Accounting

Contains Stem Majors

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Total Degrees
Awarded in 2020

101,094

declining 3.83%

Median In-State
Public Tuition

$6,810

growing 1.64%

Median Out-of-State
Private Tuition

$31,443

growing 2.84%

Average Wage

$92,907

growing 2.81%

People in Workforce

11.5M

growing 2.51%

Average Employee Age

43.8

growing 0.163%

About

The locations with the highest concentration of Accounting degree recipients are New York, NY, Phoenix, AZ, and Fort Lauderdale, FL. The locations with a relatively high number of Accounting degree recipients are Salida, CA, Boneau, MT, and Los Alamitos, CA. The most common degree awarded to students studying Accounting is a bachelors degree.

Photo by Ken Teegardin

Business

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Accounting and the types of students that study this field. University of Phoenix-Arizona awards the most degrees in Accounting in the US, but Taylor Business Institute and Poway Adult School have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Accounting.

Tuition costs for Accounting majors are, on average, $6,810 for in-state public colleges, and $31,443 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Accounting programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (720 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (50,101 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Accounting

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Accounting, is Public, 4-year or above (50,101 completions).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Accounting programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$6,810

Median In-State Public

$31,443

Median Out of State Private

University of Phoenix-Arizona has the most Accounting degree recipients, with 1,348 degrees awarded in 2020.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Accounting.

Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution

Out of all institutions that offer Accounting programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Taylor Business Institute has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Accounting, with 46.3%.

Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Accounting

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Accounting by year.

Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Accounting.

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Business graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Business majors is $92,907 and the most common occupations are Accountants & auditors, Other managers, and Financial managers.

The industry that employs the most Business majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments.

Wages

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

$92,907

Average Wage in Workforce

± $689

2.81%

1 Year Growth

± 1.03%

The average salary for Business majors is $92,907 and the most common occupations are Accountants & auditors, Other managers, and Financial managers.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Business majors.

Highest Paying Locations

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

Highest Paying Pumas

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Business majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Business majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

Occupations

Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

The most common occupations Business majors, by number of employees, are Accountants & auditors, Other managers, and Financial managers.

Most Specialized

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Business majors working as Accountants & auditors, Financial analysts, and Financial examiners.

Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

The highest paid occupations by median income for Business majors are Surgeons, Physicians, and Chief executives & legislators.

Occupations by Share

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

11.5M

2019 Workforce

± 80,082

2.51%

1 Year Growth

± 0.966%

The number of Business graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.51%, from 11.2M in 2018 to 11.5M in 2019.

The largest single share of Business graduates go on to work as Accountants & auditors (9.2%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Business by share of the total number of graduates.

Industries

Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

The most common industries that employ Business majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping & payroll services, and Banking & related activities.

Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

The highest paying industries of Business majors, by average wage, are Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments, Prefabricated wood buildings & mobile homes, and Fiber, yarn, & thread mills.

Industries by Share

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

11.5M

2019 Workforce

± 80,082

2.51%

1 Year Growth

± 0.966%

The number of Business graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.51%, from 11.2M in 2018 to 11.5M in 2019.

The industry which employs the most Business graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools, followed by Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping & payroll services. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Business.

Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

PUMAS with a relatively high number of Business majors

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Business majors.

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Business in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Business is 43.8.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Business degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Business (56,104 students).

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

43.8

Average Age in 2019

± 0.0925 Years

0.163%

1 Year Change

± 0.299%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Business. The most common ages of employees with this major are 38 and 48 years old, which represent 2.65% and 2.65% of the population, respectively.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Accounting are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

The most common degree types held by the working population in Business are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.

Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Female (57.2%)

Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Accounting.

Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity

White
56,104 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino
15,155 degrees awarded
Asian
8,781 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Accounting for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

Race & Ethnicity by Sex

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination

White Male
16,581 degrees awarded
White Female
14,615 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino Female
3,789 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Accounting. White Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Accounting is from the 2 Digit Course Business.

Most Common Countries of Origin

India
172,107 degree recipients
Philippines
151,050 degree recipients
Mexico
138,378 degree recipients

High Relative Number of Students

Zimbabwe
3.5 times more than expected
Tunisia
3.09 times more than expected
Singapore
3.07 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Zimbabwe that hold Business degrees (3.5 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (172,107 degree recipients).

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Accounting field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accounting majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Accounting majors need more than the average amount of Management of Financial Resources, Mathematics, and Systems Analysis.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Accounting majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Management of Financial Resources is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and Active Listening are the three most important skills for people in the field.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

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