Texas bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks earned a mean of $51,690 a year ($24.85 an hour) in May 2025, with a median of $48,910, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pay runs from about $43,500 in Laredo to about $55,580 in Midland. That is the wage alone: an employer also pays payroll taxes, software, equipment and management time, which is why many small businesses compare it with outsourcing.
Quick answer
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Mean annual wage, Texas bookkeepers | $51,690 ($24.85 an hour) |
| Median annual wage | $48,910 |
| Middle half of Texas bookkeepers earn | $40,710 to $60,320 a year |
| Highest-paying metro in the data | Midland, $55,580 mean |
| Lowest-paying metro in the data | Laredo, $43,500 mean |
| Texas jobs in this occupation | 122,400 |
| Reference period | May 2025 (BLS OEWS) |
Bookkeeper pay by Texas metro area
Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks (SOC 43-3031), May 2025, sorted by mean annual wage. Estimates do not include self-employed workers, and some small metros have too few jobs for stable averages. The full table, including six Texas nonmetropolitan regions, is in the CSV download.
| Metro area | Employment | Mean hourly | Mean annual | Median annual | 25th–75th percentile (annual) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas statewide | 122,400 | $24.85 | $51,690 | $48,910 | $40,710–$60,320 |
| Midland | 1,440 | $26.72 | $55,580 | $52,210 | $44,330–$63,700 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 34,930 | $26.36 | $54,820 | $51,720 | $45,190–$61,840 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | 11,900 | $26.32 | $54,740 | $54,320 | $44,850–$63,750 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | 26,090 | $25.13 | $52,280 | $49,460 | $41,860–$60,460 |
| Odessa | 880 | $24.67 | $51,320 | $48,930 | $40,810–$58,860 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels | 8,960 | $24.41 | $50,770 | $48,150 | $40,950–$58,770 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur | 1,370 | $23.67 | $49,240 | $47,270 | $39,280–$57,460 |
| Sherman-Denison | 380 | $23.47 | $48,810 | $47,790 | $39,070–$55,800 |
| Waco | 1,200 | $23.41 | $48,690 | $46,290 | $39,460–$56,250 |
| College Station-Bryan | 950 | $23.17 | $48,200 | $45,870 | $37,830–$56,370 |
| Amarillo | 1,230 | $23.17 | $48,190 | $46,620 | $38,590–$55,600 |
| Victoria | 370 | $23.13 | $48,110 | $46,230 | $37,930–$54,790 |
| Tyler | 940 | $23.04 | $47,920 | $45,830 | $37,280–$56,170 |
| Killeen-Temple | 1,220 | $22.98 | $47,800 | $46,170 | $38,370–$55,240 |
| Corpus Christi | 1,570 | $22.95 | $47,740 | $45,940 | $38,360–$54,980 |
| Lubbock | 1,500 | $22.61 | $47,040 | $45,560 | $36,620–$55,960 |
| Abilene | 650 | $22.60 | $47,010 | $45,620 | $38,160–$54,730 |
| Eagle Pass | 190 | $22.38 | $46,540 | $42,900 | $35,290–$50,150 |
| Wichita Falls | 490 | $22.34 | $46,460 | $43,910 | $36,250–$52,560 |
| Longview | 1,220 | $22.21 | $46,200 | $45,070 | $37,080–$53,460 |
| San Angelo | 490 | $22.11 | $45,990 | $44,280 | $36,320–$53,380 |
| Texarkana-AR | 420 | $21.61 | $44,940 | $43,810 | $36,110–$52,380 |
| El Paso | 2,790 | $21.38 | $44,460 | $41,530 | $34,110–$50,540 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | 2,070 | $21.34 | $44,390 | $41,960 | $34,800–$49,060 |
| Brownsville-Harlingen | 1,020 | $21.28 | $44,270 | $41,530 | $35,600–$49,410 |
| Laredo | 1,070 | $20.91 | $43,500 | $39,710 | $33,750–$49,560 |
For the other 49 states, see our bookkeeper salary by state table.
Accountants and auditors earn much more
Many Texas small businesses need bookkeeping, not accounting judgment, and the pay gap shows it. Accountants and auditors (SOC 13-2011) in the five largest metros and statewide:
| Area | Employment | Mean hourly | Mean annual | Median annual | 25th–75th percentile (annual) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas statewide | 116,470 | $43.45 | $90,370 | $80,920 | $65,560–$103,760 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | 28,400 | $45.98 | $95,640 | $85,090 | $72,470–$109,670 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 37,450 | $44.48 | $92,520 | $82,620 | $71,100–$104,150 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | 12,480 | $43.90 | $91,300 | $83,120 | $68,250–$103,820 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels | 8,360 | $42.16 | $87,700 | $78,650 | $65,470–$99,780 |
What a bookkeeper really costs an employer
Using the Texas median bookkeeping wage of $48,910:
| Cost line (2026 rates) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median annual wage | $48,910.00 |
| Employer Social Security and Medicare (7.65%) | $3,741.61 |
| Federal unemployment tax (0.6% of the first $7,000) | $42.00 |
| Subtotal before state unemployment and benefits | $52,693.61 |
| Also paid | Texas unemployment tax (rate depends on your employer history), health and retirement benefits, paid leave, software seats, equipment, recruiting, training and the time you spend managing the work |
The 7.65% is 6.2% Social Security (on wages up to the 2026 base of $184,500) plus 1.45% Medicare. The federal unemployment figure is the 0.6% net rate after the standard state credit on the first $7,000 of each employee’s wages.
A part-time comparison
Most very small businesses do not need 2,080 hours of bookkeeping a year. Suppose yours needs 10 hours a month. At the Texas mean of $24.85 an hour, 10 hours is $248.50 a month in wages plus about $19.01 of employer payroll tax, before you add recruiting, software and review time. RazaPro’s bookkeeping-only plans are $75 a month up to 150 transactions, $100 up to 300 and $120 up to 500, each covering up to 5 accounts.
This is not a like-for-like comparison. An hourly employee has no transaction cap and can do other tasks. An outsourced plan has a defined scope, a month-end close schedule and no hiring or payroll work for you. Which is cheaper depends on your transaction volume and on whether you need someone in the office. See what outsourced bookkeeping includes and costs and how to hire an outsourced bookkeeper.
Common questions
Does bookkeeper pay differ by experience? The BLS tables above show a spread: the 10th percentile earns about $33,480 a year statewide and the 90th percentile about $72,810. The BLS table does not break pay down by years of experience or certification.
Why do other sites show different numbers? Salary sites use job postings or self-reported pay and often cover a different job title (“bookkeeper”) than the BLS category (bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks). We use BLS because it is a government survey with a stated method and date.
Do these numbers include benefits? No. They are wages only.
Where do Houston and Dallas rank? In this data Dallas-Fort Worth has a mean of $54,820 and Houston $52,280.
This article is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice.
Data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates, queried October 3, 2026. RazaPro prices as published on that date.