Accountants and Auditors in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,181
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$17,639
22.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,959
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$78,820
Kept after tax
$61,181
Worth in national money
$64,959
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Michigan is 32 of 51 states for accountants and auditors, with a middle wage of $78,820. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Accountants and auditors ranks 128 among 493 occupations Michigan publishes pay for.
- Here is where Michigan does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $78,820 you keep $61,181, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $64,959 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $86,990, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Michigan ranks 32 of 51 for accountants and auditors at $78,820. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 128 of 493 in Michigan places accountants and auditors in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Michigan income tax, retained pay for accountants and auditors on $78,820 is $61,181. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $64,959 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $86,990 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Accountants and Auditors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $131,080 |
| This salary | $78,820 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Michigan | $61,181 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,280 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,190 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $74,415 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,643 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $78,820 as a midpoint for Michigan, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $52,620 and the ninetieth is $131,080 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Michigan's $61,181, worked from $78,820. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 128 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $64,959 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 128.
- The Michigan median of $78,820 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $52,620 to $131,080. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Michigan take-home of $61,181, on $78,820 for work ranking 128 of 493 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 128 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $64,959, worked from $78,820, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Michigan address, on work sitting at 128 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $86,990, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $52,620 at the bottom tenth to $131,080 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $64,959.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Michigan then takes its own share, leaving $61,181.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Michigan is $86,990. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($52,620) and the ninetieth ($131,080) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $64,959 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $61,181 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.