What does it cost to hire an accountant in Raleigh?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $81,950 median wage in the Raleigh-Cary, NC area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $16,390 to $24,585 on the first year salary alone.

Is the talent for this role already in Raleigh?

This is a job zone 4 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 52.9% of Raleigh adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a deep local pool for a degree-requiring role.

Hiring an accountant in Raleigh, NC

Employers in the Raleigh-Cary, NC area pay accountants and auditors a median of $81,950 a year, with the middle half of the market between $67,050 and $105,160 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 13-2011). Filling it through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role rather than by salary or location, and our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.

Do Raleigh residents in business and financial operations work earn more than employers in the Raleigh-Cary, NC area pay?

Raleigh residents working in business and financial operations occupations earn a median of $76,198 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $78,980 as the median of the 27 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Raleigh-Cary, NC area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 4%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole business and financial operations group, not this one role. In the Raleigh-Cary, NC area the group covers 27 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from credit counselors at $42,190 to personal financial advisors at $104,780 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with accountants and auditors at $81,950 inside it.

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 27 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

The two sit within 10% of each other, so residents of Raleigh and employers across the metro are priced about the same in this field, and pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.

What does an accountant earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to accountants and auditors by employers in the Raleigh-Cary, NC area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 13-2011.
25th percentile	$67,050
Median	$81,950
75th percentile	$105,160

Half of accountants and auditors in this area earn between $67,050 and $105,160 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $67,050 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 13-2011 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What Raleigh residents earn

$76,198

Median annual earnings of Raleigh residents working in business and financial operations occupations, 23,213 people (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011). An occupation group rather than this one role, and where people live rather than where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Prepare detailed reports on audit findings.
Report to management about asset utilization and audit results, and recommend changes in operations and financial activities.
Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance, fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies.
Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions.
Supervise auditing of establishments, and determine scope of investigation required.

Task statements for SOC 13-2011, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Accounting software, Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, SAP software, Adobe Acrobat.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 13-2011 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Raleigh?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. O*NET OnLine, SOC 13-2011.

That matters here, because 52.9% of Raleigh adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a deep local pool for a degree-requiring role. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Raleigh aged 25 and over.

The average Raleigh commute runs 23.4 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 23.4% of Raleigh workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Raleigh.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Wake County, accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employs 6,068 and turns over 14.5% a quarter, with 1,679 hires against 1,197 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $7,163 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5412.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about accountants and auditors. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a high-churn market, where speed matters more than a perfect fit.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $81,950 median in the Raleigh-Cary, NC area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $16,390 to $24,585 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring an accountant in Raleigh

What does it cost to hire an accountant in Raleigh?: Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $81,950 median wage in the Raleigh-Cary, NC area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $16,390 to $24,585 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for an accountant in Raleigh look like?: Employers in the Raleigh-Cary, NC area pay accountants and auditors a median of $81,950, with the middle half of the market between $67,050 and $105,160 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $67,050 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do Raleigh residents in business and financial operations work earn more than employers in the Raleigh-Cary, NC area pay?: Raleigh residents working in business and financial operations occupations earn a median of $76,198 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $78,980 as the median of the 27 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Raleigh-Cary, NC area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 4%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.
Is the talent for this role already in Raleigh?: This is a job zone 4 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 52.9% of Raleigh adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a deep local pool for a degree-requiring role.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring an accountant somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other business and financial operations roles in Raleigh

Raleigh is the 2nd largest of 6 North Carolina cities in this dataset.