Best programs to become an accountant in New Jersey
31 New Jersey schools offer programs that train accountants and auditors, graduating 1,617 people a year. Accountants and auditors in New Jersey earn a median of $100,830 across about 42,250 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for accountants and auditors. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in New Jersey are Accounting; Taxation; and Accounting and Business/Management (IPEDS completions).
Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others.
5 programs in New Jersey that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in New Jersey (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 New Jersey page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accountingmain feeder CIP 52.0301In New Jersey → | 1,579 | 97.6% | 29 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 2 | Taxationmain feeder CIP 52.1601In New Jersey → | 16 | 1.0% | 2 | — | — |
| 3 | Accounting and Business/Managementmain feeder CIP 52.0305In New Jersey → | 13 | 0.8% | 3 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 4 | Accounting and Financemain feeder CIP 52.0304In New Jersey → | 6 | 0.4% | 2 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 5 | CIP 43.0405In New Jersey → | 3 | 0.2% | 1 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
Top 25 schools in New Jersey
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 20 of the 31 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Paterson University of New Jersey Wayne, NJ Public · 3 feeder programs | 189 | Accounting | $45,589 | 44% | — | 90% |
| 2 | Rutgers University - Newark Newark, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 178 | Accounting | $68,141 | 64% | — | 71% |
| 3 | Kean University Union, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 165 | Accounting | $46,386 | 47% | — | 76% |
| 4 | Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus Teaneck, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 140 | Accounting | $53,129 | 53% | $18,059 | 91% |
| 5 | Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 127 | Accounting | $68,141 | 84% | — | 58% |
| 6 | Montclair State University Montclair, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 110 | Accounting | $56,917 | 65% | — | 88% |
| 7 | Ramapo College of New Jersey Mahwah, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 107 | Accounting | $66,615 | 70% | — | 71% |
| 8 | Rider University Lawrenceville, NJ Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 74 | Accounting | $65,849 | 61% | $23,844 | 79% |
| 9 | Rutgers University - Camden Camden, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 74 | Accounting | $68,141 | 67% | — | 66% |
| 10 | The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 59 | Accounting | $74,403 | 86% | — | 62% |
| 11 | Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 56 | Accounting | $69,411 | 69% | $27,376 | 73% |
| 12 | New Jersey City University Jersey City, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 53 | Accounting | $41,542 | 34% | — | 98% |
| 13 | Essex County College Newark, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 40 | Accounting | $29,026 | 20% | — | — |
| 14 | Hudson County Community College Jersey City, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 37 | Accounting | $28,818 | 26% | — | — |
| 15 | Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Campus Madison, NJ Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 31 | Accounting | $53,129 | 67% | $23,573 | 95% |
| 16 | Stockton University Galloway, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 28 | Accounting | — | 69% | — | 89% |
| 17 | Saint Peter's University Jersey City, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 27 | Accounting | $40,562 | 58% | $14,440 | 90% |
| 18 | Thomas Edison State University Trenton, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 25 | Accounting | $56,988 | — | — | — |
| 19 | Berkeley College - Woodland Park Woodland Park, NJ Private for-profit · 1 feeder program | 15 | Accounting | $40,278 | 44% | $23,170 | — |
| 20 | Caldwell University Caldwell, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 12 | Accounting | — | 57% | $21,902 | 71% |
| 21 | Felician University Lodi, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 11 | Accounting | — | 47% | $41,497 | — |
| 22 | Middlesex College Edison, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 11 | Accounting | — | 33% | — | — |
| 23 | Strayer University - New Jersey Piscataway, NJ Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Accounting and Business/Management | $52,373 | 0% | — | — |
| 24 | Sussex County Community College Newton, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 9 | Accounting | — | 37% | — | — |
| 25 | Centenary University Hackettstown, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 7 | Accounting | — | 56% | $17,490 | 83% |
All 31 schools in New Jersey
Every school in New Jersey 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Paterson University of New Jersey | Wayne | Public | 189 | 3 |
| Rutgers University - Newark | Newark | Public | 178 | 1 |
| Kean University | Union | Public | 165 | 1 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus | Teaneck | Private not-for-profit | 140 | 1 |
| Rutgers University - New Brunswick | New Brunswick | Public | 127 | 1 |
| Montclair State University | Montclair | Public | 110 | 1 |
| Ramapo College of New Jersey | Mahwah | Public | 107 | 1 |
| Rider University | Lawrenceville | Private not-for-profit | 74 | 2 |
| Rutgers University - Camden | Camden | Public | 74 | 1 |
| The College of New Jersey | Ewing | Public | 59 | 1 |
| Seton Hall University | South Orange | Private not-for-profit | 56 | 1 |
| New Jersey City University | Jersey City | Public | 53 | 1 |
| Essex County College | Newark | Public | 40 | 1 |
| Hudson County Community College | Jersey City | Public | 37 | 1 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Campus | Madison | Private not-for-profit | 31 | 2 |
Fields of study in New Jersey that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
What accountants and auditors earn in New Jersey
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $83,680. New Jersey pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in New Jersey
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 and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Accountants and Auditors page.
How to become an accountant
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in New Jersey
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 New Jersey.
What degree do you need to become an accountant?+
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for accountants and auditors. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in New Jersey are Accounting; Taxation; and Accounting and Business/Management (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming an accountant?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in New Jersey are Accounting; Taxation; and Accounting and Business/Management (IPEDS completions). In all, 5 feeder programs graduate about 1,617 people a year in New Jersey (IPEDS completions).
How much do accountants and auditors earn in New Jersey?+
The median is $100,830 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 20.5% above 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 New Jersey?+
31 institutions in New Jersey reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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
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