Accountants & auditors

Detailed Occupation

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2021 Workforce

1.8M

Average Age

Estimated Job Growth

4.3%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$85,762

Average Male Salary

$104,927

Average Female Salary

$73,239

About

Accountants & auditors are most often employed by the Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping & payroll services industry. The average yearly wage for Accountants & auditors was $85,762 in 2021.

The locations that employ the most Accountants & auditors are Irvine City (Central) PUMA, CA, Lake View & Lincoln Park PUMA, IL, and South of I-10 & Inside Loop I-610 PUMA, TX. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Accountants & auditors are Forest Hills & Rego Park PUMA, NY, South of I-10 & Inside Loop I-610 PUMA, TX, and Oyster Bay Town (Central) PUMA, NY.

Management, business, & financial occupations Management, business, science, & arts occupations Business & financial operations occupations

Employment and salary information for the Accountants & auditors workforce. Accountants & auditors workforce in 2021 was 1,802,352 people, of which 60.5% were women and 39.5% were men. Accountants & auditors are paid most in Colusa, Glenn, Tehama & Trinity Counties PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in Forest Hills & Rego Park PUMA, NY.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

712,233

Male Workforce

± 20.7k

1,090,119

Female Workforce

± 25.5k

The Accountants & auditors workforce in 2021 was 1,802,352 people (60.5% women and 39.5% men). This implies an average annual growth of −5.55% between 2014 (1,908,239) and 2021 (1,802,352).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Accountants & auditors.

During 2021, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were New Jersey ($110,891), Connecticut ($108,734), and New York ($101,861).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$85,762

AVERAGE WAGE

#97 in the ranking (2021)

$59,596

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2021, Accountants & auditors earned an average of $85,762, $26,166 more than the average national salary of $59,596

The graph shows the ranking of Accountants & auditors in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2021.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.382

WAGE GINI

In 2021, Accountants & auditors had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.382, which is lower than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Accountants & auditors (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Accountants & auditors compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Accountants & auditors and on wages for those in the field. Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping & payroll services is the industry that employs the most Accountants & auditors, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Accountants & auditors, by average wage, is Railroad rolling stock manufacturing ($154,988).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

1.8M

2021 Workforce

± 32,762

−1.41%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 2.6%

This graphic shows the share of Accountants & auditors employed by various industries. Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping & payroll services employs the largest share of Accountants & auditors at 79.1%, followed by Construction with 11.1% and Banking & related activities with 9.83%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Accountants & auditors in the US. The workforce of Accountants & auditors in 2021 was 1,802,352 people, with 60.5% woman, and 39.5% men. The average age of male Accountants & auditors in the workforce is 43.4 and of female Accountants & auditors is 44.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Accountants & auditors is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Accountants & auditors in 2021 was 1,802,352 people, with 60.5% woman, and 39.5% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 25 to 29 years (222,419 people), 30 to 34 years (222,132 people), and 35 to 39 years (214,822 people). Among them they concentrated 36.6% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2021, 9.01% of Accountants & auditors workers were Hispanic and 91% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (72.3%), Puerto Rican (16.9)%, and Cuban (10.8)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2021, 72.2% of the Accountants & auditors workforce were White, of which 58.6% were women and 41.4% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Asian (12%) and Black (8.88%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Accountants & auditors from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Accountants & auditors is Business but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2021 were Business.

Among the necessary skills for Accountants & auditors, Reading Comprehension stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Accountants & auditors need more than the average amount of Management of Financial Resources.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Accountants & auditors in 2021 (counting all academic degrees) were Business (1,103,263 people), Social Sciences (73,168 people), and Education (33,876 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Accountants & auditors workers were Bachelors Degree (1,038,567 people), Graduate Degree (475,837 people), and Associates Degree (141,869 people).

The graphic shows the Accountants & auditors workforce by gender and educational level.

Skills

Chart

Value

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Accountants & auditors from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accountants & auditors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking.

Projections

Projections on job growth for Accountants and Auditors from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Accountants and Auditors are expected to see a growth of 4.3% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow more than the national average.

Job Growth

For growth projections, the closest comparible industry reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is Accountants and Auditors.

4.3%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Accountants & auditors. This profession is expected to grow more than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.