Accountant Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Accountants and Auditors earn a median of $83,680 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is 64% above the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $40.23/hr. The middle half earn between $67,020 and $109,810. The top 10% earn $144,090 or more.

The median hourly wage for accountants and auditors is $40.23 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $83,680 annual median works out to about $6,970 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of accountants and auditors earn less than $56,020 a year and the bottom quarter less than $67,020 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

Some do. $100,000 sits between the median ($83,680) and the 75th percentile ($109,810), so roughly a quarter to a half of accountants and auditors earn more than that (BLS OEWS, May 2025). In 3 states the median itself is above $100,000: District of Columbia ($111,530), New York ($102,640), New Jersey ($100,830).

The highest state medians for Accountants and Auditors are District of Columbia ($111,530), New York ($102,640), New Jersey ($100,830) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

BLS does not split accountants and auditors' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $144,090, against a median of $83,680 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are District of Columbia ($111,530), New York ($102,640), New Jersey ($100,830). BLS also counts 4 specialty careers inside this occupation (forensic accountant, internal auditor, IT auditor, transfer pricing specialist), which share its federal pay figures.

Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Accountants and Auditors, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as considerable preparation.

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 5.0% over 2025–2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 115,300 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Accountants and auditors prepare and examine financial records, identify potential areas of opportunity and risk, and provide solutions for businesses and individuals. A core O*NET task: review accounts for discrepancies and reconcile differences. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Analytical or scientific software, Business intelligence and data analysis software.

Most work more than 40. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 50% of accountants and auditors usually work more than 40 hours a week, 46% work exactly 40 and 4% work fewer. 83% say their schedule is regular and 10% irregular, and 7% work seasonally. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Accountants and Auditors highest on the Conventional, Enterprising and Investigative interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with leading, persuading, selling and making decisions. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ESTJ, ISTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

4 years for a bachelor's degree in accounting or a related field. That is enough for the job itself. CPA licensure requires more, and how much depends on which pathway your state has adopted: a graduate degree in accounting, or a bachelor's plus 30 additional semester credits (150 semester hours in total, often via a 5-year combined bachelor's and master's), or a bachelor's alone at 120 semester hours paired with a longer experience requirement.

Not a state license. The occupation of accountant or auditor is not licensed. The CPA credential is, and it is issued by each state's Board of Accountancy — and its requirements are currently in flux, so a single national rule cannot be stated. In 2025 NASBA and the AICPA updated the Uniform Accountancy Act to recognize three model pathways to licensure: a graduate degree in accounting plus one year of professional experience; a bachelor's degree in accounting plus 30 additional semester credits (150 semester hours total) plus one year of experience; or a bachelor's degree in accounting at 120 semester hours plus two years of experience — each in combination with passing the CPA Exam. The same update shifted interstate mobility from a state-based 'substantial equivalency' test to an individual-based practice privilege determined by a CPA's own education, exam and experience. Individual jurisdictions must formally enact legislation and change their rules to adopt any of this, implementation dates vary, and NASBA maintains a map and list of the jurisdictions that have already signed new pathways into law. Do not assume the older 150-semester-hour rule still applies where you live without checking your state board. A few states allow a number of years of public accounting experience to substitute for a college degree.

The CPA Exam (Uniform CPA Examination). Required of everyone seeking to qualify as a US CPA; it exists to help ensure only qualified individuals are licensed. Under the CPA Evolution structure in place since January 2024 it comprises three four-hour Core sections — Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Taxation and Regulation (REG) — plus one four-hour Discipline section chosen from Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Control (ISC), or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP). You must be declared eligible by a jurisdiction before you can apply to sit a section.

Women make up 59.1% of accountants and auditors, against 47.1% of all employed people: more women than in the workforce as a whole. 27.1% are 55 or older, close to the 23.2% across all jobs. The median worker is 44.7 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.