CPA statistics show a profession with uneven exam outcomes, a changing student pipeline, and sustained demand for accounting work. The latest figures below cover U.S. CPA examination performance through 2026 Q1, education and hiring through 2025, and labor-market measures from 2024 and 2025. Each figure is tied to its stated period and geography.
Contents
- CPA exam pass rates
- How pass rates changed by section
- Candidates, jurisdictions, and age
- Accounting education and the candidate pipeline
- Hiring, salaries, and firm economics
- Accountant employment and pay
- What the work looks like
CPA exam pass rates
The AICPA CPA Exam scoring and pass rates report gives a section-by-section view of exam performance. In 2025 Q1, the pass rate was 44.30% for AUD, 41.67% for FAR, 62.03% for REG, 37.64% for BAR, 61.23% for ISC, and 74.94% for TCP. These are pass rates for that quarter, not the percentage of candidates who complete the entire exam.
The second quarter was stronger in every listed section. AUD reached 49.05%, FAR 43.52%, REG 63.58%, BAR 47.26%, ISC 71.96%, and TCP 80.63%. The third quarter produced AUD at 50.03%, FAR at 43.07%, REG at 66.05%, BAR at 39.46%, ISC at 66.91%, and TCP at 76.68%.
In 2025 Q4, AUD had a 48.78% pass rate, FAR 40.20%, REG 60.73%, BAR 39.71%, ISC 66.75%, and TCP 76.72%. Across the full year, the cumulative rates were 48.21% for AUD, 42.12% for FAR, 63.12% for REG, 41.94% for BAR, 67.79% for ISC, and 77.65% for TCP.
The 2025 cumulative figures are useful for a broad annual comparison, while quarterly figures show how much outcomes can move within the same year. They should not be read as individual odds for a particular candidate because the dataset reports aggregate section results.
How pass rates changed by section
The AICPA 2024 Q1 CPA Exam Pass Rates report recorded AUD at 44.63%, FAR at 41.92%, REG at 63.42%, BAR at 42.94%, ISC at 50.93%, and TCP at 82.36% in 2024 Q1. The 2025 Q1 figures therefore show a similar AUD and FAR result, a lower BAR result, a higher ISC result, and a lower TCP result than the corresponding 2024 quarter.
The latest supplied quarter, 2026 Q1, recorded AUD at 47.80%, FAR at 43.46%, REG at 66.65%, BAR at 41.30%, ISC at 66.79%, and TCP at 79.28%. The comparison table keeps the geography and measurement unit consistent: all figures are U.S. CPA Exam section pass rates reported by AICPA for the named quarter.
| Exam section | 2024 Q1 | 2025 Q1 | 2026 Q1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | 44.63% | 44.30% | 47.80% |
| FAR | 41.92% | 41.67% | 43.46% |
| REG | 63.42% | 62.03% | 66.65% |
| BAR | 42.94% | 37.64% | 41.30% |
| ISC | 50.93% | 61.23% | 66.79% |
| TCP | 82.36% | 74.94% | 79.28% |
The largest visible movement in this three-point comparison is ISC, rising from 50.93% in 2024 Q1 to 66.79% in 2026 Q1. TCP remained the highest of the six sections in each of the three listed Q1 snapshots, while FAR was below 44% in all three. Those observations describe the reported snapshots and do not establish a forecast.
Candidates, jurisdictions, and age
NASBA reported that 74,165 candidates sat for the CPA Exam in the United States across its 55 jurisdictions in 2024. The same NASBA 2024 Candidate Performance report release recorded 27,994 new candidates and 13,070 candidates who completed their final section. NASBA has published CPA Exam performance data since 1985.
State-level results varied. Nebraska led 2024 CPA Exam pass rates at 61.9%, followed by Utah at 58.6% and Montana at 57.4%. These are jurisdiction-level figures for 2024, while the AICPA section figures above are organized by exam section and quarter; the two sets should not be substituted for each other.
The NASBA Q4 CPA Exam Candidate Data report also separates 2024 pass rates by age. Candidates under age 22 had a 64.1% pass rate. The rate was 53.7% for candidates age 22–23, 45.7% for age 24–25, 46.1% for age 26–27, 46.9% for age 28–29, and 43.5% for candidates age 30 and older.
