Auditor Salary in 2027: What Internal, External and Government Auditors Earn

If you’re asking what an auditor makes, the closest federal number is $83,680 a year. BLS doesn’t count auditors on their own. They’re grouped with accountants, and that group’s May 2025 median is $83,680. So treat every figure on this auditor salary page as pay for accountants and auditors together, the closest match BLS offers.

Where Is an Auditor Salary in the Federal Data?

You’ll find it inside the accountants and auditors group, along with public, management and government accountants. BLS says the group had a mean of $94,750 and a median hourly wage of $40.23. The middle half earned between $67,020 and $109,810.

That’s a blunt tool for your question. A group number can’t tell you whether internal auditors out-earn external ones, and we won’t pretend it can. What it gives you is a solid frame for judging the offer you get.

Internal, External and Government Auditors: How Do They Differ?

The job title changes who signs your paycheck and what your days look like.

Internal auditors work for the organization they audit. BLS says they look for ways to cut waste, fraud and financial risk. You’ll learn one company well and spend your time on its controls and processes.

External auditors work for an outside organization rather than the one they audit. BLS says they check things like how funds are managed and how well internal controls work. Overtime is typical around quarterly audits and tax season, so expect long stretches.

Government accountants maintain and examine the records of government agencies, so you’d work for a public employer.

Which one pays best? BLS doesn’t say. So pick the path you’d enjoy, then use the pay data to check your offer.

How Does Employer Type Change Auditor Pay?

BLS publishes median pay for the group by industry, and the spread is real. Finance and insurance pays $93,290. Management of companies and enterprises pays $91,940. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals, pays $83,350. Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services pays $81,490.

Those are medians for every accountant and auditor in the industry. They aren’t audit-only pay, so you should use them as a guide, not a quote. But the pattern is useful. Working in-house at a bank, insurer or large company points to the higher end of that range. If you join a firm that sells accounting services, you’ll sit just under the overall median.

Accounting and tax firms are also the biggest single employer, so you’ll meet them first. BLS puts them at 21 percent of the group’s jobs, with finance and insurance at 8 percent and government at 8 percent.

Which States Pay the Highest Auditor Salary?

State medians for the group run from $66,330 in Arkansas to $111,530 in the District of Columbia. Among the states, Massachusetts has a median of $99,460 across 46,230 jobs. Connecticut sits at $97,550, and Washington at $96,550 across 34,740 jobs.

Virginia has a median of $93,290 and Maryland has $89,370. Both border the District of Columbia, and you’ll find tens of thousands of jobs in the group in each.

On the lower end, Nebraska has a median of $72,080 and West Virginia has $73,320. The state table on this page covers every state, so check the one where you’d live. A lower salary can still win if the rent and taxes are lower too.

What Do the CIA and the CPA Add to an Auditor Salary?

They add access first, and you’ll see pay follow over time. BLS says certification can improve job prospects, and it doesn’t name a pay bump for either one.

The CIA comes from the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and is the internal audit credential. The IIA asks for a bachelor’s degree and 2 years of internal audit experience, or a master’s degree and 1 year.

The exam has three parts. The IIA also counts external audit, risk management and compliance work as acceptable experience, so time at a firm can count toward it. Our CIA guide covers the steps.

The CPA is a state license. BLS says any accountant who files reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission must be a licensed CPA, and that all states require 150 semester hours of coursework for CPA candidates.

That’s 30 more than a typical four-year degree. BLS also says employers may pay the exam costs, so ask about that before you sign. Our CPA requirements guide has the rules, and our CPA salary page shows how to read the numbers.

What Does the Career Ladder Look Like for Auditors?

Titles vary by employer, and BLS doesn’t track them. You’ll usually start in a staff role, testing records and writing up what you find, then take on more responsibility as you build experience. BLS says that if you excel, you may become a supervisor, manager or partner in public accounting.

At the top of an internal audit department is the chief audit executive. The IIA’s standards describe chief audit executives as working closely with the board. BLS also says you can move into executive roles in management accounting or internal auditing at private firms, and that public accountants often move into internal auditing, so you can switch lanes.

We won’t put a pay figure on each rung, because BLS doesn’t report pay by job level. If you’re aiming high, the 75th percentile of $109,810 shows what the top quarter of the group earns, though it isn’t a senior-auditor figure. Another common exit is into finance leadership, and our controller salary page shows one version of it.

Is the Auditor Job Market Growing?

BLS expects accountant and auditor employment to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035, about 79,400 jobs. It also projects about 115,300 openings a year, and many come from people who change fields or retire. Growth ties closely to how the economy is doing, so you may see audit hiring slow in a downturn.

If you’re picking a degree, a bachelor’s in accounting is the usual starting point. If your goal is the license, our list of programs for CPA candidates is a better place to compare. For the wider view of the group’s pay, see our accountant salary page.