Accountant salary

At a glance

• Mostly Level II (mid-level). 40% of Accountant filings are Level II, compared with 42% across all H-1B filings.
• Top filer: EY. 4,051 filings (26% of the total), median $109,092.
• Pay depends on the city. Among the 10 metro areas with the most filings, the median ranges from $81,900 in Atlanta, GA to $121,680 in San Francisco, CA.
• Median up 30% since FY2020. From $75,000 in FY2020 to $97,406 in FY2026 (Q1–Q3). Nominal, not adjusted for inflation.

Accountant H-1B salary overview

Employers filed 15,530 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Accountant jobs in FY2025–FY2026 (occupation code 13-2011, Accountants and Auditors). The median base salary is $94,973, 23% below the median for all H-1B filings ($122,699), and half of the filings fall between $76,752 and $121,400. The most common wage level is Level II (mid-level), at 40% of filings. New York, NY has the most filings (2,983), and EY is the employer that files the most (4,051).

Top employers for Accountant

EY4,051 filings · 26%$109,092 Deloitte2,424 filings · 16%$86,757 Amazon306 filings · 2%$105,000 Kpmg290 filings · 2%$115,950 Goldman Sachs261 filings · 2%$99,000 PwC US Tax201 filings · 1%$142,000 Grant Thornton Advisors174 filings · 1%$111,320 PwC165 filings · 1%$130,000 Bdo128 filings · 1%$114,500 Standish Management85 filings · 1%$91,500

Employers with the most Accountant filings. Bar: share of all Accountant filings. Figure: median base salary.

Pay by level

Accountant pay by city

Median base salary in each metro area. Rent: HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027.

What a Accountant does

Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data.

Typical tasks

• Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.
• Process invoices for payment.
• Review accounts for discrepancies and reconcile differences.
• Compute taxes owed and prepare tax returns, ensuring compliance with payment, reporting, or other tax requirements.
• Prepare adjusting journal entries.
• Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions.

Preparation

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

O*NET occupation: Accountants and Auditors (13-2011.00). This section includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

H-1B pay vs. all U.S. workers

Across all U.S. workers in this occupation (Accountants and Auditors), the median annual wage was $83,680 in May 2025, with 1,449,500 people employed. The median H-1B base salary in FY2025–FY2026 is $94,973, 13% higher.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). BLS wages cover all wage and salary workers and include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are the base salary offered on certified LCAs. The two sources cover different periods. BLS reports wages of $239,200 or more as a single top value.

Salary details

Salary range