Accounting statistics show a large U.S. profession with substantial wage variation, steady projected demand, and a changing education pipeline. The figures below cover employment, pay, credentials, workplace requirements, CPA Exam participation, and the finances of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Dates and geographies are stated with each measure because the sources use different reporting periods.
Contents
- Employment and outlook
- Wages by percentile and industry
- Where accountants work
- Work requirements and daily conditions
- CPA Exam and education pipeline
- Public-company audit oversight
Employment and outlook
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported employment of 1,435,770 accountants and auditors in May 2023. The same BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) release reported a mean annual wage of $90,780 and a median annual wage of $79,880 for the occupation in May 2023. Source: BLS OEWS 2023.
The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook reported a median annual wage of $81,680 in May 2024. It projects employment of accountants and auditors to grow 5% from 2024 to 2034, with about 124,200 openings projected each year, on average, over that period. These are a wage observation and a forward-looking employment estimate, respectively. Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Most accountants and auditors need at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field, according to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. A separate BLS Occupational Requirements Survey measured a bachelor’s degree as required for 91.3% of accountants and auditors in 2025. The two figures describe different BLS measures: the handbook summarizes the typical entry requirement, while the survey reports the share of workers whose jobs required that degree level. Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook; BLS Occupational Requirements Survey.
Wages by percentile and industry
The May 2023 BLS OEWS distribution illustrates how widely annual pay varied across the occupation:
| May 2023 wage point | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $50,440 |
| 25th percentile | $62,720 |
| Median | $79,880 |
| 75th percentile | $103,990 |
| 90th percentile | $137,280 |
| Mean | $90,780 |
Source: BLS OEWS 2023. Percentiles identify points in the wage distribution; the mean is an average, so these measures should not be treated as interchangeable.
The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook reported that the lowest 10% of accountants and auditors earned less than $52,780 in May 2024, while the highest 10% earned more than $141,420. Industry medians in the same May 2024 report were $87,980 in finance and insurance, $86,010 in management of companies and enterprises, $81,120 in government excluding state and local education and hospitals, and $80,510 in accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services. Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
The May 2023 OEWS data also identified industries with high mean annual wages for accountants and auditors. Manufacturing and reproducing magnetic and optical media reported $133,140; web search portals, libraries, archives, and other information services reported $132,450; software publishers reported $126,250; media streaming distribution services, social networks, and other media networks and content providers reported $122,720; and computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing reported $118,090. Source: BLS OEWS 2023. These are industry-specific means for May 2023, not universal salaries for every accountant in those industries.
Where accountants work
The largest employment counts among selected industries in May 2023 were reported in accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services, with 349,320 accountants and auditors. Management of companies and enterprises employed 106,420; local government excluding schools and hospitals employed 47,580; real estate employed 44,950; and management, scientific, and technical consulting services employed 43,020. Source: BLS OEWS 2023.
The OEWS data also reported employment concentration within selected industries. Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services accounted for 31.73% of employment in its industry. Other investment pools and funds had an 8.77% accountants-and-auditors employment concentration, followed by land subdivision at 4.97%, office administrative services at 4.35%, and oil and gas extraction at 4.23%. Source: BLS OEWS 2023. The concentration figures are industry measures and are distinct from the occupation’s share of total U.S. employment.
State employment totals show another dimension of the labor market. In May 2023, California employed 148,500 accountants and auditors, Texas employed 114,410, New York employed 112,030, Florida employed 71,520, and Illinois employed 51,740. Source: BLS OEWS 2019/2023 search result state table.
The same state table reported accountants and auditors per thousand jobs of 14.73 in the District of Columbia, 13.88 in Colorado, 11.76 in New York, 11.15 in South Dakota, and 10.95 in Delaware in May 2023. Source: BLS OEWS 2019/2023 search result state table. Counts and jobs-per-thousand measures answer different questions: one describes workforce size, while the other describes occupational concentration relative to jobs in the area.
