25 Best States For Accountants and Auditors

Tax season just drew to a close, but we still need to know the best states for accountants and auditors.

I did my taxes by myself on TurboTax and I had a really good time with it. It made it super easy for me to input my information without having to think about it and then I got a few hundred dollars direct deposited into my account two weeks later. I don’t understand taxes and I had never done them before, so this was a great option for me. There was no way I was going to find someone to do them and pay them for it, mostly because I wanted to do my taxes alone and at home in my pajamas. It’s a beautiful concept.

I’m quite proud of accountants because they actually enjoy numbers and don’t break out into hives when they see tax forms. When I got my W-2 in the mail I was immediately concerned even though it’s the simplest of tax forms and nothing like what most people need to work on. That’s why they hire accountants and auditors because they can file the paperwork correctly, accurately, and with as little error as possible. One of my biggest fears is being audited by the IRS because I accidentally filed my taxes wrong. Everyone has to do taxes though, and if you’re an accountant you might want to take a look at the highest paying countries for accountants.

In order to create this list of best states for accountants and auditors, we took statistics for the annual average salary and number of employees in each state from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. From there, we looked at the cost of living index in each state from MERIC. It’s important to look at both the annual salary and the cost of living index when trying to determine where to live because if the salary is too low in comparison to a high cost of living, it’s probably not a great option. The best states are the ones with the highest salary and lowest cost of living, so we took the average of those two factors in order to create our list and rank the states.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best states for accountants and auditors.

25. Minnesota

Cost of Living Index: 101.1

Annual Mean Salary: $70,920

Hourly Mean Wage: $34.09

Number of Employees: 27,130

24. Kentucky

Cost of Living Index: 90.8

Annual Mean Salary: $63,790

Hourly Mean Wage: $30.66

Number of Employees: 10,610

23. Kansas

Cost of Living Index: 90.4

Annual Mean Salary: $64,010

Hourly Mean Wage: $30.77

Number of Employees: 12,010

22. Iowa

Cost of Living Index: 91.7

Annual Mean Salary: $65,470

Hourly Mean Wage: $31.47

Number of Employees: 9,630

21. Pennsylvania

Cost of Living Index: 102.8

Annual Mean Salary: $73,500

Hourly Mean Wage: $35.33

Number of Employees: 52,590

20. Wyoming

Cost of Living Index: 91.7

Annual Mean Salary: $66,690

Hourly Mean Wage: $32.06

Number of Employees: 1,840

19. Nebraska

Cost of Living Index: 91.3

Annual Mean Salary: $66,730

Hourly Mean Wage: $32.08

Number of Employees: 8,700

18. New Jersey

Cost of Living Index: 121.0

Annual Mean Salary: $88,940

Hourly Mean Wage: $42.75

Number of Employees: 36,640

17. Tennessee

Cost of Living Index: 89.8

Annual Mean Salary: $66,330

Hourly Mean Wage: $31.88

Number of Employees: 16,430

16. Arkansas

Cost of Living Index: 88.5

Annual Mean Salary: $65,740

Hourly Mean Wage: $31.60

Number of Employees: 5,980

15. Alabama

Cost of Living Index: 91.2

Annual Mean Salary: $67,750

Hourly Mean Wage: $32.57

Number of Employees: 15,360

14. Indiana

Cost of Living Index: 87.9

Annual Mean Salary: $65,880

Hourly Mean Wage: $31.67

Number of Employees: 20,010

13. Utah

Cost of Living Index: 92.8

Annual Mean Salary: $70,220

Hourly Mean Wage: $33.75

Number of Employees: 10,600

12. Colorado

Cost of Living Index: 102.1

Annual Mean Salary: $77,400

Hourly Mean Wage: $37.21

Number of Employees: 34,150

We’re halfway through our list of best states for accountants and auditors, and now, let’s see the other half.

11. Delaware

Cost of Living Index: 102.6

Annual Mean Salary: $77,860

Hourly Mean Wage: $37.43

Number of Employees: 5,890

10. Oklahoma

Cost of Living Index: 88.6

Annual Mean Salary: $67,260

Hourly Mean Wage: $32.33

Number of Employees: 14,150

9. Ohio

Cost of Living Index: 93.0

Annual Mean Salary: $70,860

Hourly Mean Wage: $34.06

Number of Employees: 32,890

8. Missouri

Cost of Living Index: 90.8

Annual Mean Salary: $70,530

Hourly Mean Wage: $33.90

Number of Employees: 24,130

7. North Carolina

Cost of Living Index: 94.2

Annual Mean Salary: $74,200

Hourly Mean Wage: $35.67

Number of Employees: 31,080

6. Idaho

Cost of Living Index: 89.6

Annual Mean Salary: $71,960

Hourly Mean Wage: $34.59

Number of Employees: 3,970

5. Illinois

Cost of Living Index: 95.5

Annual Mean Salary: $76,950

Hourly Mean Wage: $36.99

Number of Employees: 51,350

4. Virginia

Cost of Living Index: 100.2

Annual Mean Salary: $83,380

Hourly Mean Wage: $40.08

Number of Employees: 40,220

3. Georgia

Cost of Living Index: 91.4

Annual Mean Salary: $76,560

Hourly Mean Wage: $36.80

Number of Employees: 36,360

2. Michigan

Cost of Living Index: 88.2

Annual Mean Salary: $74,360

Hourly Mean Wage: $35.75

Number of Employees: 30,510

1. Texas

Cost of Living Index: 90.7

Annual Mean Salary: $80,490

Hourly Mean Wage: $38.69

Number of Employees: 118,320

That concludes our list of the best states for accountants and auditors. If you’re looking for the best place to live and work or the best place to file your taxes, you should consider the options on this list.