Accountants & Auditors salary in Cleveland, OH
Median pay for accountants & auditors in Cleveland, OH: $77,500/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $50,150 – $127,340 · about 11,210 employed locally
Above the typical metro median ($74,290) by +$3,210 (+4%).
What it's really worth in Cleveland
With Cleveland's cost of living at 91 (US=100), that $77,500 has the buying power of about $84,792 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $66,481 · median home $252,210 · median rent $1,461/mo.
How Cleveland ranks for this job
On raw pay, Cleveland, OH is 66th of the 187 metros we hold accountants & auditors wages for. Once Cleveland's cost of living is applied, it ranks 13th.
Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Cleveland is one of the places where accountants & auditors gain ground in real terms, because local costs are low relative to what the job pays.
What that salary buys in Cleveland
A median home in Cleveland, OH costs $252,210 — about 3.3× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.
Median rent of $1,461/mo works out at 23% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.
Where accountants & auditors earn more
Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Cleveland.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Cleveland | Rent vs Cleveland |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $113,980 | +47% | 2.5× |
| San Francisco, CA | $103,990 | +34% | 2.2× |
| New York, NY | $103,900 | +34% | 2.4× |
| Washington, DC | $97,320 | +26% | 1.7× |
Same job elsewhere in OH
| Metro | Median pay | vs Cleveland | Rent vs Cleveland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus, OH | $78,830 | +2% | 1× |
| Cincinnati, OH | $76,950 | −1% | 1.1× |
| Akron, OH | $74,230 | −4% | 0.9× |
| Toledo, OH | $73,100 | −6% | 0.9× |
Staying in OH keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Who hires accountants & auditors around Cleveland
Large local employers in sectors that typically employ this role.
- KeyBank · Finance
Other jobs in Cleveland
Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 187 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.