What Accountants and Auditors earn in Fredericksburg city, VA
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $102,140: the median annual pay for Accountants and Auditors in Fredericksburg city, VA. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $49.11 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $113,640, which is 11.3% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 41,470 people working in this occupation across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Fredericksburg city, VA has roughly 28,873 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Accountants and Auditors in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $67,530 a year ($32.47 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $170,980 or more ($82.20 an hour). That is a gap of $103,450 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $79,990 at the 25th percentile and $133,430 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.5 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: $49.11 an hour or $102,140 a year at the median for Fredericksburg city, VA. Before any deductions, that is $8,512 a month, $3,928 every two weeks and $1,964 each week. After taxes the same job pays $36.22 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Accountants and Auditors
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Accountants and Auditors this way: "Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Prepare detailed reports on audit findings"; "Report to management about asset utilization and audit results, and recommend changes in operations and financial activities"; "Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance, fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies"; "Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions".
Job outlook for Accountants and Auditors
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 1,595,200 jobs in 2025 to 1,674,600 in 2035, a change of +5%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 115,300 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 7.2% of current employment each year. About 5.5% of the people in this occupation are self-employed, and wage figures cover wage and salary workers only.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $83,680 for this occupation; the Fredericksburg city, VA median of $102,140 is 22.1% above it.
How pay in Fredericksburg city, VA compares
Compared with the Virginia average
A worker in this occupation in Fredericksburg city, VA earns $7,388 more than the Virginia average of $94,752, a premium of 7.8%. Over a year that premium is worth $7,388 before tax and roughly $5,449 after tax. Within Virginia, Fredericksburg city, VA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Accountants and Auditors is $86,390 across the contiguous United States. At $102,140, Fredericksburg city, VA pays $15,750 more, which is 18.2% above 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 Fredericksburg city, VA
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in Fredericksburg city, VA, Accountants and Auditors ranks number 143 by median pay, ahead of about 77% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $195,190 a year, which is $93,050 more than the median for Accountants and Auditors.
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 Accountants and Auditors earning the Fredericksburg city, VA median of $102,140, they add up to $26,807. The result is $75,333 of take-home pay a year ($6,278 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $26 goes to taxes and $74 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 26.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $86,390. 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 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $13,920, an effective 13.6% of gross pay, well below the 22% 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 $6,333 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,481. FICA totals $7,814, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Virginia
Virginia income tax on this salary is $5,073 a year, or 5.0% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 36% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $423 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 Fredericksburg city, VA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Fredericksburg city, VA show an average adjusted gross income of $91,386 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 14.1% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 12.3%, compared with the 13.6% 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 Fredericksburg city, VA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Fredericksburg city, VA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $75,333 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Fredericksburg city, VA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,204 a month ($26,448 a year), and at $2,438 for two bedrooms. For Accountants and Auditors, a one-bedroom absorbs 35.1% of take-home pay and 25.9% 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 3.4% of gross pay for Accountants and Auditors in Fredericksburg city, VA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Virginia residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,523 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $597, for $2,119 in total. Gasoline in Virginia averages $3.09 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,429.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $33,432 a year in Fredericksburg city, VA. Subtract that from $75,333 of take-home pay and $41,901 remains, which is $3,492 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 41.0% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Fredericksburg city, VA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Fredericksburg city, VA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Fredericksburg city, VA, set beside the Virginia and national medians.
Property taxes in Fredericksburg city, VA
Homeowners in Fredericksburg city, VA pay a median of $2,907 a year in real estate taxes, 4% above the Virginia median of $2,790 and 7% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $483,700, the median tax bill is 0.60% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Accountants and Auditors median of $102,140, a tax bill of that size would equal 2.8% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Fredericksburg city, VA
Renters in Fredericksburg city, VA pay a median gross rent of $1,619 a month in the Census survey, 3% above the Virginia median of $1,579. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $2,204 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $483,700, 26% above the Virginia median of $383,700. Median household income is $86,071, 8% below the Virginia median of $93,170, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 30.7% of that income.
Commuting in Fredericksburg city, VA
Workers in Fredericksburg city, VA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 31.9 minutes each way, 17% above the Virginia average of 27.3. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 5.3 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 16.9% of workers in Fredericksburg city, VA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Accountants and Auditors afford to live in Fredericksburg city, VA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $102,140 that ceiling is $2,553 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,204 is $349 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $42.38 an hour; the median for Accountants and Auditors is $49.11, which is 16% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $36.22 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 14.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,438 a month means $1,219 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $11,820 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $53,721.
How fast you can save
At $3,492 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 3 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 6 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Accountants and Auditors pay in Fredericksburg city, VA
How much do Accountants and Auditors make per hour in Fredericksburg city, VA?
The median is $49.11 per hour, based on $102,140 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $32.47 at the 10th percentile to $82.20 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Accountants and Auditors take home after taxes in Fredericksburg city, VA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $102,140 becomes $75,333 a year. That is $6,278 a month, $2,897 every two weeks or $1,449 a week.
How much tax do Accountants and Auditors pay in Fredericksburg city, VA?
Total taxes are $26,807 a year, an effective rate of 26.3%: $13,920 federal income tax, $7,814 FICA and $5,073 Virginia income tax.
Do Accountants and Auditors earn more in Fredericksburg city, VA than elsewhere in Virginia?
Yes. The local median of $102,140 is +7.8% versus the Virginia average of $94,752, a difference of $7,388 a year.
Can Accountants and Auditors afford a one-bedroom apartment in Fredericksburg city, VA?
A one-bedroom costs $2,204 a month against take-home pay of $6,278, which is 35.1% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $2,553 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Accountants and Auditors in Fredericksburg city, VA?
About $3,492 a month ($41,901 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $33,432 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Fredericksburg city, VA at the 30% guideline?
$42.38 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $26,448 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Accountants and Auditors is $49.11.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 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 Virginia 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.