Public accounting salaries at US firms compared by city and career stage

What to take away

What public accounting actually pays, from staff to partner

Public accounting pay follows a visible ladder. Each rung carries a title, a years-of-experience band, and a market range that campus offers and experienced-hire offers cluster around. The rungs run from staff accountant to senior associate, then manager, then senior manager or director, and finally partner.

Audit and tax are the two largest service lines, with advisory alongside them at most firms.

Firm names sit at different points on that ladder. Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG pay the most in every metro. RSM, Grant Thornton, BDO, Forvis Mazars and CohnReznick pay slightly less at the base. Baker Tilly, Moss Adams, Plante Moran, Wipfli and Eide Bailly sit below the national firms and often win on hours.

Pay rises steeply in the first six years and then flattens into a wide band. The jump from senior associate to manager is the first big step. Senior manager to partner is the largest in dollar terms and the least predictable.

Public accounting pay is also cyclical. Busy season hiring, attrition after the third year, and competition from industry roles all push and pull the numbers.

For a parallel look at how public practice pay compares with corporate roles, see public practice vs industry.

The titles you will actually hold

Firms use different labels for the same work. A senior accountant at RSM, Baker Tilly or Moss Adams often carries the same scope as a senior associate at PwC or EY. Compare pay by scope, not title.

The table below maps the usual equivalents and the years band that goes with each.

Scope sets the pay band, not the label. Two firms that name the same work differently still hire into the same market range.

BLS Occupational Employment Statistics for accountants and auditors

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data for accountants and auditors under one occupation code, 13-2011. That code covers public accounting, corporate accounting, government, and internal audit together.

Because the code is broad, the BLS median is a blended figure. It sits below what Deloitte or KPMG pays a first-year associate in New York and above what a two-partner practice pays in rural Nebraska.

The BLS occupation pages are the starting point for any credible pay comparison, and the agency's overview of statistics by occupation explains how the data are collected and grouped.

Wage estimates come from employer surveys, not self-reported salaries.

Reading the BLS numbers correctly

The BLS reports percentiles alongside a median. The 10th percentile, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile figures matter more than the single middle number.

As of the most recent May release, the national median for accountants and auditors sits near $80,000, the 25th percentile near $62,000, and the 90th near $130,000. Metro medians run from roughly $65,000 in parts of Florida and Texas to more than $100,000 in the San Francisco and San Jose areas.

A first-year staff accountant usually lands near the lower quartile. A senior manager at Deloitte or EY sits well above the 75th percentile. Partners fall outside the top decile of the occupation entirely, because their income is profit, not wages.

For definitions of terms like median wage, mean wage, and annual average, the BLS publishes a glossary of wage and salary terms that is worth reading once before you compare any two sources.

AICPA salary survey data and how it differs from BLS

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants runs its own compensation survey of members. Respondents skew toward CPAs, toward larger firms, and toward higher-cost markets, so AICPA figures generally sit above BLS medians for the same job titles.

Neither source is wrong. BLS tells you what the whole occupation earns. AICPA tells you what credentialed accountants in public practice earn.

If you are a student choosing a major, use BLS. If you are a staff accountant negotiating an offer, use AICPA and firm-specific data from the firm you are joining.

Why the two sources disagree

The BLS sample includes bookkeepers with accounting titles, government accountants, and small-business controllers. The AICPA sample does not.

The AICPA survey also breaks out public accounting separately from industry, government, and education. That split is the useful part for readers of this guide.

AICPA reports by firm size, region, and years of experience. Those three variables explain most of the variance, and they are the same three that separate a Deloitte manager in New York from a Marcum manager in Houston.

Staff accountant and senior associate pay ranges

Entry-level public accounting pay is set by campus recruiting cycles. Offers go out in the fall for start dates the following year, and firms in the same metro tend to cluster within a narrow band.

First-year audit staff at Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG in New York typically start between $80,000 and $88,000 in base pay, with a signing bonus and CPA exam support on top. The same role in Dallas, Houston or Atlanta usually starts between $70,000 and $80,000.

Regional firms pay less at the base but often with lower cost of living and better hours. First-year staff at Baker Tilly in Minneapolis, Moss Adams in Seattle or Plante Moran in Detroit typically start between $62,000 and $78,000.

Senior associate pay crosses into six figures in most large markets. Deloitte and PwC seniors in New York and San Francisco commonly run $105,000 to $120,000, while RSM and Grant Thornton seniors in Chicago, Denver or Minneapolis run $88,000 to $110,000.

The premium comes from client ownership, review work, and the ability to run an engagement without a manager watching every step. A senior associate who stays through a fourth busy season usually sees a meaningful bump, because replacing that experience is expensive for the firm.

For a wider view of how accounting pay compares with finance roles, see which pays better.

Typical bands by level, firm and metro

The first table shows approximate base salary bands for public accounting roles in the United States. Ranges reflect base pay only, excluding bonus and signing incentives.

