How much does an Accountant make in Massachusetts?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $96,580 for Accountants in Massachusetts as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $77,280 and the 75th-percentile is $122,020.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Accountant salary in Massachusetts?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 107.7 for Massachusetts), the real-wage equivalent is $89,696 — what the $96,580 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $71,772 to $113,322.

What does the top of the Accountant pay scale look like in Massachusetts?

The 90th percentile lands at $152,960. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $122,020.

Why is the BEA RPP for Massachusetts different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Massachusetts's overall index of 107.7 reflects rents 130.1, services 166.1, and goods 100.0.

Where does Massachusetts rank for Accountant pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Massachusetts ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

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.

Public accounting vs industry vs government in Massachusetts — 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.

How Much Do Accountants Make in Massachusetts? $97K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Accountants in Massachusetts earn a BLS median of $96,580, with real take-home of $89,696 after BEA RPP adjustment.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
Bottom quartile $77,280, top quartile $122,020. The P90 ($152,960) is roughly 2.4× the P10 ($64,370).
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #4 of 51; nominal rank is #4.

Wage breakdown — Massachusetts

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$64,370	$59,782
P25 (lower quartile)	$77,280	$71,772
P50 (median)	$96,580	$89,696
P75 (upper quartile)	$122,020	$113,322
P90 (top tier)	$152,960	$142,057
Mean	$102,030	$94,757
Employment	45,520 Accountants in Massachusetts

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Massachusetts index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	107.7
Goods	100.0
Services	166.1
Rents	130.1

Massachusetts is a high-cost state — RPP 107.7 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (130.1) and services (166.1).

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Accountant)	$96,580	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$12,495	12.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$4,829	5% flat 2026 (4% surtax above $1M)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,388	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$71,868	74.4% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$66,745	÷ (107.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $71,868 (74.4% of gross). After the 107.7 RPP, real take-home is $66,745.

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. Massachusetts sits at #4 on nominal pay and #4 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. Nominal and real ranking are the same — cost of living and pay scale together.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an Accountant make in Massachusetts?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $96,580 for Accountants in Massachusetts as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $77,280 and the 75th-percentile is $122,020.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Accountant salary in Massachusetts?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 107.7 for Massachusetts), the real-wage equivalent is $89,696 — what the $96,580 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $71,772 to $113,322.
What does the top of the Accountant pay scale look like in Massachusetts?: The 90th percentile lands at $152,960. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $122,020.
Why is the BEA RPP for Massachusetts different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Massachusetts's overall index of 107.7 reflects rents 130.1, services 166.1, and goods 100.0.
Where does Massachusetts rank for Accountant pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Massachusetts ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
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.
Public accounting vs industry vs government in Massachusetts — 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.

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 Massachusetts 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.