Payroll services in New York, NY
The New York metro has 457 payroll service firms employing 12,800 people. Average pay is $123,436 — 52% above the national average.
Hire a firm, or run it yourself
Payroll is the one accounting job with a real do-it-yourself option, and the choice turns almost entirely on headcount. Below is what the software route costs at list price. There is no matching column for local firms because they do not publish rates — payroll is quoted per client, on headcount and pay frequency. Inventing a figure would be worse than leaving the comparison one-sided.
| Employees | Plan that fits | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Simple | $67 | $804 |
| 10 | Simple | $109 | $1,308 |
| 25 | Plus | $380 | $4,560 |
| 50 | Plus | $680 | $8,160 |
| 100 | Premium | $2,380 | $28,560 |
Under ten people
At this size the software wins on cost by a wide margin and the work is genuinely automatic: filings, deposits and year-end forms all go out without you. A local firm is worth it only if your situation is odd — tipped staff, several states, union rules.
Ten to fifty
The point where both answers are defensible. New York payroll firms average 28 employees each, against 26.6 nationally — these are companies with hundreds of clients, not one-person shops, and what you buy from them is somebody who picks up the phone when a filing bounces.
Fifty and up
Cost stops being the question. At this size the risks are multi-state registration, garnishments, benefits administration and audit trails, and the decision is usually between a full-service firm and a PEO that becomes co-employer. Software still runs the mechanics underneath either.
Prices are list prices published by the vendor and were correct on 1 September 2026; promotions change them often. We are not paid for this recommendation. Current pricing.
The New York market in numbers
| Establishments | 457 | 4,560 nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Employees | 12,800 | 121,382 nationwide |
| Average annual pay | $123,436 | $81,145 nationwide |
| Employees per firm | 28 | 26.6 nationwide |
At 28 employees per establishment, New York is a market of large practices. Nationally the same code averages 26.6 (large practices), so firms here are larger than typical — which is the clearest signal of what you will be quoted.
A concentrated field: far fewer establishments than any other accounting code, and much larger ones — this is a business of scale.
Payroll services in other metros
- Los Angeles, CA — 245 firms
- Miami, FL — 209 firms
- Chicago, IL — 146 firms
- Dallas, TX — 146 firms
- Houston, TX — 123 firms
- Philadelphia, PA — 108 firms
- Atlanta, GA — 108 firms
- Phoenix, AZ — 103 firms
Other accounting services in New York
- CPA firms — 4,261 firms
- Bookkeeping services — 3,295 firms
- Tax preparation — 1,839 firms
Questions
- Is payroll software cheaper than a payroll company in New York?
- At list price, software for ten employees costs about $109 a month and for fifty about $680. Local payroll firms do not publish rates — they quote per client on headcount and pay frequency — so a direct comparison is not possible without asking them.
- When is it worth hiring a payroll firm instead?
- Under ten employees the software route almost always wins on cost and the work is genuinely automatic. Above fifty the question stops being cost and becomes multi-state registration, garnishments and benefits administration, where a firm or a PEO earns its fee. Between the two, both answers are defensible.
- What do accountants earn in New York, NY?
- Average annual pay in this category is $123,436 across New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area, against $81,145 nationally. Pay is a rough proxy for what a market charges: firms in expensive cities bill more because they pay more.
- How do I check that an accountant is actually licensed?
- The IRS publishes a directory of credentialed preparers, and every state board of accountancy runs a licence lookup. The listings on this page come from the IRS record, which shows a credential — it does not say anything about the quality of the work, and this site does not rank firms.
Firm list: IRS Return Preparer PTIN listing, released under the Freedom of Information Act, February 2026. Market figures: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022. We publish firm-level records only — no individual names or street addresses. Last updated .