Accountants and Auditors: salary, outlook & degrees
Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data.
Middle half $67,020–$109,810. 1,449,500 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
92% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $78,204.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 115,300 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Considerable preparation (usually a bachelor's).
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting | 50% | Accounting |
| Business Management And Administration | 7% | Business Administration |
| Finance | 6% | Finance · Insurance |
| General Business | 5% | Business |
| Economics | 3% | Economics |
| Psychology | 2% | Psychology |
| Biology | 1% | Biology |
| Marketing And Marketing Research | 1% | Marketing · Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations |
| Communications | 1% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| Political Science And Government | 1% | Political Science |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $111,530 |
| New York | $102,640 |
| New Jersey | $100,830 |
| Massachusetts | $99,460 |
| Connecticut | $97,550 |
| California | $97,050 |
| Colorado | $97,030 |
| Washington | $96,550 |
| Rhode Island | $95,820 |
| Delaware | $95,020 |
| Virginia | $93,290 |
| Maryland | $89,370 |
| Oregon | $85,800 |
| New Hampshire | $83,470 |
| Alaska | $83,460 |
| North Carolina | $82,050 |
| Georgia | $81,900 |
| Minnesota | $81,600 |
| Nevada | $81,600 |
| Texas | $80,920 |
| Illinois | $80,230 |
| Utah | $79,990 |
| Arizona | $79,970 |
| Wisconsin | $79,400 |
| Oklahoma | $79,370 |
| Ohio | $79,320 |
| Florida | $79,250 |
| Kansas | $79,000 |
| Pennsylvania | $79,000 |
| Vermont | $78,890 |
| South Dakota | $78,880 |
| Michigan | $78,820 |
| New Mexico | $78,580 |
| Indiana | $77,720 |
| Wyoming | $77,620 |
| Maine | $77,480 |
| Iowa | $77,440 |
| Tennessee | $76,840 |
| Missouri | $76,590 |
| South Carolina | $76,560 |
| Montana | $75,810 |
| North Dakota | $75,730 |
| Kentucky | $75,270 |
| Alabama | $74,880 |
| Idaho | $74,730 |
| Hawaii | $74,500 |
| Louisiana | $73,810 |
| West Virginia | $73,320 |
| Nebraska | $72,080 |
| Mississippi | $68,100 |
| Arkansas | $66,330 |
| VI | $59,060 |
| GU | $50,410 |
| PR | $43,530 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$80,920
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$78,990
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$78,630
- Jacksonville$79,960
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$81,090
- Tallahassee$61,840
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$79,420
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville$75,860
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$102,140
- Richmond$84,220
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$79,450
- Roanoke$77,240
- Charlottesville$81,530
- Kingsport-Bristol$75,940
- Lynchburg$78,990
- Winchester$77,660
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$94,360
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$110,730
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$96,340
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$121,700
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$92,110
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$83,920
- Fresno$78,690
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$90,340
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
Knowledge used
- Economics and Accounting
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Law and Government
- Administration and Management
Work styles
- Attention to Detail
- Integrity
- Dependability
- Cautiousness
- Intellectual Curiosity
People in this job tend to have Conventional (organizing), Enterprising (leading), Investigative (analytical) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Accountants and Auditors: questions
How much do accountants and Auditors make?
Accountants and Auditors earn a U.S. median $83,680 a year; the middle half earn $67,020 to $109,810 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $76,144 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is accountants and Auditors a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 5.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 115,300 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be an accountants and Auditor?
BLS lists the typical entry education as bachelor's degree. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is accounting (50%).
How much do accountants and Auditors make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $79,250 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $83,680 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 13-2011. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Accountants and Auditors: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/accountants-and-auditors.