In 18 states, accountant pay was at least 50 percent more than the average worker’s.

Eight out of the top 10 states were in the South with Mississippi leading the pack. Average accountant pay in that state was $65,420 annually, which was 63 percent more than the average earner’s $40,090 annually. The highest pay area, Washington D.C. was also the worst on the list as the average $103,930 in accountant pay was only 16-percent higher than $89,800 for the average wage earner.

Rounding out the top 10 in order were Oklahoma, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas and West Virginia.

Excluding D.C., the worst states were largely across the nation’s northern tier. Ranked from best to worst these were Maryland and Oregon tied at 36 percent above average income. The rest were New Hampshire, Connecticut, Alaska, Wyoming, Washington, Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Dakota and Hawaii.

Bob Scott

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Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards.  Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He  has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that.  A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind