Accountants perform variety of functions related to keeping accounting records and preparing financial statements. The 10th and 25th percentile wages reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics likely represent the earnings of a junior accountant. As of May 2010, the national 10th percentile wage for accountants was $18.72 an hour, and the 25th percentile wage was $23.07 an hour. In comparison, the median hourly wage was $29.66 and the mean hourly wage was $33.15.
Salary by Industry
About one-fourth of all accountants work in accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services, where the 10th percentile hourly wage is $17.93, the 25th percentile hourly wage is $22.73 and the hourly median wage is $30. The highest-paying industry is the federal executive branch, which offers a 10th percentile hourly wage of $25.21, a 25th percentile hourly wage of $33.23 and an hourly median wage of $42.80. Securities and commodity contracts intermediation and brokerage offer a 10th percentile rate of $21.46, a 25th percentile of $27.70 and a median of $35.93.
Salary by State
The states with the lowest 10th percentile hourly wages for accountants were Mississippi at $14.66; West Virginia at $14.81 and Montana at $15.27, while the highest 10th percentile wages were in the District of Columbia at $22.94; New York at $22.81 and New Jersey at $22.67. The lowest 25th percentile wages were in Montana at $18.06; North Dakota at $18.35 and West Virginia at $18.44. The highest were New York at $28.02; New Jersey at $27.76 and the District of Columbia at $27.90.
Highest-Paying Metropolitan Areas
The highest 10th percentile areas were the New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Division at $24.15; the Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard non-metropolitan area at $24.81 and the Nassau-Suffolk, New York, Metropolitan Division at $24.92. The areas with the highest 25th percentile hourly wages were the Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard non-metropolitan area, at $29.97; San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, at $29.86; and the New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Division, at $29.62.
Lowest Paying Metropolitan Areas
The areas with the lowest 10th percentile wages were the west-central Utah non-metropolitan area at $7.74; Owensboro, Kentucky, at $10.36; and Erie, Pennsylvania, at $11.10. The areas with the lowest 25th percentile hourly wages were the southwest Idaho non-metropolitan area, at $14.20; Garrett County, Maryland, non-metropolitan area, at $15.22 and Owensboro Kentucky, at $15.24.
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