Research

The CPA Industry Report 2026: Workforce, Salary, Firms, and the CPA Shortage Index

By The Ledgerism Editorial Team · The Ledgerism Brief Editorial Team produces original, methodology-disclosed accounting and tax research—data trackers, databases, and reference guides built to be the most-cited source in the field. Every figure is verified against primary sources including FASB, the IRS, the PCAOB, NASBA, the AICPA, and state boards of accountancy.

An independent data briefing from The Ledgerism Brief (ledgerism.net).
Last updated: 2026-06-29. All figures are labeled with their exact source year. Federal and association datasets lag the calendar by 1 to 2 years; the most recent verifiable figure is used in every case and the year is stated.

This report compiles verified data on the U.S. accountant and CPA workforce: how many accountants and active CPAs there are, what they earn, who they are, how many firms exist and what the industry bills, where employment is projected to go, how many people graduate in accounting and sit for the CPA Exam, and the staffing-shortage signals across the pipeline. It also introduces the CPA Pipeline Supply Index, an original index that measures the new-CPA supply pipeline against a 2016 baseline, plus a documented framework for a state-level CPA Shortage Index.

Executive summary

• The U.S. employed about 1.6 million accountants and auditors in 2024 (SOC 13-2011), per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook; a separate American Community Survey based count put the broader accountant-and-auditor workforce at 1,714,965 in 2024.
• There were 653,408 actively licensed CPAs as of August 28, 2025, down from 671,855 a year earlier, per NASBA’s Accountancy Licensee Database (53 of 55 jurisdictions reporting in 2025).
• The median annual wage for accountants and auditors was $81,680 in May 2024, with the bottom 10 percent under $52,780 and the top 10 percent over $141,420, per BLS OEWS.
• Accounting degree completions fell to 55,152 in 2023-24 (40,817 bachelor’s plus 14,335 master’s), down from a 2016-17 peak of 78,912, per IPEDS data published in the AICPA 2025 Trends Report.
• New CPA Exam candidates entering the pipeline numbered 28,082 in 2024, and 18,847 candidates passed their fourth exam section in 2024 (subject to a NASBA reporting-method change that shifted some Q4 2024 passes into 2025), per the AICPA 2025 Trends Report.
• BLS projects accountant and auditor employment to grow 5 percent from 2024 to 2034 with about 124,200 openings per year, most from workers exiting the labor force or changing occupations.
• Industry revenue for accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services (NAICS 5412) reached about $215.0 billion in 2024 for taxable employer establishments, per the U.S. Census Bureau Quarterly Services Survey.
• The CPA Pipeline Supply Index (this report’s original metric, 2016 = 100) stood at 75.9 in 2023, meaning the combined flow of new accounting graduates, new exam candidates, and newly passed CPAs was roughly one quarter below its 2016 level.

Key findings

1. About 1.6 million accountants and auditors were employed in the United States in 2024 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024 reference year).
2. 653,408 CPAs held an active license as of August 28, 2025 across 53 reporting jurisdictions (NASBA Accountancy Licensee Database, 2025).
3. The active-CPA count fell by 18,447 between August 2024 (671,855) and August 2025 (653,408), though part of that change reflects differing jurisdiction coverage (NASBA, 2024 and 2025).
4. The median accountant/auditor wage was $81,680 in May 2024; the mean was higher and the 90th percentile exceeded $141,420 (BLS OEWS, May 2024).
5. The accountant/auditor workforce was 59.4 percent women and 40.6 percent men in 2024, with an average age of 44.1 years (U.S. Census ACS via Data USA, 2024).
6. Accounting degree completions totaled 55,152 in 2023-24, a 6.6 percent decline from the prior year and down 30 percent from the 2016-17 peak of 78,912 (IPEDS via AICPA 2025 Trends Report).
7. Master’s-level accounting completions fell about 15 percent in 2023-24 to 14,335, a steeper drop than the 3.3 percent bachelor’s decline to 40,817 (AICPA 2025 Trends Report).
8. 28,082 new CPA Exam candidates entered the pipeline in 2024, down from a CPA-Evolution-driven spike of 42,626 in 2023 (AICPA 2025 Trends Report, AICPA Exams Team data).
9. 18,847 candidates passed their fourth CPA Exam section in 2024, the lowest in the 2008-2024 series, partly due to a NASBA score-reporting timing change (AICPA 2025 Trends Report).
10. BLS projects 5 percent employment growth for accountants and auditors from 2024 to 2034 and about 124,200 annual openings (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034).
11. Responding public accounting firms reported hiring 11,985 new graduates in 2024, of which 75 percent (8,994) were accounting graduates (AICPA 2025 Trends Report).
12. 75 percent of firms that hired in 2024 expected to hire the same number or more accounting graduates in 2025 (AICPA 2025 Trends Report).
13. NAICS 5412 (accounting, tax prep, bookkeeping, payroll) generated about $215.0 billion in 2024 revenue among taxable employer establishments, up from about $212.6 billion in 2023 (U.S. Census Quarterly Services Survey via FRED, 2024).
14. U.S. accounting enrollments rose to 266,506 in spring 2025, the highest since 2019, signaling a possible pipeline rebound that has not yet reached graduation (National Student Clearinghouse via AICPA 2025 Trends Report).
15. This report’s CPA Pipeline Supply Index measured 75.9 in 2023 (2016 = 100), confirming a sustained contraction in the new-CPA supply pipeline (Ledgerism original index; inputs from AICPA/IPEDS).

