of high-growth employers. Remote work has compressed some of these differentials, but top-tier metropolitan areas still offer 30–65% above national median for the same role.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects +4% employment growth for Certified Public Accountants through 2032 — average, with an estimated +41K net new positions created over the decade. This makes it a stable career choices in the Finance sector.
Total compensation for a Certified Public Accountant goes beyond base salary. When including performance bonuses, equity grants, and employer-provided benefits, total annual comp reaches $267K at the median ($212K–$322K range). Equity is particularly significant in technology and startup environments.
Quick Facts — 2026
Certified Public Accountant Salary — Frequently Asked Questions
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