Accountants & auditors

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Total Workforce

1.96M

Average Age

44.1

Average Salary

$78,740

Average Male Salary

$97,939

Average Female Salary

$66,432

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Accountants & auditors are most often employed by the Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping & payroll services industry. The average yearly wage for Accountants & auditors was $78,740 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Accountants & auditors by wage are Advertising sales agents, Insurance underwriters, and Radiation therapists.

Accountants & auditors are part of the Business & financial operations occupations, along with Agents & business managers of artists, performers, & athletes, Buyers & purchasing agents, farm products, Wholesale & retail buyers, except farm products, Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, & farm products, Claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners, & investigators, and 24 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Accountants & auditors are Lake View & Lincoln Park PUMA, IL, Stamford & Greenwich Towns PUMA, CT, and Irvine City (Central) PUMA, CA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Accountants & auditors are Lake View & Lincoln Park PUMA, IL, Stamford & Greenwich Towns PUMA, CT, and Springfield (South), West Springfield & Franconia PUMA, VA.

Photo by paul bica

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

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Accountants & auditors and on wages and locations 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 Prefabricated wood buildings & mobile homes. Accountants & auditors are paid most in San Jose City (Southeast/Evergreen) PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in Lake View & Lincoln Park PUMA, IL.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$78,740

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,303

In 2018, Accountants & auditors earned an average of $78,740, $24,851 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Advertising sales agents make somewhat more than Accountants & auditors while Insurance underwriters make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Accountants & auditors as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.385

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Accountants & auditors had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.385, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Accountants & auditors (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Accountants & auditors.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Accountants & auditors

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Accountants & auditors.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Accountants & auditors, by number of employees, are Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping & payroll services, Construction, and Banking & related activities.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Accountants & auditors, by average wage, are Prefabricated wood buildings & mobile homes, Engine, turbine, & power transmission equipment manufacturing , Metal ore mining, Railroad rolling stock manufacturing, Construction, & mining & oil & gas field machinery manufacturing , and Aluminum production & processing.

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Industries by Share

1.96M

2018 Workforce

± 34,181

0.121%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 2.46%

The number of people employed as Accountants & auditors has been growing at a rate of 0.121%, from 1,961,730 people in 2017 to 1,964,095 people in 2018.

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 22.6%, followed by Construction with 3.83% and Banking & related activities with 3.55%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Accountants & auditors in the US. The average age of male Accountants & auditors in the workforce is 43.4 and of female Accountants & auditors is 44.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Accountants & auditors is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

767k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 21,450

1.2M

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 26,751

60.9% of Accountants & auditors are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Accountants & auditors.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Accountants & auditors

White (Non-Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

68% of Accountants & auditors are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 11.5% of Accountants & auditors, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Accountants & auditors.

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Age by Gender

43.4

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.398

44.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.285

The median age of Accountants & auditors is 44.1, and Male employees are generally 1.3 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

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 a relatively high number of Accountants & auditors hold a major in Business.

Majors

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

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

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Skills

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, and Writing. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Accountants & auditors need more than the average amount of Operations Analysis, Management of Financial Resources, and Mathematics.