Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,140
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$8,500
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,169
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$44,640
Kept after tax
$36,140
Worth in national money
$40,169
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $44,640, ranking 48 of 51 states — about 11.9% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 315 among 482 occupations Alabama publishes pay for.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $44,640 you keep $36,140, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $40,169 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $44,940, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Alabama ranks 48 of 51 for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks, with a median of $44,640 — about 11.9% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 315 of 482 in Alabama places bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks 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 Alabama income tax, retained pay for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks on $44,640 is $36,140. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $40,169 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 $44,940 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,460 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,640 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,250 |
| This salary | $44,640 |
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 Alabama | $36,140 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,048 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,015 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $42,265 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,227 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in Alabama earn under $44,640 and half over. The published range runs $30,460 at the tenth percentile to $60,250 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $36,140 take-home in Alabama comes from $44,640. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 315 of 482.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alabama, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $40,169, the adjusted value of that $44,640 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 315 of 482 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,460 to $60,250; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $36,140, from $44,640, assumes a single Alabama filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 315 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 48 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alabama, so $40,169 — the adjusted value of that $44,640 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 315 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $30,460 at the tenth percentile, $60,250 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $40,169 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $36,140.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,460 to $60,250) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $40,169 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 $36,140 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.