1. Workforce size: accountants, auditors, and active CPAs

The accountant workforce is measured by two different federal instruments that produce two different numbers, and the distinction matters.

The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, an employer-establishment survey, is the standard for occupational employment counts. The Occupational Outlook Handbook reports that accountants and auditors (SOC 13-2011) held about 1.6 million jobs in 2024.

The U.S. Census American Community Survey, a household survey, counts people who self-identify in the occupation. It put the accountant-and-auditor workforce at 1,714,965 in 2024 (as compiled by Data USA from ACS PUMS). The ACS figure is higher because it captures self-employed and household-reported workers that the establishment survey treats differently.

“Active CPA” is a narrower, license-based count maintained by NASBA’s Accountancy Licensee Database. NASBA reported 653,408 actively licensed CPAs as of August 28, 2025, aggregated from 53 of the 55 U.S. CPA licensing jurisdictions (excluding Hawaii and New Mexico). A year earlier, on August 29, 2024, NASBA reported 671,855 active CPAs from 52 of 55 jurisdictions. The year-over-year decline of 18,447 should be read with caution: the jurisdiction coverage changed between the two snapshots, so the figure mixes a real licensee trend with a coverage change.

What the numbers mean. Not every accountant is a CPA, and not every CPA works as an accountant. The roughly 1.6 million accountants/auditors include large numbers of non-licensed professionals; the ~653,000 active CPAs include controllers, partners, educators, and retirees who hold an active license without practicing public accounting. Comparisons that conflate the two counts (for example, dividing CPAs by total accountants) are not meaningful without stating which instrument produced each number.

Limitation. The NASBA active-CPA count excludes two jurisdictions in both years and reflects each board’s own definition of “active,” so it is a near-census rather than a complete census.

2. Salary and wages

The BLS OEWS survey is the authoritative source for accountant pay.

• The median annual wage for accountants and auditors was $81,680 in May 2024 (BLS OEWS).
• The lowest 10 percent earned less than $52,780 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $141,420 in May 2024 (BLS OEWS).

A separate ACS-based compilation reports an average (mean) salary of $100,054 in 2024, with a gender gap (men averaging $119,451 and women averaging $86,801), per Data USA’s reading of Census ACS data. The ACS mean is higher than the BLS median because it is a different statistic (mean versus median), a different instrument (household versus establishment), and includes self-employed earnings.

Limitation. The BLS percentile detail above is drawn from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook summary of the May 2024 OEWS release. The full OEWS state and metro wage tables exist on bls.gov but were not directly machine-readable through this report’s tools; figures here are the nationally published values.