The second table narrows those bands to named firms and metros. Figures are typical base ranges for the 2025 to 2026 hiring cycle, drawn from campus offer ranges and publicly reported pay.

These are base figures. Bonus, signing awards, and CPA exam reimbursement sit on top and vary by firm and year, so ask for the range in writing rather than a single number.

Typical bonus at staff level is a signing award, often $2,000 to $5,000, plus CPA exam support. At manager level, an annual bonus commonly runs 5 to 15 percent of base at large firms. At senior manager it commonly runs 10 to 25 percent, with the top of that range tied to the firm's year and the office's realization.

Total compensation is base plus bonus plus first-year signing awards. Compare offers on total, then adjust for cost of living.

A third table extends the named firm and metro comparison to senior manager, the rung before partner. Figures are typical base ranges for the 2025 to 2026 hiring cycle.

Metros outside that list follow the same pattern at lower gross levels. A senior manager at a national firm office in Omaha, Des Moines, Tulsa or Chattanooga typically earns $120,000 to $155,000 in base.

Cost of living decides whether the gross number is worth it. The table below groups the main markets by pay level and by whether the state taxes wages.

A common rule of thumb: a 15 to 25 percent gross pay premium is roughly what it takes to hold net purchasing power when you move from a low-cost metro to a very high-cost one. Treat that as a starting point and run your own rent and commute numbers.

How to read an offer letter

That last point matters. Most public accounting roles are exempt, which means no overtime pay regardless of busy season hours.

Manager and senior manager pay ranges

Manager is the first role where pay reflects a book of business rather than hours worked. Managers own client relationships, review staff work, and carry budget responsibility.

Manager pay at large firms in major metros commonly runs from $130,000 to $165,000 in base salary. At Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG in New York, $140,000 to $165,000 is routine. The same level runs $132,000 to $158,000 in Chicago and $128,000 to $152,000 in Dallas.

Managers at RSM, Grant Thornton and BDO typically land between $115,000 and $145,000 outside the largest markets. Senior managers move into a band that reaches into the low $200,000s at the largest firms.

Senior manager base at Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG in New York and San Francisco commonly runs $185,000 to $220,000, and $170,000 to $205,000 in Chicago and Dallas.

Bonus becomes a larger share of total pay at this level. A manager's bonus may be a fixed percentage of base. A senior manager's bonus often ties to realization, utilization, and business development.

Attrition is highest just before the manager promotion. Firms that lose seniors to industry pay more to keep the ones who stay.

What changes at senior manager

Senior managers are expected to originate work as well as deliver it. That shift is what separates the role from manager and what justifies the pay jump.

The pay mechanics change with it. Base salary still sets the floor. The variable part carries the rest.

Three measures drive that variable part at most firms.

The weight on each measure varies. A firm with a strong existing client base may pay more for delivery and realization. A firm pushing into new markets may pay more for origination.

Ask for the bonus formula in writing. An offer that names a percentage of base but not the pool it comes from is hard to compare with another offer.

Directors at some firms hold a title parallel to senior manager with similar pay but no equity path. RSM, BDO and Grant Thornton all run director tracks alongside the senior manager rung. Ask which track a role sits on before you accept it.

Partner compensation: equity, buy-in, and draw

Partner compensation is not a salary. It is a distribution of firm profit, and the structure varies widely between firms.

At the largest US firms, profit per equity partner has been publicly reported in the $700,000 to $1 million range in strong years. Equity partners at regional firms such as Moss Adams, Baker Tilly and Plante Moran more typically fall between $250,000 and $500,000.

US partnerships do not file public accounts, so those figures come from press reporting and from the UK member firm filings of Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG, which are public at Companies House. Those filings show average profit per partner in the high six figures for the UK firms. Treat any US figure as an estimate, not a disclosure.

At an equity firm, partners buy in. The buy-in is typically financed through a loan or through withheld distributions over several years. Big Four buy-ins can run into the mid six figures, while regional firm buy-ins often sit between $100,000 and $300,000.

Until the buy-in is paid, the partner is usually a non-equity or income partner. Income partners receive a fixed or formula-based payment without owning equity. Equity partners share in profit and absorb losses in bad years.

Most firms pay partners through a draw against expected distributions, trued up once the fiscal year closes. The draw is not fixed in the way a salary is.

Partner compensation also depends on book size, office performance, and tenure. A new equity partner at a large firm may earn less than a senior manager in the first year after buy-in.

The buy-in, step by step

The IRS publishes resources for tax professionals that cover partnership taxation, which is directly relevant once you hold equity.

How firm size and metro market move the numbers

Firm size is the single largest driver of pay variance in public accounting. A Big Four associate and a two-partner local firm associate can hold the same title and differ by tens of thousands of dollars.

