Updated October 2026. Pay data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025.
Salary benchmarks are a starting point, not an offer. Used well, they keep you from overpaying or losing the candidate you want. Used badly, they anchor you to a number the market has already moved past.
Whether you’re a growing CPA firm or a company building out its finance team, the same rules apply.
Here’s what we’re seeing in our own searches, and how to read the benchmarks when you’re hiring in accounting and finance.
What we’re seeing in our searches
Two recent placements show how it plays out:
- Controller, manufacturing company: $175,000 base. Right at the San Diego median for finance leaders.
- Senior Staff Accountant, healthcare company: $80,000 to $95,000 base. At or just under the San Diego median for accountants.
Neither offer won on base salary alone. What helped each one outperform the other offers on the table:
- Upside built into the role. Depending on the company and its structure, that meant a performance bonus, profit sharing, phantom shares or a path to partner. Candidates want to know there’s no ceiling.
- A clear growth path, not just “room to grow.”
- Speed. A fast, organized process showed the company was serious.
- A clear story. We helped each company show candidates its value and where the role fits in the plan.
How to read a salary range
- The median is what the typical person in the role earns today. It’s not what it takes to hire them away.
- The low end reflects narrower scope or less experience. The high end reflects bigger scope, specialized skills or a CPA.
- Price the scope, not the title. An “Accounting Manager” who will clean up the books and build your systems is doing controller-level work.
- Check the date. Government wage data runs about a year behind. In a moving market, that lag matters.
Location changes the math
The same role can pay very differently a few hours up the coast. Median pay, May 2025:
| Market | Accountants & auditors | Financial managers (Controller to CFO) |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego | $96,340 | $174,210 |
| Los Angeles | $94,360 | $175,310 |
| San Jose / Silicon Valley | $121,700 | $225,280 |
| U.S. overall | $83,680 | $166,570 |
San Diego and Los Angeles track closely. Silicon Valley runs about 25% higher for accountants and nearly 30% higher for finance leaders. Hiring remote? Decide which market you’re paying to before you post the role.
San Diego at a glance
| Title | Estimated base salary |
|---|---|
| Bookkeeper / AP-AR Specialist | $49,000 to $70,000 |
| Staff Accountant | $63,000 to $90,000 |
| Senior Accountant | $90,000 to $125,000 |
| Tax Senior / Tax Accountant | $85,000 to $120,000 |
| Tax Manager | $120,000 to $160,000 |
| Accounting Manager / Assistant Controller | $115,000 to $158,000 |
| Controller | $134,000 to $200,000 |
| CFO / VP of Finance | $175,000 to $235,000+ |
Estimated ranges, mapped from San Diego wage percentiles. Actual offers vary with scope, industry, company size and certifications.
What benchmarks can’t tell you
A benchmark won’t tell you what the candidate you want will accept this month, what competing offers they’re holding, or what would make them move.
That last part matters more than most hiring teams expect. In the Controllers Council’s 2026 Corporate Finance & Accounting Talent Study, 54% of finance and accounting professionals named lack of career advancement as a top reason for leaving, compared with 29% for compensation. Pay gets a candidate to take the call. A seat in executing the plan, a real path forward and work that matters are what close the hire.
Smaller firm? You have levers too
You may not match a large firm’s base salary, but you can win on flexibility, direct mentorship, CPA exam support and a faster path to manager. For many candidates, that’s the compelling reason to move.
Make your best offer the first time
We run accounting and finance searches every week, so we see what candidates are accepting now, not what a report said last year. We bring that intel to every search: where your range lands in your market, what competing offers look like, and what will make the right person say yes.
If you’re planning an accounting or finance hire, see how we approach accounting and finance recruiting, or take twenty minutes with us. Our fee is success-based: if you don’t hire, there’s no fee.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, via Wagedex (San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose). Controllers Council, Corporate Finance & Accounting Talent Study 2026.