The average salary for a Accountant in San Jose is 103,806 $ per year on a 40-hour full-time equivalent, or 8,651 $ gross per month and 49.91 $ gross per hour. The reported full-time salary range is 48,000 $ to 186,667 $. The analysis is based on 33 salary reports from workers and employers in San Jose. Part-time salaries are proportionally converted to 40 weekly hours so the values are comparable.
| Date | Job title | Weekly hours | Reported gross/year | Normalized to 40h/year | Gross/month 40h | Gross/hour 40h | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/12/2026 | Senior Controller | 45.0 h | 210,000 $ | 186,667 $ | 15,556 $ | 89.74 $ | I recently became senior controller at a public company after many years in finance. I'm in a leadership position and work about 45 hours per week. |
| 12/02/2025 | Small Business Owner - Accountant | 35.0 h | 140,000 $ | 160,000 $ | 13,333 $ | 76.92 $ | I own a small accounting consultancy and work roughly 35 hours weekly providing outsourced CFO and accounting services to local businesses. |
| 06/07/2025 | Finance Manager | 40.0 h | 160,000 $ | 160,000 $ | 13,333 $ | 76.92 $ | I work as a finance manager overseeing reporting and forecasting for a fast-growing tech company. I'm full time and manage cross-functional projects. |
| 02/20/2025 | Accounting Director | 45.0 h | 190,000 $ | 168,889 $ | 14,074 $ | 81.20 $ | I direct accounting operations for a sizable company. I'm in an executive leadership role overseeing multiple teams and work roughly 45 hours per week. |
| 11/15/2024 | Senior Audit Manager | 44.0 h | 175,000 $ | 159,091 $ | 13,258 $ | 76.49 $ | I am an audit manager overseeing multiple engagement teams at a large firm. I'm in a leadership role and typically work about 44 hours weekly, especially during busy season. |
| 05/12/2024 | Senior Accountant (Big Tech) | 40.0 h | 150,000 $ | 150,000 $ | 12,500 $ | 72.12 $ | I am a senior accountant at a large technology company in the valley. I'm full time, handle complex consolidations, and mentor newer hires. |
| 10/09/2023 | Senior Tax Accountant | 40.0 h | 140,000 $ | 140,000 $ | 11,667 $ | 67.31 $ | I am a senior tax accountant at a large regional firm, focus on corporate tax strategy, and work full time with mentoring responsibilities. |
| 08/22/2023 | Freelance CPA (self-employed) | 34.0 h | 110,000 $ | 129,412 $ | 10,784 $ | 62.22 $ | I run a freelance CPA practice and generally bill about 34 hours per week doing tax planning and advisory for startup founders and executives. |
| 03/03/2023 | Cost Accountant | 38.0 h | 100,000 $ | 105,263 $ | 8,772 $ | 50.61 $ | I'm a cost accountant at a large manufacturing site. I'm full time, have advanced experience in costing and variance analysis, and work around 38 hours. |
| 12/05/2022 | Private Practice Accountant (self-employed) | 30.0 h | 90,000 $ | 120,000 $ | 10,000 $ | 57.69 $ | I run a private accounting practice and work roughly 30 hours a week doing tax and bookkeeping for small business clients. |
| 07/01/2022 | Controller | 45.0 h | 165,000 $ | 146,667 $ | 12,222 $ | 70.51 $ | I serve as controller for a high-growth private company and oversee all accounting functions. I'm in a senior leadership role and typically work long weeks (~45 hours). |
| 11/29/2021 | Senior Financial Accountant | 40.0 h | 130,000 $ | 130,000 $ | 10,833 $ | 62.50 $ | I am a senior financial accountant in a public company environment. I'm full time and responsible for SEC reporting and complex reconciliations. |
| 06/05/2021 | Staff Accountant (nonprofit) | 40.0 h | 72,000 $ | 72,000 $ | 6,000 $ | 34.62 $ | I'm a full-time staff accountant at a nonprofit. I handle grants accounting and financial statements and have been here four years. |
| 04/18/2021 | Accounting Manager | 42.0 h | 125,000 $ | 119,048 $ | 9,921 $ | 57.23 $ | I manage the accounting group at a midsize company. I'm in a leadership role, work around 42 hours per week, and oversee month-end and financial reporting. |
| 09/30/2020 | Senior Accountant | 40.0 h | 95,000 $ | 95,000 $ | 7,917 $ | 45.67 $ | I'm a senior accountant at a growing tech company. I'm full time and lead month-end close efforts and mentor junior staff. |