3. Demographics, age, and the retirement question

• The accountant/auditor workforce was 59.4 percent women and 40.6 percent men in 2024, approximately 1,018,842 women and 696,123 men (Census ACS via Data USA, 2024).
• The average age was 44.1 years in 2024 (male 43.4, female 44.6), with the largest cohorts in the 30-34, 25-29, and 35-39 brackets (Census ACS via Data USA, 2024).
• In 2024, 10.9 percent of accountants and auditors identified as Hispanic and 89.1 percent as non-Hispanic (Census ACS via Data USA, 2024).

On the “retirement wave.” A widely repeated claim is that about 75 percent of CPAs are eligible to retire within roughly 15 years. That figure traces to AICPA statements from approximately 2013 to 2015 and is dated; it should not be presented as a 2026 condition. The more defensible, current signal is structural: BLS attributes most of the projected 124,200 annual accountant/auditor openings (2024-2034) to workers exiting the labor force or transferring occupations, which includes retirement. The age distribution above shows a workforce concentrated in its 30s and 40s rather than uniformly near retirement, which complicates simple “mass retirement” narratives.

Flagged secondary claim. Multiple trade publications, citing a Wall Street Journal analysis, state that more than 300,000 accountants and auditors left the profession between 2019 and 2022, a decline of roughly 17 percent. This report classifies that as a Tier-3 (journalism) figure and could not independently reproduce it from a primary BLS microdata pull; it is reported here as context, not as a verified primary statistic.

4. Firms, establishments, and industry revenue

The relevant industry is NAICS 5412: Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services.

• NAICS 5412 generated about $215.0 billion in revenue in 2024 among taxable employer establishments, up from about $212.6 billion in 2023 and $198.9 billion in 2022, per the U.S. Census Bureau Quarterly Services Survey (sum of four quarterly NSA values, retrieved via FRED series REV5412TAXABL144QNSA).
• Census County Business Patterns has historically recorded on the order of 140,000 establishments and 120,000 firms in NAICS 5412 with over 1.1 million employees; the most recent fully published CBP figures available through this report’s tools were for 2020 (139,959 establishments; 1,174,118 employees). The 2023 CBP release exists on census.gov but required an API key not available here, so the establishment/firm counts are flagged as needing a direct Census pull to confirm the latest year.

What the numbers mean. The QSS revenue series covers taxable employer establishments only. It therefore understates total industry economic activity because it omits the large population of nonemployer sole-proprietor accounting and tax-prep businesses and tax-exempt entities. The CBP establishment counts are a near-complete census of employer locations but exclude nonemployers.

5. Employment growth and projections

• BLS projects 5 percent employment growth for accountants and auditors from 2024 to 2034, faster than the all-occupation average (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034 cycle).
• About 124,200 openings per year are projected over the decade, the large majority arising from workers who exit the labor force or move to other occupations rather than from net new positions (BLS, 2024-2034).

What the numbers mean. A 5 percent growth rate paired with 124,200 annual openings tells a replacement-demand story: the occupation is not contracting, but the bulk of hiring need is to backfill departures. When the supply pipeline (graduates and new CPAs, Section 6) shrinks while replacement demand holds steady, a structural staffing gap emerges even without rapid job growth.

6. Accounting graduates and CPA Exam candidates (the supply pipeline)

This is the supply side of the shortage. All figures below come from the AICPA 2025 Trends Report, which draws graduate counts from IPEDS (NCES) and candidate counts from the AICPA Exams Team.

Degree completions (bachelor’s plus master’s in accounting):

*2023-24 figures are provisional per IPEDS. Source: IPEDS via AICPA 2025 Trends Report.

New CPA Exam candidates entering the pipeline, by year (AICPA Exams Team):

The 2023 spike reflects candidates rushing to test before the January 2024 CPA Evolution exam transition; 2024 then fell sharply.

Candidates passing their fourth (final) CPA Exam section, by year (AICPA Exams Team):

The 2024 value (also reported in the series as substantially lower) is distorted by a NASBA reporting-method change that counts passes when scores are received rather than when the exam was taken, pushing most Q4 2024 passes into Q1 2025. For that reason this report treats 2023 as the last clean year for the “new CPAs” series.

An early sign of recovery: U.S. accounting enrollments rose to 266,506 in spring 2025 (up from 225,915 in spring 2023), the highest level since 2019, per National Student Clearinghouse data in the AICPA Trends Report. Enrollment leads graduation by several years, so this has not yet flowed through to degree or licensure counts.