Work requirements and daily conditions
The BLS Occupational Requirements Survey provides 2025 measurements of how accounting work was organized. Work was controlled by people for 26.2% of accountants and auditors, while work was self-paced for 73.5%. Telework was routinely allowed for 68.4%, prior work experience was required for 70.7%, and on-the-job training was required for 74.1%. Source: BLS Occupational Requirements Survey.
The survey also reported physical and communication conditions. A quiet noise exposure was present for 38.3% of accountants and auditors. Workers spent 96.2% of the workday sitting and 3.8% standing on average. Speaking was occasionally required for 89.1%, and driving was required for 12.1%. Source: BLS Occupational Requirements Survey. These statistics describe measured job requirements and conditions in 2025; they do not describe every individual workday.
CPA Exam and education pipeline
NASBA’s 2024 report recorded 74,165 CPA Exam candidates who sat for the exam. Of those reported measures, 27,994 were new candidates and 13,070 completed their final CPA Exam section. State pass rates among the figures provided were 61.9% in Nebraska, 58.6% in Utah, and 57.4% in Montana. Source: NASBA 2024 Report.
The report also identified universities with large groups of first-time CPA Exam candidates in 2024: the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign had 524, Baruch College CUNY had 502, and California State University Fullerton had 472. Source: NASBA 2024 Report. The candidate counts and state pass rates are separate measures and should not be used to infer a school-level pass rate.
The AICPA 2025 Trends Report described both contraction and renewed activity in the education pipeline. Accounting degree graduates fell to 55,152 in 2023–24, a 6.6% year-over-year decline. Accounting bachelor’s degrees numbered 40,817, down 3.3% year over year. Accounting and taxation master’s degrees declined to 14,335, approximately 15% lower than the prior year. Source: AICPA 2025 Trends Report.
The same report said accounting enrollment grew for two consecutive semesters by 12% year over year in 2024–25. It recorded 42,626 new candidates entering the CPA Exam pipeline in 2023, the highest tally since 2016; 28,082 new candidates in 2024; and 16,448 new candidates in the first six months of 2025. Source: AICPA 2025 Trends Report. The 2025 figure covers only the first six months of that year.
Public accounting firms responding to the AICPA survey hired 11,985 new graduates in 2024, and 75% of those new hires were accounting graduates. Among firms that hired, 75% expected to add a similar number of staff or more in 2025, while 18% anticipated lower hiring rates in 2025. Source: AICPA 2025 Trends Report. These percentages describe survey responses, not the full population of public accounting firms.
Public-company audit oversight
The PCAOB 2024 Annual Report provides financial statistics for the organization responsible for oversight of registered public accounting firms. PCAOB total net operating revenue was $360.1 million in 2024, including $331.0 million in issuer accounting support fee revenue, $27.8 million in broker-dealer accounting support fee revenue, and $1.3 million in registration fees and annual fees from registered public accounting firms. Interest income and other revenue was $11.6 million. Source: PCAOB 2024 Annual Report.
Total operating expenses were $370.5 million. The largest listed expense was registration and inspections at $201.3 million. Other reported expenses were $66.7 million for administration and general, $32.4 million for enforcement, $20.8 million for economic and risk analysis, $19.8 million for information technology, $15.7 million for board and related activities, and $13.8 million for standard-setting. Personnel costs were $283.5 million, and operating lease cost was $15.2 million. Source: PCAOB 2024 Annual Report.
The report also recorded $38.6 million in net monetary penalties and $10.0 million in net scholarship payments in 2024. PCAOB increase in net assets without donor restrictions was $29.8 million, while net assets without donor restrictions ended at $250.2 million. Cash and cash equivalents plus restricted cash ended at $249.6 million. Source: PCAOB 2024 Annual Report. These are PCAOB organizational financial measures for 2024, separate from employer wages, occupational employment, and CPA Exam statistics.