Accountants & Auditors salary in Merced, CA
Median pay for accountants & auditors in Merced, CA: $78,370/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $54,440 – $128,420 · about 320 employed locally
Above the typical metro median ($74,290) by +$4,080 (+5%).
What it's really worth in Merced
With Merced's cost of living at 100 (US=100), that $78,370 has the buying power of about $78,671 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $64,772 · median home $419,171 · median rent $1,975/mo.
How Merced ranks for this job
On raw pay, Merced, CA is 53rd of the 187 metros we hold accountants & auditors wages for. Once Merced's cost of living is applied, it ranks 73rd.
The headline number flatters Merced. Once housing and everyday costs are taken into account, accountants & auditors here keep less of what they earn than the raw salary implies.
What that salary buys in Merced
A median home in Merced, CA costs $419,171 — about 5.3× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is harder here than in the average metro on this income.
Median rent of $1,975/mo works out at 30% 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 Merced.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Merced | Rent vs Merced |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $113,980 | +45% | 1.8× |
| San Francisco, CA | $103,990 | +33% | 1.6× |
| New York, NY | $103,900 | +33% | 1.8× |
| Washington, DC | $97,320 | +24% | 1.2× |
Same job elsewhere in CA
| Metro | Median pay | vs Merced | Rent vs Merced |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $113,980 | +45% | 1.8× |
| San Francisco, CA | $103,990 | +33% | 1.6× |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $93,650 | +19% | 1.3× |
| San Diego, CA | $89,120 | +14% | 1.5× |
Staying in CA keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Other jobs in Merced
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.