Accountants & auditors

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2019 Workforce

1.64M

Average Age

43.8

Estimated Job Growth

4.3%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$81,256

Average Male Salary

$98,721

Average Female Salary

$69,764

About

Accountants & auditors are most often employed by the Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping & payroll services industry. The average yearly wage for Accountants & auditors was $81,256 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Accountants & auditors by wage are Diagnostic medical sonographers, Firstline supervisors of nonretail sales workers, and Marine engineers & naval architects.

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 Irvine City (Central) PUMA, CA, Chino & Chino Hills Cities PUMA, CA, and North of I-30 PUMA, TX (79500US4802313). The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Accountants & auditors are San Juan Municipio (Sur) PUMA, PR, Forest Hills & Rego Park PUMA, NY, and North Hempstead Town (South) PUMA, NY.

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 Paperboard container manufacturing. Accountants & auditors are paid most in Murray Hill, Gramercy & Stuyvesant Town PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in San Juan Municipio (Sur) PUMA, PR.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$81,256

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,467

In 2019, Accountants & auditors earned an average of $81,256, $25,732 more than than the average national salary of $55,524.

Marine engineers & naval architects make somewhat more than Accountants & auditors while Diagnostic medical sonographers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Accountants & auditors as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.387

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Accountants & auditors had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.387, which is lower than 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).

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.

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.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Accountants & auditors, by number of employees, are Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping & payroll services, Construction, Insurance carriers, Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments, Banking & related activities, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Executive offices & legislative bodies, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Computer Systems Design, Public finance activities, and Lessors of real estate, and offices of real estate agents and brokers.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Accountants & auditors, by average wage, are Paperboard container manufacturing, Cutlery & hand tool manufacturing, and Railroad rolling stock manufacturing.

Industries by Share

1.64M

2019 Workforce

± 31,304

−16.3%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 3.08%

The number of people employed as Accountants & auditors has been declining at a rate of −16.3%, from 1,964,095 people in 2018 to 1,643,512 people in 2019.

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 26.1%, followed by Construction with 3.3% and Insurance carriers with 3.25%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Accountants & auditors in the US. The average age of male Accountants & auditors in the workforce is 43 and of female Accountants & auditors is 44.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Accountants & auditors is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

652k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 19,785

991k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 24,364

60.3% of Accountants & auditors are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Accountants & auditors.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Accountants & auditors

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

67.3% of Accountants & auditors are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 12.2% 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.

Age by Sex

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.442

44.4

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.306

The median age of Accountants & auditors is 43.8, and Male employees are generally 1.33 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

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

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

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

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 and Auditors. This profession is expected to grow more than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.