What Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks earn in St. Louis County, MO
According to the latest federal wage data for the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area, the median pay for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in St. Louis County, MO is $49,970 a year, or $24.02 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $40,812 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for St. Louis County, MO.
The mean wage is $53,400, which is 6.9% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 9,950 people working in this occupation across the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. St. Louis County, MO has roughly 995,569 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $37,680 a year ($18.12 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $74,090 or more ($35.62 an hour). That is a gap of $36,410 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $45,360 at the 25th percentile and $60,600 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.0 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $24.02 an hour or $49,970 a year at the median for St. Louis County, MO. Before any deductions, that is $4,164 a month, $1,922 every two weeks and $961 each week. After taxes the same job pays $19.62 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in St. Louis County, MO compares
Compared with the Missouri average
A worker in this occupation in St. Louis County, MO earns $1,294 more than the Missouri average of $48,676, a premium of 2.7%. Over a year that premium is worth $1,294 before tax and roughly $1,057 after tax. Within Missouri, St. Louis County, MO already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks is $51,691 across the contiguous United States. At $49,970, St. Louis County, MO pays $1,721 less, which is 3.3% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in St. Louis County, MO
Among the 578 occupations with published wages in St. Louis County, MO, Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks ranks number 372 by median pay, ahead of about 36% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Software Developers at $129,030 a year, which is $79,060 more than the median for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks earning the St. Louis County, MO median of $49,970, they add up to $9,158. The result is $40,812 of take-home pay a year ($3,401 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $18 goes to taxes and $82 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 18.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $34,220. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,868, an effective 7.7% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $3,098 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $725. FICA totals $3,823, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Missouri
Missouri income tax on this salary is $1,468 a year, or 2.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 38% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $122 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for St. Louis County, MO
IRS Statistics of Income data for St. Louis County, MO show an average adjusted gross income of $124,514 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 17.1% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.1%, compared with the 7.7% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in St. Louis County, MO
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in St. Louis County, MO: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $40,812 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For St. Louis County, MO, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,104 a month ($13,248 a year), and at $1,349 for two bedrooms. For Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks, a one-bedroom absorbs 32.5% of take-home pay and 26.5% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 6.9% of gross pay for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in St. Louis County, MO. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Missouri residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,364 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $672, for $2,036 in total. Gasoline in Missouri averages $3.03 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,403.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $20,123 a year in St. Louis County, MO. Subtract that from $40,812 of take-home pay and $20,689 remains, which is $1,724 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 41.4% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks afford to live in St. Louis County, MO?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $49,970 that ceiling is $1,249 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,104 is $145 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $21.23 an hour; the median for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks is $24.02, which is 13% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $19.62 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 13.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,349 a month means $675 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,154 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $25,843.
How fast you can save
At $1,724 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 6 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 12 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks pay in St. Louis County, MO
How much do Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks make per hour in St. Louis County, MO?
The median is $24.02 per hour, based on $49,970 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $18.12 at the 10th percentile to $35.62 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks take home after taxes in St. Louis County, MO?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $49,970 becomes $40,812 a year. That is $3,401 a month, $1,570 every two weeks or $785 a week.
How much tax do Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks pay in St. Louis County, MO?
Total taxes are $9,158 a year, an effective rate of 18.3%: $3,868 federal income tax, $3,823 FICA and $1,468 Missouri income tax.
Do Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks earn more in St. Louis County, MO than elsewhere in Missouri?
Yes. The local median of $49,970 is +2.7% versus the Missouri average of $48,676, a difference of $1,294 a year.
Can Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks afford a one-bedroom apartment in St. Louis County, MO?
A one-bedroom costs $1,104 a month against take-home pay of $3,401, which is 32.5% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,249 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in St. Louis County, MO?
About $1,724 a month ($20,689 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $20,123 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in St. Louis County, MO at the 30% guideline?
$21.23 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $13,248 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks is $24.02.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Missouri rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.