Accounting Clerk Salary: Your 2026 Guide

Key takeaways

• An accounting clerk earns a median total pay of $54,000 annually in the US, according to Glassdoor [1].

• On average, an accounting clerk’s salary with a bachelor's degree is $40,533 per year [2].

• A senior accounting clerk’s salary is a median total pay of $57,000 after accumulating 15 years of experience [1].

The highest salary for an accounting clerk is approximately $72,660, which is the median annual pay that the top 10 percent of professionals earn [3]. Discover more about accounting clerks’ job skills, salary, and career prospects, as well as the factors that can impact your earnings in this role.

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What is accounting?

Accounting is the practice of compiling, assessing, and reporting financial data. Financial statements prepared by accountants are often sought by creditors or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during audits. If you’re looking to build a career in accounting, starting as an accounting clerk can provide valuable insights into the field and allow you to progress on your career path. The accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services sector offers the highest employment levels for accounting professionals [4].

What does an accounting clerk do?

Accounting clerks process and compute enterprise financial data. Most importantly, accounting clerks help facilitate timely and precise record-keeping. Working alongside accountants or senior accountants, accounting clerks are also responsible for the following:

• Conducting monthly or periodic account reconciliations

• Employing accounting software to manage financial transactions

• Assisting with payroll management

• Monitoring refunds, returns, and miscellaneous costs

• Ensuring compliance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)

• Documenting tax payments and relevant data for tax filing

Read more: How to Write an Accounting Clerk Resume

What is GAAP?

GAAP is a set of accounting rules standardizing financial reporting across US industries. Established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), GAAP serves as a unifying set of guidelines for corporate, nonprofit, and government agencies.

What is the salary for an accounting clerk?

According to Glassdoor, the median total accounting clerk salary in the United States ranges from $45,000 to $66,000 [1]. The following table lists the annual salaries provided by Glassdoor, Zippia, Payscale, Salary.com, and Indeed [1, 5, 6, 7, 8].

Factors impacting accounting clerk salary

Multiple factors can affect your salary as an accounting clerk. Discover how education, experience, skills, industry, location, and company can influence your annual income.

Education

Accounting clerks with bachelor’s degrees can make $40,533 annually [2]. An associate degree yields $39,842, while a high school diploma allows up to $39,741 per year [2]. A bachelor’s degree is the most common qualification among accounting clerks. Typical fields of study include accounting, business, and finance.

Experience

The greater your experience, the higher your income potential. The list below outlines the median total pay for accounting clerks by years of experience [1]:

• 0–1 year: $52,000

• 1–3 years: $54,000

• 4–6 years: $56,000

• 7–9 years: $57,000

• 10–14 years: $57,000

• 15 or more years: $57,000

All salary information represents the median total pay from Glassdoor as of August 2026. These figures include base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

Skills

A well-rounded skill set can improve your chances for promotions and increased compensation. The following are key skills for accounting clerks [6]:

• Accounts payable: $21 per hour

• Accounts receivable: $21 per hour

• Data entry: $20 per hour

• Microsoft Word: $15 per hour

• Microsoft Excel: $21 per hour

Certifications

Certifications can help validate your knowledge and expertise in specialized areas of accounting, such as auditing, tax preparation, and bookkeeping. If you’re just starting out, earning certifications can also give you a competitive edge in the job market. Outlined below are notable industry-recognized certifications you may consider pursuing, based on your career goals:

• Certified Bookkeeper (CB): $61,000 [9]

• Certified Accounts Payable Professional (CAPP): $78,000 [10]

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP): $81,000 [11]

Industry

An industry’s overall profitability and financial capacity can directly impact its salary offerings. Listed below are top-paying industries you can target as an aspiring accounting clerk [1]:

• Legal: $68,767

• Pharmaceutical and biotechnology: $53,642

• Financial services: $50,996

• Management and consulting: $50,652

• Information technology: $50,083

All salary information represents the median total pay from Glassdoor as of August 2026. These figures include base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

Location

Where you’re based geographically can also impact your annual income. Generally, major cities contribute to higher wages. The highest-paying cities for accounting clerks in the United States are as follows [8]:

• Los Angeles: $67,139

• Salt Lake City: $64,242

• Houston: $63,227

• Charlotte: $60,149

• Fort Worth: $56,041

Company

Larger companies, particularly those with higher revenues, tend to offer better pay. However, to get a true sense of your compensation, consider the company’s benefits, culture, and the demand for accounting skills, as these factors can significantly impact your overall pay and job satisfaction.

The following list highlights salary ranges offered by top-paying companies for accounting clerks in the United States [1]:

• Weil Gotshal: $65,000–$92,000

• Quinn Emanuel: $63,000–$89,000

• Sidley Austin: $63,000–$87,000

• Galloway Johnson Tompkins Burr & Smith: $62,000–$89,000

Job outlook

The employment rate for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks is likely to fall by 6 percent between 2024 and 2034 [12]. Nonetheless, an average of 170,000 annual job openings is expected between 2024 and 2034 [12]. In a more promising trend, the average yearly spend on accounting fees per consumer unit in the US has grown notably since 2020, crossing the $100 threshold for the first time in 2022 [13]. This development hints at a continued rise in demand for accounting services, which could drive further growth in the industry and potentially increase job opportunities and salaries for accounting clerks in the coming years.

What is the highest salary for an accounting clerk?

According to the US BLS, the highest 10 percent of bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks earn a median annual wage of $72,660 [3]. Meanwhile, Payscale estimates the highest average base salary for accounting clerks as $62,000 [6].

Take your skills further with structured resources

Subscribe to Career Chat on LinkedIn to get timely updates on popular skills, tools, and certifications in software development. Or if you want to learn more about building accounting skills and finding entry-level accounting roles like an accounting clerk, check out these free resources:

• Take the quiz: Which Accounting Course Should You Take?

• Watch on YouTube: What Is Bookkeeping? A Simple Guide to Getting Started

• Read our Career Chat issue: Job Search Tips for Entry-Level Roles

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