{"id":904,"date":"2023-05-13T07:40:03","date_gmt":"2023-05-13T07:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/?p=904"},"modified":"2024-02-06T05:57:27","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T05:57:27","slug":"how-many-accountants-are-there-in-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/by-the-numbers\/how-many-accountants-are-there-in-us\/","title":{"rendered":"How Many Accountants Are There in the U.S.? [2024 Stats]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Based on revenue generation, the U.S. accounting industry is one of the world\u2019s largest. For example, it generated over $144 billion in 2022, with further increases projected for 2023\u2014an expected number with over 660,000 licensed CPAs within the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But how many accountants are there in the U.S. exactly? Are men the dominating gender? What is the average CPA salary? We answer all these questions below!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s get to it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Top 5 Stats on U.S. Certified Public Accountants<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>The total number of CPAs in the U.S. in 2022 was 655,612.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On average, around 136,400 openings for CPAs and auditors are projected each year between 2021 and 2031.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>With a representation of 56.8%, female accountants dominate the U.S. labor market.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CPAs in the District of Columbia earned the highest salaries in 2021, averaging $124,859.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Based on Deloitte\u2019s FY 2022 findings, the company employed over 156,000 employees in 2022 in the U.S.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Many CPAs Are There in the U.S.?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Half of all accountants working in the U.S. are certified public accountants (CPAs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. The total number of CPAs in the U.S. in 2022 was 655,612.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(National Association of State Boards of Accountancy) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cpacredits.com\/resources\/how-many-cpas-are-there\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CPA Credits)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest NASBA numbers released in late 2022 reveal that over 665,600 CPAs are actively working in the U.S. However, almost 1.4 million accountants operate in the U.S., meaning the remainder are regular accountants without specialized CPA training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Over 88,600 accounting businesses are operating in the U.S. in 2023.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(IBISWorld)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest IBISWorld report shows that over 88,652 accounting businesses offer their services to U.S. customers, which is a minor decline of 0.1% from 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of right now, California houses the majority of them with 13,029 businesses. Florida and Texas are right behind, with 8,918 and 7,464 companies, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Demand for CPAs in the U.S.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Accounting is expected to grow 6% until 2031 and become an in-demand position in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. On average, around 136,400 openings for CPAs and auditors are projected annually between 2021 and 2031.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(Fortune)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Per the Occupational Outlook Handbook of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the accounting profession will have to fill out over 130,000 positions every year until 2031. The increased demand is due to many accountants switching careers or retiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. California, Texas, and New York have the largest accounting markets in the U.S.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(CareerExplorer)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the largest state by population, California employs the most accountants in the U.S. (close to 145,00). Texas, with 116,000, and New York, with over 108,000, take the second and third places, coinciding with the number of residents they have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Accountants Demographics<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, let\u2019s dig deeper into the demographics of the accounting profession to understand the job\u2019s appeal among different genders, races, and ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>5. With a representation of 56.8%, female accountants dominate the U.S. labor market.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(Zippia)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Zippia\u2019s latest demographical and statistical data on U.S. accountants, women were in charge of the field, with a majority of 57%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, despite their expertise, they earned $70,645 on average, amounting to around $6,000 less than their male counterparts\u201492 cents for every $1 earned by men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>6. Female accountants prefer working as escrow officers (85% of all workers), customs verifiers (80%), and credit assistants (80%).<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The same research also revealed the preference of both genders to specialize in different accounting positions: while women preferred working as credit assistants, customs verifiers, and credit assistants, men chose to be head analysts (86%), chartered finance analysts (90%), and renewable energy system finance specialists (92%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>7. Almost two-thirds of all U.S. CPAs (64%) are white.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(Zippia)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to ethnicity, the vast majority of U.S. accountants are white.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite being the second and third most represented race, Asian (12.4%) and Hispanic (10.8%) accountants are far less prevalent. Finally, African Americans constitute 8.5% of all accountants, whereas the remainder are of an unknown ethnicity or American Indians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>8. Despite their minor representation, accountants of Asian descent earned the biggest average salaries in the U.S. ($80,475).<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(Zippia)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second biggest earners are white accountants, with an average salary of $77,280, while Black and Hispanic accountants follow behind with $72,270 and $74,666, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>9. The average age of U.S. accountants is 43.7 years.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(Zippia)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, female accountants are older on average across all represented ethnicities, with female white and African Americans working later in their lives (47 years on average).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Average Salaries for Accountants<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The average accounting salaries in the U.S. differ by state and are influenced by a multitude of factors, such as job availability and the standard of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>10. CPAs in the District of Columbia earned the highest salaries in 2021, averaging $124,859.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(Zippia)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With an average salary of almost $125,000 in 2021, the District of Columbia is the top destination for CPAs looking for a high income! After all, it houses the country\u2019s capital, where quality CPAs are in very high demand and regard!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New Jersey followed suit, with an average salary of $105,526, while Delaware trailed behind with an average annual salary of $97,851.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>11. With an average salary of almost $51,000, Wyoming accountants were paid the least in 2021.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(Zippia)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The same research also shows that Wyoming is not the go-to destination if you are an accountant since the average salary there amounted to $50,931 in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, Nebraska, with $51,787, North Dakota, with $53,128, and Idaho, with $53,767, are also not desirable states for accountants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Biggest Accounting Companies<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Employing over 1.3 million employees, Deloitte, PwC, Ernst &amp; Young, and KPMG are the Big Four accounting firms in the U.S. and the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>12. Based on Deloitte\u2019s FY 2022 findings, the company employed over 156,000 employees in 2022 in the U.S.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(Deloitte)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Deloitte\u2019s latest facts and figures revealed the scope of the company\u2019s potential\u2014135,118 professionals, along with 21,279 administrative workers, were employed in its U.S. subsidiaries. Moreover, they recorded almost $28 billion in revenues in FY 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>13. PwC recorded revenue of almost $21 billion in the U.S. in 2022.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>(Statista)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Right behind Deloitte was PwC, which had the second-biggest revenue numbers with $20.73 billion in 2022. Ernst &amp; Young followed it closely with $19.11 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bottom Line<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, the accounting industry continues to be a vital part of the U.S. economy, providing key services to individuals and businesses everywhere. After all, without them, no company would experience or know how to record sustained growth. So whether you were thinking of becoming an accountant yourself or were just curious about the people behind the spreadsheets of U.S. companies, we hope we answered all your questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Based on revenue generation, the U.S. accounting industry is one &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/by-the-numbers\/how-many-accountants-are-there-in-us\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How Many Accountants Are There in the U.S.? [2024 Stats]<\/span> Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=904"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3778,"href":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904\/revisions\/3778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}