How are New York 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.

How many Accountants does New York employ?

BLS OES counts 111,860 Accountants employed in New York in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Why is the BEA RPP for New York 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. New York's overall index of 107.8 reflects rents 122.0, services 135.4, and goods 105.1.

Where does New York rank for Accountant pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, New York 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 New York?

P10 to P90 spans $62,430 to $178,500. 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.

Does CPA licensure raise accountant pay in New York?

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

How Much Do Accountants Make in New York? $102K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

BLS reports New York Accountant median pay at $101,780. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $94,379.
Nominal: #2/51 · Real: #1/51 — ranking shifts by 1 positions after RPP.
BEA RPP near 100 means nominal pay translates almost 1:1 into real take-home.
P25-P75 spread runs $78,730 to $134,990; P10 floor $62,430, P90 ceiling $178,500.

Wage breakdown — New York

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$62,430	$57,890
P25 (lower quartile)	$78,730	$73,005
P50 (median)	$101,780	$94,379
P75 (upper quartile)	$134,990	$125,174
P90 (top tier)	$178,500	$165,520
Mean	$115,490	$107,092
Employment	111,860 Accountants in New York

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	New York index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	107.8
Goods	105.1
Services	135.4
Rents	122.0

New York is a high-cost state — RPP 107.8 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (122.0) and services (135.4).

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Accountant)	$101,780	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$13,639	13.4% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$5,059	4–10.9% (graduated; +NYC residents 3.078–3.876%)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,786	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$75,297	74.0% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$69,821	÷ (107.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the New York 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 $75,297 (74.0% of gross). After the 107.8 RPP, real take-home is $69,821. Local-tax overlay: New York City residents add 3.078–3.876% city tax (Yonkers ~16.75% surtax on state liability). NYC numbers are not in the table — subtract roughly $3,562/year for a 5-borough resident at this income.

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. New York sits at #2 on nominal pay and #1 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, New York climbs 1 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are New York 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.
How many Accountants does New York employ?: BLS OES counts 111,860 Accountants employed in New York in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Why is the BEA RPP for New York 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. New York's overall index of 107.8 reflects rents 122.0, services 135.4, and goods 105.1.
Where does New York rank for Accountant pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, New York 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 New York?: P10 to P90 spans $62,430 to $178,500. 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.
Does CPA licensure raise accountant pay in New York?: BLS aggregates accountants and auditors under SOC 13-2011 — CPA-licensed and non-CPA pay are not split. In practice, CPA-licensed accountants in New York 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. New York 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 New York 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.