Best degree programs for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 644 schools train Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $50,670 median wage, 1,373,680 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 644 schools train bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks, graduating 18,452 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping. The job pays a median of $50,670 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks
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.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
1 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0302 | 18,452 | 100.0% | 644 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $59,230 | 151,870 | 0.94× | 115 | 4,275 |
| Florida | $49,330 | 88,670 | 1.01× | 42 | 2,531 |
| Georgia | $49,350 | 38,700 | 0.90× | 27 | 1,170 |
| Washington | $58,620 | 32,930 | 1.05× | 28 | 1,044 |
| Indianamoderate | $47,820 | 29,910 | 1.06× | 4 | 980 |
| New York | $58,160 | 84,280 | 0.98× | 42 | 917 |
| Wisconsin | $50,340 | 25,960 | 1.00× | 17 | 825 |
| Texas | $48,910 | 122,400 | 0.98× | 31 | 602 |
| Utahmoderate | $49,440 | 12,650 | 0.82× | 3 | 594 |
| Illinois | $49,560 | 51,470 | 0.96× | 26 | 503 |
| Ohio | $48,810 | 45,140 | 0.92× | 23 | 444 |
| Michigan | $48,980 | 37,550 | 0.97× | 28 | 413 |
| Oregon | $54,060 | 21,710 | 1.25× | 14 | 397 |
| Louisiana | $44,890 | 18,980 | 1.11× | 5 | 374 |
| Minnesota | $54,600 | 26,850 | 1.03× | 20 | 331 |
| Pennsylvania | $48,440 | 48,920 | 0.91× | 16 | 257 |
| New Jersey | $58,300 | 37,550 | 0.99× | 14 | 237 |
| Colorado | $54,000 | 26,140 | 1.03× | 10 | 233 |
| Missouri | $47,990 | 21,400 | 0.83× | 9 | 186 |
| Maryland | $53,540 | 18,170 | 0.74× | 14 | 184 |
| Hawaii | $48,730 | 5,220 | 0.94× | 5 | 181 |
| Arizona | $50,590 | 22,690 | 0.79× | 11 | 180 |
| Oklahoma | $46,180 | 16,490 | 1.09× | 14 | 170 |
| New Mexico | $48,080 | 7,780 | 1.01× | 8 | 115 |
| Mississippi | $42,840 | 12,160 | 1.18× | 12 | 102 |
| Massachusetts | $59,830 | 29,110 | 0.91× | 8 | 100 |
| District of Columbiamoderate | $65,180 | 1,790 | 0.29× | 3 | 95 |
| Tennessee | $48,180 | 37,680 | 1.30× | 6 | 94 |
| Arkansas | $42,840 | 12,510 | 1.09× | 7 | 88 |
| Iowa | $48,180 | 14,020 | 1.02× | 5 | 88 |
| Nevada | $50,380 | 15,180 | 1.11× | 5 | 84 |
| Kansas | $47,290 | 15,380 | 1.21× | 9 | 79 |
| Alabama | $44,640 | 19,890 | 1.07× | 9 | 77 |
| Alaskamoderate | $56,430 | 4,580 | 1.59× | 4 | 75 |
| West Virginia | $42,890 | 7,620 | 1.23× | 5 | 65 |
| Idaho | $48,310 | 9,540 | 1.26× | 6 | 53 |
| South Carolinamoderate | $47,940 | 19,980 | 0.98× | 4 | 49 |
| North Dakotamoderate | $49,710 | 4,290 | 1.13× | 4 | 38 |
| Nebraskalimited | $47,110 | 10,050 | 1.11× | 2 | 34 |
| South Dakotamoderate | $46,340 | 10,200 | 2.52× | 4 | 31 |
| Montana | $47,270 | 6,980 | 1.54× | 8 | 30 |
| Wyomingmoderate | $47,910 | 3,480 | 1.40× | 3 | 20 |
| Vermontlimited | $54,720 | 2,950 | 1.10× | 1 | 18 |
| North Carolinalimited | $47,930 | 48,760 | 1.12× | 1 | 15 |
| Kentuckylimited | $46,550 | 23,480 | 1.33× | 2 | 12 |
| Virginialimited | $51,620 | 31,990 | 0.88× | 1 | 8 |
| Mainelimited | $50,510 | 7,390 | 1.31× | 1 | 4 |
| Delawarelimited | $51,780 | 4,600 | 1.07× | 1 | 3 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $52,450 | 7,180 | 1.19× | 1 | 3 |
| Connecticutlimited | $59,970 | 14,930 | 1.00× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.
- Check figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical accuracy, and proper codes.
- Comply with federal, state, and company policies, procedures, and regulations.
- Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents.
- Receive, record, and bank cash, checks, and vouchers.
- Code documents according to company procedures.
- Perform financial calculations, such as amounts due, interest charges, balances, discounts, equity, and principal.
- Reconcile or note and report discrepancies found in records.
Skills
- Mathematics3.4
- Reading Comprehension3.3
- Active Listening3.3
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Writing3.1
- Speaking3.1
- Monitoring3.0
- Active Learning2.8
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.2
- Administrative3.9
- Mathematics3.8
- English Language3.4
- Economics and Accounting3.4
- Computers and Electronics3.2
Abilities
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Written Comprehension3.9
- Near Vision3.9
- Mathematical Reasoning3.9
- Written Expression3.6
- Oral Expression3.5
Core activities
- Working with Computers4.5
- Getting Information4.3
- Documenting/Recording Information4.0
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships4.0
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates3.8
- Processing Information3.7
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Bookkeeping
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Some college, no degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 52.0302Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Bookkeeping?+
Some college, no degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping, which awarded 18,452 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Bookkeeping?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Accounting and Related Services. Together they graduate about 18,452 people a year.
How much do bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks earn?+
The median is $50,670 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $36,000 at the 10th percentile to $74,550 at the 90th. 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 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks growing?+
BLS projects a -5.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 170,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
644 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 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 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Account Clerk, Accounting Clerk, Accounting Assistant, Accounts Payables Clerk among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 43-3031.
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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