Where can you make more money as a financial analyst — San Francisco or Seattle? Is the pay for a controller higher in Las Vegas or Los Angeles? Accounting and finance salaries are on the rise all over the U.S., and salaries by city can be quite different, depending on where you are.

The Robert Half Salary Guide for Accounting and Finance Professionals features accounting and finance salaries for more than 190 positions, and its Salary Calculator customizes salaries by city all over the U.S.

If you're trying to choose among 25 top U.S. cities — which one might fit you best, in terms of career prospects, cost of living, quality of life and cultural diversity, for instance — try our City Comparison Tool.

Finding salaries by city

But back to accounting and finance salaries by city. Let’s say you want to find out the starting salary for financial analysts — those professionals who support business growth by identifying trends in financial data and help senior management make informed decisions.

Factors that impact starting salaries include the size of the company, the type of industry, the employee's education and experience, and geographic location.

Steps to use the Salary Calculator

Go to our Salary Center and scroll to the Salary Calculator. Then follow these instructions to get accounting and finance salaries by city:

• Step 1: Go to the first dropdown for Areas of Specialization and select Accounting & Finance.
• Step 2: Go to the Location dropdown to select the state and then to the next one for the City. Select “corporate accounting” from the Job Category on the next menu, and then “financial analyst” from the Job Title selection.
• Step 4: Choose from the Company Size dropdown, and Experience, such as whether you have up to a year, one to three years, or management experience. The Current Salary Range will automatically show up on the right, along with the range for the previous year for comparison.

Then you can go directly to the button where you can search jobs that match what you’re looking for. Voila!

Accounting and finance salaries

Here is a sampling of midpoint starting salaries in accounting and finance by job title, job category and city — based on data from the Salary Guide. At the midpoint, candidates have average experience with the necessary skills to meet the job requirements, and the role may be in an industry where competition for talent is moderate.

You can find all this and more at our Salary Center.

Senior cost accountant jobs, corporate accounting

• Atlanta: $83,500
• Dallas: $86,500
• Los Angeles: $104,000
• Washington, D.C.: $104,750

Entry-level financial analyst jobs, corporate finance

• Seattle: $64,500
• Philadelphia: $59,250
• Milwaukee, Wis.: $52,000
• San Francisco: $72,500

*up to one year

Senior auditor jobs, public accounting

• Salt Lake City: $68,000
• Spokane, Wash: $56,500
• Boston: $93,100 to $86,000
• Phoenix: $73,750

Controller jobs, corporate management

• San Jose: $163,750
• Miami: $125,250
• Omaha, Neb.: $118,250
• Portland, Ore.: $129,000

Compliance officer jobs, financial services

• New York: $173,500
• Kansas City, Mo.: $123,000
• San Diego: $156,750
• Richmond, Va.: $121,750

Entry-level* internal auditor jobs, corporate accounting

• Denver: $50,500
• Sacramento: $49,000
• Dayton, Ohio: $40,250
• Las Vegas: $47,250

* up to one year

Whether you’re looking to move to a different part of the country or looking so you can be prepared the next time you need to discuss pay, be sure to use the Salary Calculator to find accounting and finance salaries by city.