How much does an Accountant make in Mississippi?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $64,170 for Accountants in Mississippi as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $51,860 and the 75th-percentile is $87,170.

How are Mississippi Accountant salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

Why is the BEA RPP for Mississippi 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. Mississippi's overall index of 86.8 reflects rents 54.9, services 83.5, and goods 94.4.

Where does Mississippi rank for Accountant pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Mississippi 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.

How wide is the wage spread in Mississippi?

P10 to P90 spans $43,090 to $115,350. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Mississippi?

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 Mississippi.

Does CPA licensure raise accountant pay in Mississippi?

BLS aggregates accountants and auditors under SOC 13-2011 — CPA-licensed and non-CPA pay are not split. In practice, CPA-licensed accountants in Mississippi 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. Mississippi requires 150 semester hours of education to sit for the exam (the AICPA Uniform CPA standard).

Mississippi Accountant Salary: BLS $64K Median, Real $74K (2026)

TL;DR

Accountants in Mississippi earn a BLS median of $64,170, with real take-home of $73,935 after BEA RPP adjustment.
Bottom quartile $51,860, top quartile $87,170. The P90 ($115,350) is roughly 2.7× the P10 ($43,090).
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $9,765 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
State ranks #51 nationally on nominal wage, #48 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — Mississippi

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$43,090	$49,647
P25 (lower quartile)	$51,860	$59,752
P50 (median)	$64,170	$73,935
P75 (upper quartile)	$87,170	$100,436
P90 (top tier)	$115,350	$132,904
Mean	$74,620	$85,976
Employment	6,940 Accountants in Mississippi

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Mississippi index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	86.8
Goods	94.4
Services	83.5
Rents	54.9

Mississippi sits below the national baseline (RPP 86.8), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 54.9.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Accountant)	$64,170	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$5,562	8.7% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,075	4.0% above $10K (2026, HB 1733)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,909	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$51,624	80.4% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$59,480	÷ (86.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.2% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $51,624 (80.4% of gross). After the 86.8 RPP, real take-home is $59,480.

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. Mississippi sits at #51 on nominal pay and #48 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Mississippi climbs 3 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an Accountant make in Mississippi?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $64,170 for Accountants in Mississippi as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $51,860 and the 75th-percentile is $87,170.
How are Mississippi Accountant salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
Why is the BEA RPP for Mississippi 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. Mississippi's overall index of 86.8 reflects rents 54.9, services 83.5, and goods 94.4.
Where does Mississippi rank for Accountant pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Mississippi 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.
How wide is the wage spread in Mississippi?: P10 to P90 spans $43,090 to $115,350. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Mississippi?: 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 Mississippi.
Does CPA licensure raise accountant pay in Mississippi?: BLS aggregates accountants and auditors under SOC 13-2011 — CPA-licensed and non-CPA pay are not split. In practice, CPA-licensed accountants in Mississippi 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. Mississippi requires 150 semester hours of education to sit for the exam (the AICPA Uniform CPA standard).

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 Mississippi 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.