7. Staffing-shortage signals

• Supply is contracting: accounting graduates fell 30 percent from 2016-17 (78,912) to 2023-24 (55,152) (AICPA/IPEDS).
• The new-CPA flow (fourth-section passers) fell from 26,163 in 2016 to 18,847 in 2023 (AICPA Exams Team).
• Replacement demand is steady: ~124,200 annual openings, 2024-2034 (BLS).
• Firms still want to hire: 75 percent of firms that hired in 2024 expected to hold or increase accounting-graduate hiring in 2025 (AICPA 2025 Trends Report).
• The active-CPA stock declined year over year (671,855 to 653,408 from 2024 to 2025), though with a jurisdiction-coverage caveat (NASBA).

These signals are mutually reinforcing: shrinking supply, steady replacement demand, and sustained firm hiring intent are the textbook conditions for a labor shortage. The enrollment uptick is the one counter-signal.

Original synthesis

This report contributes three original derived metrics. Each lists its formula, inputs, base year, and limitations.

Insight 1 (centerpiece): The CPA Pipeline Supply Index (2016 = 100)

Purpose. Track the national new-CPA supply pipeline as a single index, so the multi-stage talent funnel (graduates, then exam candidates, then licensed CPAs) can be read at a glance against a fixed baseline.

Formula. For each year, three component indexes are computed relative to 2016:
– Graduate index = (accounting degree completions in year / 78,912) x 100
– Candidate index = (new CPA Exam candidates in year / 49,597) x 100
– Pass index = (fourth-section passers in year / 26,163) x 100

The Composite Supply Index is the simple unweighted average of the available component indexes for that year. Equal weighting is chosen because the three stages are sequential and no defensible primary source establishes relative weights; equal weighting is stated as an assumption, not a finding.

Base year. 2016, the recent high-water mark for graduates and exam candidates.

Inputs. AICPA 2025 Trends Report (IPEDS graduate data; AICPA Exams Team candidate and pass data).

Time series:

Reading. The index fell from 100.0 in 2016 to a low of 70.0 in 2022, then ticked up to 75.9 in 2023 as the pre-CPA-Evolution candidate surge lifted the candidate component. The 2024 composite is intentionally omitted because the 2024 graduate figure aligns to the 2023-24 academic year already shown and the 2024 fourth-section pass count is distorted by the NASBA reporting change; the 2024 candidate index alone was 56.6.

Limitations. Equal component weights are an assumption. Graduate counts are academic-year based while candidate and pass counts are calendar-year based, so alignment is approximate. The index measures supply flow, not the stock of working CPAs.

Insight 2: Pipeline conversion ratios, 2024

Purpose. Quantify how the funnel narrows from graduation to licensure.

Formulas and values (latest aligned year):
– New candidates per graduate = 28,082 (2024) / 55,152 (2023-24 grads) = 0.51.
– Fourth-section passers per graduate = 18,847 (2023) / 59,050 (2022-23 grads) = 0.32.

Reading. For roughly every two accounting graduates, about one becomes a new CPA Exam candidate, and roughly one in three graduates ultimately passes all four sections. The funnel loses more than half its volume between the degree and licensure.

Inputs. AICPA 2025 Trends Report. Limitation. Numerator and denominator are from adjacent rather than identical cohorts because candidates do not sit in the same year they graduate; the ratios are directional, not exact cohort-tracking.

Insight 3: Supply-versus-replacement-demand ratio

Purpose. Compare annual new-CPA supply to the occupation’s annual replacement demand.

Formula. New CPAs per projected annual opening = fourth-section passers / BLS projected annual openings.

Value. 18,847 (2023 passers) / 124,200 (BLS 2024-2034 annual openings) = 0.15.

Reading. Newly licensed CPAs equal only about 15 percent of all projected annual accountant/auditor openings. Most openings are filled by non-CPA accountants, which is expected, but the ratio shows how thin the credentialed-CPA inflow is relative to total occupational churn.

Limitation. BLS openings cover all accountants and auditors, not only CPA-required roles; the share of openings that genuinely require a CPA is not published, so this ratio is a supply-to-total-demand benchmark, not a CPA-specific gap.

