How much does an Accountant make in Connecticut?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $89,630 for Accountants in Connecticut as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $75,620 and the 75th-percentile is $108,590.

How wide is the wage spread in Connecticut?

P10 to P90 spans $61,390 to $135,090. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

What are the limits of these Accountant salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Connecticut?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Connecticut.

Does CPA licensure raise accountant pay in Connecticut?

BLS aggregates accountants and auditors under SOC 13-2011 — CPA-licensed and non-CPA pay are not split. In practice, CPA-licensed accountants in Connecticut typically earn 10-20% above the all-accountant median, and the gap widens at the senior/manager level where CPA is functionally required for partner-track public accounting and CFO roles. Connecticut requires 150 semester hours of education to sit for the exam (the AICPA Uniform CPA standard).

Public accounting vs industry vs government in Connecticut — which pays more?

Public accounting (Big 4 / regional firm audit + tax) typically pays 10-15% below industry corporate-accountant pay at the staff/senior level, then crosses over at manager and above as billable-hour leverage compounds. Government accountants in {state} (state DOR, federal IRS/GAO, municipal) usually trail both private paths on base pay but lead on pension and job security. Industry controller/CFO-track roles in {state} push toward the BLS P75-P90 band.

Is busy season ($35K of overtime) included in Connecticut accountant BLS figures?

Yes — BLS OES uses annualized W-2 earnings, so January-April busy-season overtime is rolled into the median. The high P90 in public-accounting-heavy Connecticut markets reflects busy-season hours plus year-end bonuses. Industry accountants typically have flatter hours and a lower P90 ceiling but more predictable totals.

Accountant Salary in Connecticut (2026): $90K Median, BEA RPP-Adjusted

TL;DR

Headline Accountant pay in Connecticut is $89,630. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $86,016.
Quartile range $75,620 (bottom 25%) to $108,590 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $61,390 to $135,090.
BEA RPP near 100 means nominal pay translates almost 1:1 into real take-home.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #10 of 51; nominal rank is #9.

Wage breakdown — Connecticut

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$61,390	$58,915
P25 (lower quartile)	$75,620	$72,571
P50 (median)	$89,630	$86,016
P75 (upper quartile)	$108,590	$104,212
P90 (top tier)	$135,090	$129,644
Mean	$95,930	$92,062
Employment	16,590 Accountants in Connecticut

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Connecticut index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	104.2
Goods	98.6
Services	153.2
Rents	116.6

Connecticut's overall RPP (104.2) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Connecticut (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Accountant)	$89,630	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$10,966	12.2% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$4,180	2–6.99% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,857	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$67,628	75.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$64,902	÷ (104.2 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Connecticut state-tax burden means for Accountant take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.7% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $67,628 (75.5% of gross). After the 104.2 RPP, real take-home is $64,902.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $81,680 for Accountants with mean pay of $93,520 and total employment of 1,448,290. Connecticut sits at #9 on nominal pay and #10 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Connecticut falls 1 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an Accountant make in Connecticut?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $89,630 for Accountants in Connecticut as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $75,620 and the 75th-percentile is $108,590.
How wide is the wage spread in Connecticut?: P10 to P90 spans $61,390 to $135,090. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
What are the limits of these Accountant salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Connecticut?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Connecticut.
Does CPA licensure raise accountant pay in Connecticut?: BLS aggregates accountants and auditors under SOC 13-2011 — CPA-licensed and non-CPA pay are not split. In practice, CPA-licensed accountants in Connecticut typically earn 10-20% above the all-accountant median, and the gap widens at the senior/manager level where CPA is functionally required for partner-track public accounting and CFO roles. Connecticut requires 150 semester hours of education to sit for the exam (the AICPA Uniform CPA standard).
Public accounting vs industry vs government in Connecticut — which pays more?: Public accounting (Big 4 / regional firm audit + tax) typically pays 10-15% below industry corporate-accountant pay at the staff/senior level, then crosses over at manager and above as billable-hour leverage compounds. Government accountants in {state} (state DOR, federal IRS/GAO, municipal) usually trail both private paths on base pay but lead on pension and job security. Industry controller/CFO-track roles in {state} push toward the BLS P75-P90 band.
Is busy season ($35K of overtime) included in Connecticut accountant BLS figures?: Yes — BLS OES uses annualized W-2 earnings, so January-April busy-season overtime is rolled into the median. The high P90 in public-accounting-heavy Connecticut markets reflects busy-season hours plus year-end bonuses. Industry accountants typically have flatter hours and a lower P90 ceiling but more predictable totals.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 13-2011, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Connecticut Accountant pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.