How much does an Accountant make in North Carolina?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $80,490 for Accountants in North Carolina as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $63,590 and the 75th-percentile is $103,820.

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

The 90th percentile lands at $137,260. 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 $103,820.

How many Accountants does North Carolina employ?

BLS OES counts 46,420 Accountants employed in North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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. North Carolina's overall index of 94.4 reflects rents 80.8, services 83.6, and goods 96.8.

How wide is the wage spread in North Carolina?

P10 to P90 spans $50,940 to $137,260. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

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.

Is busy season ($35K of overtime) included in North Carolina 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 North Carolina markets reflects busy-season hours plus year-end bonuses. Industry accountants typically have flatter hours and a lower P90 ceiling but more predictable totals.

How Much Do Accountants Make in North Carolina? $80K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

BLS reports North Carolina Accountant median pay at $80,490. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $85,266.
Below-100 RPP flips this state above its nominal rank in real-wage terms; the gap is about $4,776.
Wage envelope: $50,940 (P10) to $137,260 (P90), with quartiles at $63,590 and $103,820.
Nominal: #17/51 · Real: #13/51 — ranking shifts by 4 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — North Carolina

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$50,940	$53,962
P25 (lower quartile)	$63,590	$67,363
P50 (median)	$80,490	$85,266
P75 (upper quartile)	$103,820	$109,980
P90 (top tier)	$137,260	$145,404
Mean	$91,240	$96,654
Employment	46,420 Accountants in North Carolina

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	North Carolina index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	94.4
Goods	96.8
Services	83.6
Rents	80.8

North Carolina sits below the national baseline (RPP 94.4), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 80.8.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Accountant)	$80,490	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$8,955	11.1% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,879	4.25% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,157	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$62,499	77.6% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$66,207	÷ (94.4 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the North Carolina state-tax burden means for Accountant take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.6% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $62,499 (77.6% of gross). After the 94.4 RPP, real take-home is $66,207.

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. North Carolina sits at #17 on nominal pay and #13 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, North Carolina climbs 4 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an Accountant make in North Carolina?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $80,490 for Accountants in North Carolina as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $63,590 and the 75th-percentile is $103,820.
What does the top of the Accountant pay scale look like in North Carolina?: The 90th percentile lands at $137,260. 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 $103,820.
How many Accountants does North Carolina employ?: BLS OES counts 46,420 Accountants employed in North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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. North Carolina's overall index of 94.4 reflects rents 80.8, services 83.6, and goods 96.8.
How wide is the wage spread in North Carolina?: P10 to P90 spans $50,940 to $137,260. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
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.
Is busy season ($35K of overtime) included in North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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.