State-level CPA Shortage Index: documented framework (not yet populated)

A true state or metro CPA Shortage Index requires three state-resolved inputs: (1) new CPAs or new candidates by jurisdiction, (2) projected annual accountant/auditor openings by state, and (3) the retiring or exiting CPA stock by state. Input (1) at the jurisdiction level lives in NASBA’s paid report, Candidate Performance on the Uniform CPA Examination – 2024 Edition, which was not purchased for this report. Rather than publish unverifiable state splits, this report specifies the formula so it can be populated from primary sources:

State CPA Shortage Index = (state demand score) / (state supply score), normalized to a 50-state mean of 100.
– Demand score (state) = BLS OEWS state employment for SOC 13-2011 x national replacement-and-growth opening rate (124,200 / national employment).
– Supply score (state) = NASBA new CPA candidates for that jurisdiction (from the Candidate Performance report) + a graduate term from IPEDS state completions for CIP 52.0301.
– An index above 100 indicates a tighter-than-average market (demand outruns supply); below 100 indicates a looser market.

This framework is publishable as-is and can be filled in once the NASBA jurisdiction file and the BLS OEWS state table (bls.gov/oes/2024/may/oessrcst.htm) are pulled directly.

Charts to create

1. CPA Pipeline Supply Index, 2016-2023. Data: composite and three component indexes from the table above. Source: Ledgerism original; AICPA/IPEDS inputs. Insight: a single line showing the supply pipeline roughly a quarter below 2016. Citation-worthy because no other publisher indexes the three pipeline stages together against a fixed base.
2. Accounting degree completions, 2016-17 to 2023-24, bachelor’s vs master’s stacked. Data: Section 6 table. Source: IPEDS via AICPA. Insight: the master’s drop is steeper than the bachelor’s drop. Citation-worthy as the clearest single picture of supply erosion.
3. New CPA Exam candidates vs fourth-section passers, 2016-2024. Data: Section 6 tables. Source: AICPA Exams Team. Insight: the 2023 candidate spike and 2024 collapse around CPA Evolution. Citation-worthy for showing exam-policy effects on supply.
4. Active CPAs vs accountant/auditor employment, 2024-2025. Data: NASBA 671,855 then 653,408; BLS ~1.6M. Source: NASBA, BLS. Insight: the credentialed share of the workforce. Citation-worthy for clarifying the CPA-vs-accountant distinction.
5. NAICS 5412 industry revenue, 2018-2025. Data: Census QSS annual sums. Source: Census QSS via FRED. Insight: revenue keeps rising even as headcount supply falls, implying rising revenue per worker. Citation-worthy as a productivity-pressure signal.

Methodology

Source selection. Tier-1 primary sources were used wherever possible: BLS (OEWS, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Employment Projections), the AICPA 2025 Trends Report (carrying IPEDS/NCES graduate data and AICPA Exams Team candidate data), NASBA’s Accountancy Licensee Database, and the U.S. Census Bureau (Quarterly Services Survey and County Business Patterns). Secondary sources were used only for context and are labeled.

Inclusion/exclusion rules. Every figure carries a source and an exact year. Figures that could not be traced to a primary or clearly-citing source were excluded or explicitly flagged. State-by-state CPA candidate counts were excluded from the index because the primary file is paywalled; the index was built at the national level and a state framework was documented instead.

Handling conflicts. Where two instruments produced different workforce counts (BLS ~1.6M vs ACS 1,714,965), both are reported with their methodology rather than averaged. Where a wage statistic differed (BLS median $81,680 vs ACS mean $100,054), the difference is attributed to median-vs-mean and instrument differences.

Derived figures. The CPA Pipeline Supply Index, conversion ratios, and supply-to-demand ratio were computed by this report from the cited primary inputs using the formulas shown. The Census QSS annual revenue figures were computed by summing the four published quarterly NSA values for each year.

Known limitations. BLS full state/metro OEWS tables, the 2023 Census CBP release, and the Census API were not directly machine-readable through the tools available, so some establishment counts default to the most recent verified year (2020) and are flagged. The “75 percent retirement” and “300,000 left” claims are flagged as dated or secondary.

Date of last update. 2026-06-29.

