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The national median salary for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks is $50,669 per year ($24.36/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $43,514 and $61,464 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $74,547 per year. There are approximately 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Compute, classify, and record numerical data to keep financial records complete. Perform any combination of routine calculating, posting, and verifying duties to obtain primary financial data for use in maintaining accounting records. May also check the accuracy of figures, calculations, and postings pertaining to business transactions recorded by other workers.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
-5.8%
Much slower than average
Annual openings
170K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
1.6M
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Some college, no degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
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
99K
$49,220
Management of Companies and Enterprises
NAICS 551100
71K
$51,200
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999300
64K
$52,300
Real Estate
NAICS 531000
50K
$53,470
Elementary and Secondary Schools
NAICS 611100
41K
$51,680
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$17.31
$36,005
P25
$20.92
$43,514
P50MEDIAN
$24.36
$50,669
P75
$29.55
$61,464
P90
$35.84
$74,547
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · other sector
Active
Openings Rate
3.4%
Quits Rate
2.0%
The labor market rebounded in March: hires jumped to 5.6M (+655K) and separations rose to 5.4M (+356K), both more than offsetting February's drop. Job openings held at 6.9M. Quits ticked to 2.0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks salary?
The national median salary for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks is $50,669 per year ($24.36/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $43,514 and $61,464 annually.
How much do top-earning bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks make?
The 90th percentile salary for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks is $74,547 per year ($35.84/hr). The 75th percentile is $61,464 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks?
Entry-level Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks (10th percentile) earn approximately $36,005 per year ($17.31/hr). The 25th percentile is $43,514 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.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.