At a glance
The nominal median for Accountants and Auditors is $82,620 in Dallas versus $82,360 in Chicago, a gap of $260 a year.
After the BEA 2024 price adjustment Dallas still leads: $80,144 versus $79,502, a gap of $642.
Published medians for the occupation, not an offer, take-home pay or a relocation recommendation.
Sources: BLS wages (May 2025) · BEA price parity (2024) · Census ACS (2020–2024) · metro areas, not city limits · How we calculate
Dallas vs. Chicago: key measures
Accountant salaries represent multiple industries and credentials. Local tax and housing situations may differ from aggregate price statistics. The figures describe metropolitan statistical areas, not city limits.
Scroll sideways to explore every column →
| Measure | Dallas | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile annual wage (BLS) | $57,940 | $59,530 |
| 25th percentile annual wage (BLS) | $71,100 | $72,280 |
| Annual occupational median (BLS) | $82,620 | $82,360 |
| 75th percentile annual wage (BLS) | $104,150 | $103,120 |
| 90th percentile annual wage (BLS) | $133,540 | $134,100 |
| Price-adjusted median (site calculation) | $80,144 | $79,502 |
| All-items RPP (BEA) | 103.090 | 103.595 |
| Median gross rent / month (ACS) | $1,614 | $1,430 |
| 45+ minute commute share (ACS) | 18.5% | 23.5% |
The price-adjusted wage equals the BLS May 2025 annual occupational median × 100 ÷ the BEA 2024 all-items regional price parity. Census rent, household income and commuting figures are ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimates. They describe different populations and do not determine take-home pay, employment prospects or individual rent. ACS gross rent includes contract rent plus estimated utility and fuel costs.
What changes when location is considered?
Dallas leads on published nominal annual median pay by $260. Dallas leads on the national-price-equivalent median by $642. Both measures point to the same higher-paying metro, but the advantage changes in size after adjustment.
These are different lenses: the nominal figures come from BLS, while the adjusted metric uses the 2024 BEA all-items regional price parity (103.1 for Dallas versus 103.6 for Chicago). Neither is a prediction of an actual offer.
Dallas has a higher metro-wide ACS monthly median gross rent by $184. The share of workers with one-way trips of at least 45 minutes is 5.0 percentage points higher in Chicago.
How Dallas and Chicago rank for this occupation
Out of the 75 curated metros with a reported accountants and auditors median, Dallas ranks 27th on nominal median pay and 59th on price-adjusted pay. Chicago ranks 28th nominal and 61st adjusted. The middle adjusted median across all 75 metros is $83,489: Dallas’s ($80,144) is 4.0% below that middle value and Chicago’s ($79,502) is 4.8% below it.
Ranks compare published medians for this one occupation. See all 75 metros for accountants and auditors for the full list.
Pay at each percentile and how common the job is
After the BEA price adjustment, Dallas is higher at 3 of the 5 published percentile levels and Chicago at 2. The 90th percentile is 2.3× the 10th in Dallas and 2.3× in Chicago; the middle half of wages spans 40% of the median in Dallas and 37% in Chicago.
Scroll sideways to explore every column →
| Percentile | Dallas adjusted | Chicago adjusted | Higher after adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $56,203 | $57,464 | Chicago |
| 25th | $68,969 | $69,772 | Chicago |
| 50th (median) | $80,144 | $79,502 | Dallas |
| 75th | $101,028 | $99,541 | Dallas |
| 90th | $129,537 | $129,446 | Dallas |
Twelve months of median gross rent equals 23% of the accountants and auditors median wage in Dallas and 21% in Chicago (a lens, not a budget). BLS estimates 37,450 such workers in Dallas and 41,360 in Chicago. Per 10,000 commuting workers that is 113.0 versus 108.3, ranking 38th and 42nd of 75 metros (middle value 113.0). These are employment estimates, not open vacancies.
A role-specific offer checklist for this comparison
Match the actual work: Accounting pay mixes audit, tax, corporate finance and public practice. Credentials and sector can explain differences that broad metro medians cannot. Before treating the median difference as a personal salary difference, confirm that both positions share responsibilities, experience requirements and hours, and compare written offers with local rent quotes. The full checklist has the steps.
How reliable are the surrounding housing estimates?
These ACS medians are 2020–2024 five-year metro estimates with published margins of error. Household income covers households, not workers in this occupation.
Scroll sideways to explore every column →
| ACS metro context | Dallas | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| Median gross rent (± MOE) | $1,614 ± $6 | $1,430 ± $6 |
| Median household income (± MOE) | $90,275 ± $491 | $90,887 ± $454 |
Neither displayed rent nor income estimate crosses the site’s 30% relative-MOE caution threshold. Sampling uncertainty still applies. The 30% flag is our editorial rule, not a Census certification. See the methodology.
How should I use these figures for a relocation decision?
Start with written offers and real housing quotes, then enter them in the browser-only worksheet. Rent is already part of the price parity, so do not subtract it again from a price-adjusted salary. These comparisons are not placement, tax or financial advice.