SalaryExplorer

SOC 13-2011 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Accountants and Auditors — Modesto

Modesto, CA · 10 metro areas compared

$83,560 /year
$40.17per hour
1,200jobs in area
−0.1%vs US median

At $83,560, median pay for Accountants and Auditors in Modesto, CA tracks the national median of $83,680 closely.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $83,68010TH$60,62025TH$73,750MEDIAN$83,56075TH$104,73090TH$134,750

How pay has moved

$90,133$63,1782019202020212022202320242025$83,560
$67,670 in 2019 to $83,560 in 2025, +23.5% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow about as fast as average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+4.6%
Openings per year
124,200
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Modesto, CA.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

At $83,560, median pay for Accountants and Auditors in Modesto, CA tracks the national median of $83,680 closely. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $73,750 and $104,730. The lowest tenth earn under $60,620, while the highest tenth earn more than $134,750.

Employment stands at 1,200, or 6.1 jobs per thousand held locally. San Jose leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $121,700. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 102nd of 398 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Modesto, CA · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$60,620−27.6%
25th$73,750−11.9%
Median (50th)$83,560−0.1%
75th$104,730+25.2%
90th$134,750+61.0%
Mean$93,000+11.1%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in California

Median annual wage for Accountants and Auditors, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1San Jose$121,70013,180
2San Francisco$110,73025,170
3Napa$99,640520
4San Diego$96,34013,450
5Vallejo$95,800690
6Santa Rosa$94,6901,740
7Los Angeles$94,36070,640
8Sacramento$92,11013,170
9Santa Maria$91,6101,510
10Oxnard$90,3402,530

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Modesto run 4.1% above the national average, so the median of $83,560 buys what $80,269 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 4.1% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$83,560as reported by BLS

Local price level

104.1US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$80,269US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $83,560 a year, 0.1% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $60,620 to $134,750 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 1,200 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is San Jose, at $121,700.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Accountants and Auditors in Modesto, CA?

The median annual wage is $83,560, or $40.17 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $83,680, so pay in Modesto, CA is 0.1% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Modesto, CA earns more than $134,750 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $60,620 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in San Jose, at $121,700 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 1,200 jobs in this occupation in Modesto, CA. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.