Accountants and Auditors Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 13-2011 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$83,678
$40.23/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The national median salary for Accountants and Auditors is $83,678 per year ($40.23/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $67,018 and $109,824 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $144,082 per year. There are approximately 1,449,500 accountants and auditors employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
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.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+4.6%
Faster than average
Annual openings
124K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
1.6M
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
6% from new growth94% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Bachelor's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services
NAICS 541200
331K
$81,490
Management of Companies and Enterprises
NAICS 551100
105K
$91,940
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999300
52K
$80,310
Real Estate
NAICS 531000
47K
$87,580
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services
NAICS 541600
46K
$91,720
Wage range across top 5 industries: $80,310 to $91,940 (14% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$26.93
$56,014
P25
$32.22
$67,018
P50MEDIAN
$40.23
$83,678
P75
$52.80
$109,824
P90
$69.27
$144,082
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · finance sector
Cooling
Openings Rate
4.3%
Quits Rate
1.1%
Finance and Insurance openings fell 135K to 300K in April, pulling the openings rate down from 6.1% to 4.3%. Quits eased to 1.1%. March's spike has unwound; demand for finance talent has cooled back toward trend.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average accountants and auditors salary?
The national median salary for Accountants and Auditors is $83,678 per year ($40.23/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $67,018 and $109,824 annually.
How much do top-earning accountants and auditors make?
The 90th percentile salary for Accountants and Auditors is $144,082 per year ($69.27/hr). The 75th percentile is $109,824 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for accountants and auditors?
Entry-level Accountants and Auditors (10th percentile) earn approximately $56,014 per year ($26.93/hr). The 25th percentile is $67,018 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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