Source quality ranking

Tier 1 (primary: government, official bodies, federal education data):
– U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2024 (wages).
– U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections, 2024-2034 (employment, growth, openings).
– AICPA 2025 Trends Report (graduate, candidate, pass, and firm-hiring data; carries IPEDS/NCES and AICPA Exams Team primary data).
– NASBA Accountancy Licensee Database (active CPA counts, 2024 and 2025).
– U.S. Census Bureau Quarterly Services Survey (NAICS 5412 revenue), retrieved via FRED.
– U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns (NAICS 5412 establishments/employment, 2020).

Tier 2 (credible compilations citing primary data):
– Data USA (American Community Survey / Census PUMS compilation for demographics and mean wage, 2024).

Tier 3 (journalism / trade commentary, used for context only and flagged):
– Wall Street Journal “300,000 accountants left” figure as repeated by trade outlets.
– AICPA-attributed “75 percent retirement in 15 years” statement (circa 2013-2015), flagged as dated.

Excluded: Vendor blog revenue “projections” for 2026, IBISWorld and Statista estimates behind paywalls, and any state-by-state CPA candidate splits that could not be sourced to the NASBA primary file.

Citation format (for major statistics)

• Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 (median wage $81,680).
• Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Accountants and Auditors, 2024 reference year (employment ~1.6 million; 5% projected growth 2024-2034; ~124,200 annual openings).
• Source: NASBA Accountancy Licensee Database, as of August 28, 2025 (653,408 active CPAs).
• Source: AICPA, 2025 Trends Report (55,152 accounting graduates, 2023-24; 28,082 new CPA candidates, 2024; 18,847 fourth-section passers, 2023).
• Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Services Survey, 2024 (NAICS 5412 revenue ~$215.0 billion, taxable employer establishments), via FRED series REV5412TAXABL144QNSA.
• Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024, via Data USA (59.4% women; average age 44.1).
• Source: The Ledgerism Brief, CPA Pipeline Supply Index, 2026 (index value 75.9 in 2023; 2016 = 100).

Journalist-friendly additions

Most quotable statistics

• “Accounting degree completions fell 30 percent, from 78,912 in 2016-17 to 55,152 in 2023-24.” (IPEDS via AICPA 2025 Trends Report)
• “There were 653,408 actively licensed CPAs in the United States as of August 2025, down from 671,855 a year earlier.” (NASBA)
• “The median accountant and auditor earned $81,680 in May 2024.” (BLS OEWS)
• “BLS projects about 124,200 accountant and auditor openings every year through 2034, most to replace people leaving the field.” (BLS)
• “The Ledgerism CPA Pipeline Supply Index stood at 75.9 in 2023, about one quarter below its 2016 baseline.” (Ledgerism original index)

Data limitations

• The accountant headcount differs by instrument: ~1.6 million (BLS establishment survey) vs 1,714,965 (Census household survey), both 2024.
• The active-CPA year-over-year change partly reflects a change in which jurisdictions reported, not only real licensee movement.
• The 2024 fourth-section pass count is distorted by a NASBA score-reporting timing change.
• Census QSS revenue excludes nonemployers and tax-exempt entities.
• State-level CPA candidate data sits in a paid NASBA report and was not purchased; the state Shortage Index is a documented framework, not populated values.

Downloadable dataset: recommended fields (for Dataset schema / CSV)

metric_name, value, unit, geography, year_or_period, soc_or_naics_code, source_organization, source_dataset, source_url, instrument_type (establishment / household / license / association), methodology_note, is_derived (Y/N), derivation_formula, confidence_flag, last_updated.

150-word press summary

The U.S. accounting profession entered 2026 with a contracting talent pipeline and steady replacement demand. About 1.6 million accountants and auditors were employed in 2024 (BLS), earning a median $81,680 in May 2024. There were 653,408 actively licensed CPAs as of August 2025, down from 671,855 a year earlier (NASBA). Accounting degree completions fell to 55,152 in 2023-24, down 30 percent from their 2016-17 peak, and only 18,847 candidates passed their final CPA Exam section in 2023 (AICPA). BLS projects roughly 124,200 accountant openings annually through 2034, mostly to replace departures. The Ledgerism CPA Pipeline Supply Index, which tracks graduates, exam candidates, and new CPAs against a 2016 baseline, measured 75.9 in 2023, about a quarter below 2016. One bright spot: accounting enrollments hit 266,506 in spring 2025, the highest since 2019, suggesting a delayed pipeline rebound.