A first-year Deloitte associate in New York can earn $25,000 to $30,000 more in base than a first-year associate at a four-partner firm in Omaha for the same title.

Metro market is the second driver. New York, the District of Columbia, California, Massachusetts, and Washington pay above the national median. Texas, Florida, and Illinois sit closer to it, with Austin and Chicago running ahead of their states.

Cost of living eats part of the gap. A higher salary in Manhattan does not automatically beat a lower salary in Dallas once rent, state tax, and commuting costs are counted.

State licensing boards also matter. Licensure requirements differ by state, and a license earned in one state may not transfer without additional steps.

Regional patterns worth knowing

Firm size and metro interact. A regional firm in a high-cost metro may pay more than a national firm in a low-cost one. Baker Tilly in Boston, for example, typically out-pays a national firm office in Kansas City.

Certification, specialization, and the pay premium

CPA salary by level tracks closely with licensure. The CPA license is usually required for promotion to manager and above at most firms, and it is effectively required for partner.

The license also carries a signing premium at entry level. Firms pay bonuses for passing the exam and reimburse prep costs, because a licensed hire is billable sooner.

Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG reimburse exam fees and pay a licensure bonus, with typical awards of $1,000 to $5,000. RSM, BDO and CohnReznick run similar programs at comparable amounts.

Specialization adds a second layer. Tax, transaction advisory, forensic accounting, and IT audit tend to pay above general audit at the same level, with transaction advisory at the Big Four carrying the largest premium.

Industry certifications matter less inside public accounting than they do in corporate roles, but they matter when you leave.

Where the premium is largest

The CPA premium is largest at the manager and senior manager levels, where the license is a promotion gate rather than a nice-to-have.

At the staff level the premium is smaller in percentage terms but still real, because licensed staff can sign off on more work.

Short answer on the CPA premium: it is small in dollars at staff level and large in access from manager upward. Firms rarely publish a single premium number, because the license moves you within a pay band rather than to a new one.

Negotiated and reported gaps between a licensed and unlicensed peer at the same level typically run 5 to 15 percent of base, and the gap widens at manager because the unlicensed candidate is not eligible for the promotion.

Specialization premiums are largest in advisory and transaction services, where demand outpaces supply of experienced hires. A Deloitte transaction advisory senior typically earns more than an audit senior at the same level in the same city.

For readers weighing further study, this guide to hr business partner salary by industry covers how to judge whether a program pays off.

A worked example

Consider two accountants who graduate in the same year from the same program.

Accountant A joins Deloitte in New York as a staff accountant at $82,000. Accountant B joins a regional firm in Dallas at $62,000.

Three years later, A is a senior associate at $112,000 and B is a senior associate at $84,000. On gross pay, A is ahead by $28,000.

After rent, state and city income tax, and commuting, the gap narrows sharply. B may also have a shorter path to manager at a smaller firm with less competition.

Gross salary alone is a poor comparison tool. Firm size, metro, and promotion speed all belong in the calculation.

The full ladder in one view

Each rung is a gate, and the raise comes with it. The CPA license, the book of business, and the willingness to carry firm liability are what move you up.

For the full picture of how these numbers fit together across the profession, see this US public accounting firms guide. For a comparison with finance analyst pay in a major market, see what financial analysts make in Toronto.

Common questions

How much does a first-year staff accountant make at a Big Four firm?

Base pay in New York typically starts between $80,000 and $88,000, with Dallas, Houston and Atlanta nearer $70,000 to $80,000. A signing bonus and CPA exam support sit on top. Regional firms such as Baker Tilly and CohnReznick pay less at the base but often with a lower cost of living.

Do partners get a salary?

No. Partners receive a draw against their share of firm profit, trued up at year end. Equity partners also fund a buy-in, typically financed over several years, and Big Four buy-ins can run into the mid six figures.

Why is the AICPA figure higher than the BLS figure?

The AICPA surveys its own members, who skew toward credentialed CPAs at larger firms in higher-cost markets. The BLS surveys all employers, including small practices and government.

Does a CPA license raise pay immediately?

The premium is small at staff level and large at manager and above, where the license is usually a promotion requirement. Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG pay licensure bonuses of roughly $1,000 to $5,000 and reimburse prep costs.

Which metros pay the most?

New York, the District of Columbia, San Francisco, Boston and Seattle tend to pay above the national median. Dallas, Houston and Miami pay less in gross terms but sit in states with no income tax on wages.

Is public accounting pay worth it compared with industry?

Public accounting pays less per hour during busy season but accelerates promotion and opens industry roles at higher levels. Most people leave for industry after three to five years, often with a pay increase.

Where to verify the numbers yourself

The BLS publishes its methods and definitions openly, and its information guide shows where to find occupation and wage tables. The agency's statistics overview explains how the wage estimates are produced.

Use those pages alongside the AICPA survey and firm-specific offer data. No single source captures what any one firm will pay you.