Accountant · Nebraska · SOC 13-2011
Nebraska Accountant Salary — 2026 BLS + BEA RPP
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024 reference period · BEA Regional Price Parity 2023 vintage · Last synced 2026-05-05.
TL;DR
- Headline Accountant pay in Nebraska is $69,980. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $77,508.
- Accountant ranking: #46 on the BLS table, #45 once cost of living is in.
- After the cost-of-living adjustment, take-home rises by $7,528 versus the BLS median — purchasing-power arbitrage.
- Bottom quartile $58,120, top quartile $86,850. The P90 ($106,770) is roughly 2.3× the P10 ($47,370).
Wage breakdown — Nebraska
| Percentile | Nominal (BLS) | Real (BEA RPP-adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (entry tier) | $47,370 | $52,465 |
| P25 (lower quartile) | $58,120 | $64,372 |
| P50 (median) | $69,980 | $77,508 |
| P75 (upper quartile) | $86,850 | $96,192 |
| P90 (top tier) | $106,770 | $118,255 |
| Mean | $75,670 | $83,810 |
| Employment | 10,080 Accountants in Nebraska | |
Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity
| Component | Nebraska index (US = 100) |
|---|---|
| All-items RPP | 90.3 |
| Goods | 96.5 |
| Services | 79.4 |
| Rents | 74.3 |
Nebraska sits below the national baseline (RPP 90.3), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 74.3.
After-tax take-home — Nebraska (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)
Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median
| Layer | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Gross BLS P50 (Accountant) | $69,980 | nominal median |
| Federal income tax | −$6,643 | 9.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied |
| State income tax | −$2,958 | 2.46–5.84% (graduated, 3.99% top by 2027) |
| FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) | −$5,353 | SS capped at $183,600 wage base |
| Take-home (after-tax) | $55,026 | 78.6% of gross |
| Real take-home (RPP-adjusted) | $60,945 | ÷ (90.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living |
What the Nebraska state-tax burden means for Accountant take-home
Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.2% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $55,026 (78.6% of gross). After the 90.3 RPP, real take-home is $60,945.
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. Nebraska sits at #46 on nominal pay and #45 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Nebraska climbs 1 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the real (cost-adjusted) Accountant salary in Nebraska?
- After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 90.3 for Nebraska), the real-wage equivalent is $77,508 — what the $69,980 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $64,372 to $96,192.
- How are Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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. Nebraska's overall index of 90.3 reflects rents 74.3, services 79.4, and goods 96.5.
- When does this data update?
- BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
- Does CPA licensure raise accountant pay in Nebraska?
- BLS aggregates accountants and auditors under SOC 13-2011 — CPA-licensed and non-CPA pay are not split. In practice, CPA-licensed accountants in Nebraska 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. Nebraska requires 150 semester hours of education to sit for the exam (the AICPA Uniform CPA standard).
- Public accounting vs industry vs government in Nebraska — 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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.
Cross-comparison: see how Nebraska 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.