| 08/03/2020 | Payroll Manager | 40.0 h | 95,000 $ | 95,000 $ | 7,917 $ | 45.67 $ | I manage payroll operations for a larger employer. I'm in a management role and work full time running payroll, compliance, and a small team. |
| 01/15/2020 | Remote Freelance CPA (part-time) | 25.0 h | 60,000 $ | 96,000 $ | 8,000 $ | 46.15 $ | I'm a freelance CPA working remotely about 25 hours a week, handling tax planning and advisory for several small clients as a part-time consultant. |
| 12/03/2019 | Accounting Consultant (seasonal) | 20.0 h | 50,000 $ | 100,000 $ | 8,333 $ | 48.08 $ | I took a seasonal consulting role doing books and tax prep for small clients; I worked about 20 hours per week over several months as a part-time contractor. |
| 11/08/2019 | Tax Associate | 40.0 h | 85,000 $ | 85,000 $ | 7,083 $ | 40.87 $ | I work full time in tax compliance and advisory at a regional practice. I've been here three years and do complex client work but don't manage staff. |
| 06/14/2019 | Tax Accountant (mid-level) | 37.5 h | 78,000 $ | 83,200 $ | 6,933 $ | 40.00 $ | I am a mid-level tax accountant working full time on client returns and advisory. I've been in this role for four years and work roughly 37.5 hours weekly. |
| 04/22/2019 | Corporate Accountant | 40.0 h | 88,000 $ | 88,000 $ | 7,333 $ | 42.31 $ | I'm a corporate accountant at a mid-sized company handling financial statement prep and close. I'm full time and have four years' experience. |
| 02/11/2019 | Junior Tax Accountant | 40.0 h | 70,000 $ | 70,000 $ | 5,833 $ | 33.65 $ | I work full time as a junior tax accountant preparing individual and small business returns. I've been in the role two years and do research and filings. |
| 12/30/2018 | Accounting intern | 20.0 h | 24,000 $ | 48,000 $ | 4,000 $ | 23.08 $ | I was an accounting intern and worked 20 hours a week while finishing school. I did basic bookkeeping and data entry as a part-time position. |
| 09/21/2018 | Accounting Consultant (part-time) | 20.0 h | 50,000 $ | 100,000 $ | 8,333 $ | 48.08 $ | I consult part time for several startups and work about 20 hours weekly doing financial set-ups and month-end coaching for founders. |
| 06/17/2018 | Accounting Supervisor | 42.0 h | 105,000 $ | 100,000 $ | 8,333 $ | 48.08 $ | I supervise a small accounting team and handle month-end review and mentoring. I'm in a leadership role and work around 42 hours per week. |
| 02/25/2018 | Part-time Staff Accountant | 22.0 h | 38,500 $ | 70,000 $ | 5,833 $ | 33.65 $ | I'm a part-time staff accountant doing 22 hours a week for a local nonprofit. I handle reconciliations and donor reporting and have been here two years. |
| 09/13/2017 | Staff Accountant (startup) | 40.0 h | 60,000 $ | 60,000 $ | 5,000 $ | 28.85 $ | I work full time at a very small startup where I cover bookkeeping and month-end tasks; the role is broad but I don't have direct reports. |
| 05/19/2017 | Cost Accountant | 40.0 h | 66,000 $ | 66,000 $ | 5,500 $ | 31.73 $ | I'm a cost accountant at a manufacturing firm and have three years of experience. I'm full time and focus on inventory costing and job costing. |
| 03/22/2017 | Junior Accountant | 38.0 h | 62,000 $ | 65,263 $ | 5,439 $ | 31.38 $ | I worked as a junior accountant in a mid-sized company for three years. I'm full time and handle AP/AR and basic financial reporting. |
| 12/02/2016 | Payroll Specialist | 36.0 h | 55,000 $ | 61,111 $ | 5,093 $ | 29.38 $ | I manage payroll for a small technology team. I'm full time, have been here four years, and handle tax filings and benefits with growing responsibility. |
| 10/10/2016 | Tax Senior | 40.0 h | 88,000 $ | 88,000 $ | 7,333 $ | 42.31 $ | As a tax senior at a regional firm I prepare complex tax returns and review junior staff. I'm full time and have about five years' experience. |
| 08/12/2016 | Staff Accountant | 40.0 h | 58,000 $ | 58,000 $ | 4,833 $ | 27.88 $ | I'm an entry-level staff accountant at a small local firm and have been here two years. I'm full time and handle month-end closes and reconciliations but don't manage anyone. |