Suggested headlines

1. The CPA Pipeline Is 25 Percent Smaller Than 2016: A New Index Quantifies the Shortage
2. 653,408 Active CPAs and Falling: The 2026 State of the Accounting Workforce
3. Accounting Graduates Down 30 Percent Since 2016 as 124,000 Jobs Open Yearly
4. The Funnel Problem: Only One in Three Accounting Grads Becomes a CPA
5. Revenue Up, Workforce Down: The Productivity Squeeze in U.S. Accounting

FAQs

1. How many accountants are in the U.S.? About 1.6 million accountants and auditors were employed in 2024 (BLS); a household-survey count puts the figure at 1,714,965 (Census ACS, 2024).
2. How many active CPAs are there? 653,408 as of August 28, 2025 (NASBA).
3. What does an accountant earn? A median of $81,680 in May 2024 (BLS OEWS); the top 10 percent earned over $141,420.
4. Is accountant employment growing? Yes, BLS projects 5 percent growth from 2024 to 2034 with about 124,200 openings per year.
5. How many people graduate in accounting? 55,152 earned accounting bachelor’s or master’s degrees in 2023-24 (IPEDS via AICPA).
6. How many sit for the CPA Exam? 28,082 new candidates entered the pipeline in 2024 (AICPA).
7. How many become CPAs each year? 18,847 candidates passed their fourth section in 2023; the 2024 figure is distorted by a NASBA reporting change (AICPA).
8. How big is the accounting industry? NAICS 5412 generated about $215.0 billion in 2024 among taxable employer establishments (Census QSS).
9. What share of accountants are women? 59.4 percent in 2024 (Census ACS via Data USA).
10. Is there really a CPA shortage? Supply has fallen (graduates down 30 percent since 2016, new CPAs down to 18,847 in 2023) while BLS projects ~124,200 openings annually, the conditions for a structural shortage; the Ledgerism CPA Pipeline Supply Index reads 75.9 (2016 = 100).

Sources

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Accountants and Auditors. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-and-auditors.htm
2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 13-2011, May 2024. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes132011.htm
3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2024-2034. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
4. AICPA & CIMA, 2025 Trends Report (A Report on Accounting Education, the CPA Exam, and Public Accounting Firms’ Hiring of Recent Graduates). https://www.aicpa-cima.com/professional-insights/download/2025-trends-report
5. AICPA, 2025 Trends Report PDF. https://assets.ctfassets.net/rb9cdnjh59cm/vWGh3wPbGyNEKzyuULyn5/ba21ed1f143237d42029dad4862ffd7b/2025-AICPA_Trends-Report.pdf
6. NASBA, How Many CPAs Are There? (Accountancy Licensee Database). https://nasba.org/licensure/howmanycpas/
7. U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Services Survey, NAICS 5412 (Total Revenue, taxable establishments), via FRED series REV5412TAXABL144QNSA. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/REV5412TAXABL144QNSA
8. U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp.html
9. U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2023 release. https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/2023/econ/cbp/2023-cbp.html
10. Data USA, Accountants and Auditors profile (American Community Survey compilation). https://datausa.io/profile/soc/accountants-auditors
11. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS (accounting completions, CIP 52.0301), as published in the AICPA 2025 Trends Report. https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/
12. Journal of Accountancy, The accounting graduate pipeline: where do things stand? (context). https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2025/oct/the-accounting-graduate-pipeline-where-do-things-stand/

Related research

More original, sourced datasets from The Ledgerism Brief:

• The State of Accounting 2026 — The U.S. accounting profession by the numbers.
• The Big Four Report — Revenue, headcount, and audit market share.
• AI in Accounting Report — Adoption rates and the Automation Index.
• Accounting Salary Database — Pay by state, metro, role, and experience.
• FASB Standards Report — ASUs issued and adoption of major standards.
• SEC Restatement Report — Restatements by year, type, and cause.