The age figures are aggregate 2024 results across NASBA’s 55 U.S. jurisdictions. They describe differences between age groups, not a rule about any one candidate’s result. They also use a different grouping from the quarterly section tables, so they are best used as context about the candidate population rather than as a replacement for section-level preparation planning.
NASBA’s 2024 report release identified large first-time candidate groups at several schools. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign had 524 first-time CPA Exam candidates, Baruch College CUNY had 502, and California State University Fullerton had 472.
Accounting education and the candidate pipeline
The AICPA 2025 Trends Report counted 55,152 U.S. accounting graduates earning bachelor’s or master’s degrees in 2023–24. That total included 40,817 accounting bachelor’s-degree recipients and 14,335 accounting and taxation master’s-degree recipients.
The number of graduates fell 6.6% year over year in 2023–24. Bachelor’s-degree recipients fell 3.3%, while accounting and taxation master’s-degree recipients fell about 15%. The figures refer to U.S. degree recipients and year-over-year changes reported in the AICPA report.
The CPA candidate pipeline also changed. New CPA Exam candidates entering the pipeline numbered 42,626 in 2023, 28,082 in 2024, and 16,448 in the first half of 2025. The 2025 figure covers only the first half of that year, so it is not directly comparable with the full-year counts without an additional annual measure.
For small-business readers, these education and pipeline statistics help explain why recruiting conditions can feel different from one firm or market to another. A declining number of graduates and a smaller flow of new candidates can affect the available pool, but the supplied figures do not quantify how any individual firm’s hiring costs or staffing levels changed.
Hiring, salaries, and firm economics
The AICPA 2025 Trends Report found that 75% of firms that hired in 2024 expected to add the same number of staff or more in 2025. At the same time, 18% of those firms expected lower hiring rates in 2025. The responses therefore indicate mixed expectations rather than a single direction for every firm.
Public accounting firms responding to the 2025 survey hired 11,985 new graduates in 2024, and 75% of those new hires were accounting graduates. This is a survey result, not a count of every public accounting firm in the country.
The 2025 MAP Survey reported median salaries of $60,834 for a new graduate with a bachelor’s degree and $67,750 for a new graduate with a master’s degree. The difference between the two reported medians is $6,916, but the source provides the medians as separate figures and does not establish that degree level alone caused the difference.
Compensation per equity partner increased 10.2% overall in the 2025 MAP Survey. More than 1,400 CPA firms provided data, and 1,073 firms completed the survey. Firms with revenue of $5 million or below supplied 81% of responses, making the survey especially relevant as a reference point for smaller practices while still not representing every small firm.
Accountant employment and pay
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook reported employment of 1,579,800 accountants and auditors in 2024. It projects employment of 1,652,600 in 2034, with 5% growth from 2024 to 2034. The same BLS source projects about 124,200 openings for accountants and auditors each year, on average, from 2024 to 2034.
The median annual wage was $81,680 in May 2024. The lowest 10% earned less than $52,780, while the highest 10% earned more than $141,420. These are U.S. wage measures for accountants and auditors, not CPA-only wages.
Median pay varied by industry in May 2024:
| Industry | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| Finance and insurance | $87,980 |
| Management of companies and enterprises | $86,010 |
| Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals | $81,120 |
| Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services | $80,510 |
The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook says a bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field is typically required for accountants and auditors. The BLS Occupational Requirements Survey adds that a bachelor’s degree was required for 91.3% of accountants and auditors in 2025, prior work experience for 70.7%, and on-the-job training for 74.1%.
What the work looks like
The BLS Occupational Requirements Survey provides additional 2025 measures about work conditions. Work was self-paced for 73.5% of accountants and auditors, while work was controlled by people for 26.2%. Telework was routinely allowed for 68.4%.
Speaking was required for greater than 99.5% of accountants and auditors. A quiet noise exposure was present for 38.3%, and accountants and auditors spent 96.2% of the workday sitting on average. Climbing structure-related ramps or stairs was required for 4.2%.
Together, these measures describe a predominantly desk-based occupation with frequent communication and substantial access to telework, according to the 2025 BLS survey measures. They are occupation-wide statistics rather than a guarantee about a particular CPA firm, role, office, or client schedule.