Best Accountant programs in Michigan, ranked by enrollment
Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others.
42 schools in Michigan run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,654 people a year. The job pays a median of $78,820 in Michigan across about 41,460 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Michigan that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
6 programs in Michigan that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Michigan (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Michigan page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accountingmain feeder CIP 52.0301In Michigan → | 1,539 | 93.0% | 39 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 2 | Accounting and Business/Managementmain feeder CIP 52.0305In Michigan → | 78 | 4.7% | 4 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 3 | Accounting and Financemain feeder CIP 52.0304In Michigan → | 20 | 1.2% | 3 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 4 | Taxationmain feeder CIP 52.1601In Michigan → | 10 | 0.6% | 3 | — | — |
| 5 | Auditingmain feeder CIP 52.0303In Michigan → | 6 | 0.4% | 1 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 6 | CIP 43.0405In Michigan → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
Top 25 schools in Michigan
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 27 of the 42 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 187 | Accounting | $47,464 | 58% | — | 85% |
| 2 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 168 | Accounting | $65,965 | 81% | — | 85% |
| 3 | Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 154 | Accounting | $51,186 | 67% | — | 83% |
| 4 | Wayne State University Detroit, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 129 | Accounting | $52,668 | 58% | — | 81% |
| 5 | Walsh College Troy, MI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 96 | Accounting | $61,960 | — | — | — |
| 6 | Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 90 | Accounting | $59,833 | 58% | — | 88% |
| 7 | Davenport University Grand Rapids, MI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 87 | Accounting | $49,970 | 57% | $22,126 | 98% |
| 8 | Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 63 | Accounting | $57,500 | 46% | — | 80% |
| 9 | Northwood University Midland, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 61 | Accounting | $45,217 | 63% | $24,986 | 65% |
| 10 | University of Michigan - Dearborn Dearborn, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 59 | Accounting | $57,833 | 58% | — | 56% |
| 11 | University of Michigan - Flint Flint, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Accounting | $45,553 | 40% | — | 70% |
| 12 | Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Accounting | $62,430 | 59% | — | 90% |
| 13 | Oakland Community College Auburn Hills, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Accounting and Business/Management | $40,424 | 21% | — | — |
| 14 | Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Accounting | $53,416 | 48% | — | 72% |
| 15 | Hope College Holland, MI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 40 | Accounting and Business/Management | $61,120 | 80% | $21,746 | 79% |
| 16 | Calvin University Grand Rapids, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Accounting | $48,637 | 74% | $22,391 | 71% |
| 17 | Henry Ford College Dearborn, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Accounting | — | 17% | — | — |
| 18 | Baker College Owosso, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Accounting | $46,471 | 36% | $15,493 | 82% |
| 19 | Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Accounting | $55,879 | 52% | — | 84% |
| 20 | Siena Heights University Adrian, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Accounting | $49,361 | 39% | $17,015 | 69% |
| 21 | Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 22 | Accounting | — | 68% | — | 92% |
| 22 | Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 20 | Accounting | $35,538 | 21% | — | — |
| 23 | Hillsdale College Hillsdale, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Accounting | — | 90% | — | 21% |
| 24 | Adrian College Adrian, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Accounting | — | 48% | $20,357 | 73% |
| 25 | Bay de Noc Community College Escanaba, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Accounting | — | 30% | — | — |
All 42 schools in Michigan
Every school in Michigan with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo | Public | 187 | 2 |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing | Public | 168 | 2 |
| Grand Valley State University | Allendale | Public | 154 | 2 |
| Wayne State University | Detroit | Public | 129 | 1 |
| Walsh College | Troy | Private not-for-profit | 96 | 2 |
| Oakland University | Rochester Hills | Public | 90 | 1 |
| Davenport University | Grand Rapids | Private not-for-profit | 87 | 2 |
| Eastern Michigan University | Ypsilanti | Public | 63 | 1 |
| Northwood University | Midland | Private not-for-profit | 61 | 1 |
| University of Michigan - Dearborn | Dearborn | Public | 59 | 1 |
| University of Michigan - Flint | Flint | Public | 50 | 1 |
| Central Michigan University | Mount Pleasant | Public | 44 | 1 |
| Oakland Community College | Auburn Hills | Public | 43 | 1 |
| Saginaw Valley State University | University Center | Public | 43 | 1 |
| Hope College | Holland | Private not-for-profit | 40 | 2 |
What accountants and auditors earn in Michigan
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $83,680. Michigan pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Michigan
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Accountants and Auditors page.
How to become a Accountant
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Michigan
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 7 majors mapped to Accountants and Auditors7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 30.1601Accounting and Computer Science
- 43.0405Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation
- 52.0301Accounting
- 52.0303Auditing
- 52.0304Accounting and Finance
- 52.0305Accounting and Business/Management
- 52.1601Taxation
Common questions
Answers for people weighing accountants and auditors programs in Michigan.
What degree do you need to become an Accountant?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Accounting, which awarded 1,539 degrees in Michigan in 2024-25, 93.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Accountant?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Accounting and Related Services, Taxation, Security Science and Technology. Together they graduate about 1,654 people a year in Michigan.
How much do accountants and auditors earn in Michigan?+
The median is $78,820 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.8% below the U.S. median of $83,680. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for accountants and auditors growing?+
BLS projects a +4.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 124,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Michigan?+
42 institutions in Michigan reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do accountants and auditors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Auditor, Accountant, Financial Auditor, Certified Public Accountant (CPA) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-2011.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card