City of Seattle / Accountant
Role across City of Seattle
Accountant
Maintain financial records, prepare budgets and reports, and ensure compliance with fiscal rules.
54 people hold the Accountant role across 18 departments in City of Seattle, with a median total compensation of $107,037. Among 38 jurisdictions where this role is reported, City of Seattle ranks #7 by median pay.
- Employees
- 54
- Median pay
- $107,037
- Departments
- 18
- Cross-jurisdiction
- #7 of 38
Compared with the local labor market
Accountant pay vs. the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area
Across all employers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area, the median wage for Accountants and Auditors — about 22,100 people — is $99,370. City of Seattle pays a median base salary of $107,037 for this role, 8% above that figure — about the 57th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where City of Seattle sits in the local pay range
The bar is the range of annual wages for Accountants and Auditors across every employer in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows City of Seattle’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Accountants and Auditors — about 1,449,500 people — is $83,680. City of Seattle’s median base salary is 28% above that national figure, about the 72nd percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at City of Seattle is $107,037, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare jurisdictions
Accountant pay in other jurisdictions
Where Accountants are paid most
Median total compensation for comparable Accountant roles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.
Within City of Seattle
Departments with this role
Largest City of Seattle departments for this role
Departments in City of Seattle employing the most people in this role. Each bar links to that department’s page for the role.