| 07/25/2016 | Entry-level Accountant | 40.0 h | 50,000 $ | 50,000 $ | 4,167 $ | 24.04 $ | I'm an entry-level accountant at a local service business. I'm full time, handle daily bookkeeping, and have been here about one year. |
San Jose anchors the San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara metro and sits at the center of Silicon Valley. For accountants, the city’s mix of global tech leaders, fast-scaling startups, advanced hardware manufacturers, and large public institutions creates steady, skills-focused hiring. Companies here often navigate complex revenue models, stock-based compensation, international operations, and rigorous compliance, which tends to keep demand resilient for both public accounting and in-house corporate roles.
Hiring for accountants in San Jose is driven by several recurring needs: public-company reporting, internal controls, and audit readiness; subscription and usage-based revenue recognition for software and services; and cost accounting for hardware, components, and contract manufacturing. Many employers look for experience with ASC 606 (revenue), ASC 718 (stock-based compensation), consolidations, and SOX 404. Backgrounds in external audit or internal audit can be strong differentiators, particularly for teams building or maturing control environments.
On the systems side, ERPs like NetSuite, Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft Dynamics appear frequently, and exposure to close automation, BI tools, and advanced Excel is commonly requested. In this metro, cross-border accounting and multi-currency consolidations also come up due to global sales footprints and supply chains. Seasonal spikes are typical around year-end close and busy season for audit and tax firms, but corporate roles in revenue accounting, general ledger, and financial reporting tend to open throughout the year as companies scale or backfill.
Hybrid work remains common in the South Bay, though inventory-heavy or manufacturing-adjacent roles may require more on-site time for cycle counts and operational support. CPA licensure is highly valued, and credentials such as CMA, CIA, or CISA can help for cost accounting, internal audit, and IT-control oriented positions.
San Jose’s employer base for accountants spans technology, manufacturing, e-commerce, finance, public sector, and higher education. Well-known organizations that regularly hire accounting talent include:
These employers typically recruit for roles across the accounting spectrum—from staff and senior accountants to revenue specialists, cost accountants, internal auditors, SEC reporting analysts, and controllers.
Accountants in San Jose can pursue multiple paths depending on interests and industry fit:
Many professionals start in public accounting with Silicon Valley clients and then move in-house to revenue, reporting, or technical accounting teams. Others build careers in the public sector or higher education, where fund and grants accounting skills are valuable. Networking through local professional groups and university alumni communities—along with ongoing CPE—can help candidates stay current on evolving standards and emerging areas like ESG reporting and data-driven finance functions.
Overall, the outlook for accountants in San Jose is generally positive. Even when tech funding cycles shift, the region’s concentration of public companies, regulated industries, and scale-ups tends to sustain demand for professionals who understand complex accounting, controls, and systems. Candidates who pair foundational GAAP knowledge with industry-specific expertise and strong tooling skills are well-positioned in this market.
The average salary for a Accountant in San Jose is 103,806 $ per year on a 40-hour basis, or 8,651 $ gross per month.
Part-time and full-time reports are normalized to a 40-hour workweek so salary reports can be compared fairly.
You can find more comparisons on the profession overview for Accountant and the city overview for San Jose. They show reported cities or jobs with their difference from the average.
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