Accountants & auditors

Detailed Occupation

Add Comparison

2020 Workforce

1.83M

Average Age

Estimated Job Growth

4.3%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$80,994

Average Male Salary

$99,737

Average Female Salary

$69,124

About

Accountants & auditors are most often employed by the Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping & payroll services industry. The average yearly wage for Accountants & auditors was $80,994 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Accountants & auditors by wage are Emergency management directors, Real estate brokers & sales agents, and Agents & business managers of artists, performers, & athletes.

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, South of I-10 & Inside Loop I-610 PUMA, TX, and Irvine City (Central) PUMA, CA. The top 3 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 North of I-30 PUMA, TX (79500US4802313).

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 Railroad rolling stock manufacturing. Accountants & auditors are paid most in Colusa, Glenn, Tehama & Trinity Counties PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in Forest Hills & Rego Park PUMA, NY.

Yearly Wage

$80,994

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,372

In 2020, Accountants & auditors earned an average of $80,994, $25,040 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Agents & business managers of artists, performers, & athletes make somewhat more than Accountants & auditors while Emergency management directors make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Accountants & auditors as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.382

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Accountants & auditors had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.382, 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.

Most Common

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

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Accountants & auditors, by average wage, are Railroad rolling stock manufacturing, Agricultural chemical manufacturing, and Pipeline transportation.

Industries by Share

1.83M

2020 Workforce

± 32,990

−1.64%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 2.58%

The number of people employed as Accountants & auditors has been declining at a rate of −1.64%, from 1,858,577 people in 2019 to 1,828,141 people in 2020.

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 24%, followed by Construction with 3.46% and Banking & related activities with 3.17%.

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 44.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Accountants & auditors is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

709k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 20,621

1.12M

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 25,876

61.2% 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)

68.4% of Accountants & auditors are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 11.6% 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

43.4

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.417

44.4

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.294

The median age of Accountants & auditors is 44, and Male employees are generally 1.06 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.