Sector · NAICS 54 · Industry guide
CPA Salary in Professional & technical
What accountants and auditors actually earn working in Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services — the full percentile range, employment, pay by role, and how the industry ranks against every other.
Median CPA pay · Professional & technical
$84,490
Midpoint for accountants & auditors
Typical range
$68.8K–$118.6K
Middle 50% (25th–75th percentile)
Top earners
$158.9K+
90th percentile and above
vs. national
+1.0%
Ranks #21 of 52 industries
Direct BLS OEWS May 2025 measurement · Accountants & Auditors (SOC 13-2011) in NAICS 54 · reviewed June 2026
How much do accountants make in Professional & technical?
A direct BLS OEWS May 2025 measurement of national wages for accountants and auditors employed in this industry — verified, not modeled.
vs. all industries
+1.0%
Professional & technical ranks #21 of 52 published industry cuts, and #8 of 20 sectors.
See the rankingLicensed CPA · modeled
$94,600
A modeled ~12% license premium on this industry's verified median. BLS does not measure CPA pay separately.
What the license is worthTop earners · 90th pct
$158.9K+
A 2.8× spread from the 10th percentile — model your own number by role and experience.
Model your payProfessional & technical · Accountants & auditors
Verified$40.62/hr median hourly · $98,030 average
Percentiles in Professional & technical
Verified| Percentile | Annual | Hourly | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $56,960 | $27.38/hr | Entry-level / lower pay |
| 25th percentile | $68,760 | $33.06/hr | Below median |
| Median (50th) | $84,490 | $40.62/hr | Typical pay |
| 75th percentile | $118,620 | $57.03/hr | Experienced / senior |
| 90th percentile | $158,850 | $76.37/hr | Top earners |
Annual and hourly wages for accountants and auditors employed in Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, BLS OEWS May 2025. BLS measures 474,030 accountants and auditors in this industry. Hourly figures outside the median are derived from annual wages at 2,080 hours.
Why it pays this
What drives accountant pay in Professional & technical
Professional & technical runs +1.0% versus the all-industry median. Here is what sits behind that number.
Professional & technical · NAICS 54
This is the home of public accounting — CPA firms themselves are classified here, alongside law, consulting, engineering, and architecture practices. It employs more accountants and auditors than any other industry, and it is where most CPAs begin their careers. Pay spans a wider band than the national distribution, because the same industry holds first-year associates at small firms and partners at the Big 4.
The technical work the industry demands
Industries that need specialized accounting — revenue recognition, regulatory reporting, cost accounting, fund and partnership work — pay for skills that are hard to hire and slow to build.
Where the employers are
Industry pay and location are entangled: an industry clustered in expensive metros carries a higher median partly for that reason alone. Compare against the state and metro guides to separate the two.
The mix of roles
This median blends every accounting job in the industry, from staff to controller. An industry with a more senior mix posts a higher median without paying any individual more.
What the figure excludes
OEWS wages cover base and some incentive pay. Equity, deferred compensation, and profit-sharing are not well captured — which understates total pay most in bonus-heavy industries.
Comparison
Professional & technical vs. the national benchmark
Where this industry sits against all industries combined.
Professional & technical — all accountants
verified BLS measurement
$84,490
+1.0%Professional & technical — licensed CPA
modeled ~12% license premium
$94,600
+13.0%All industries — national
verified benchmark
$83,680
base
Professional & technical runs +1.0% versus the national median for accountants and auditors. Industry and national figures are direct BLS OEWS May 2025 measurements; the licensed-CPA figure is a modeled estimate layered on top.
By role
Accounting roles in Professional & technical
Median estimates by role, scaled to this industry's verified wage level. BLS does not publish pay by role, so these are modeled estimates — the industry median they are built on is verified.
Estimated median pay by role
Scaled to Professional & technical, estimated pay runs from $120,000 (Accounting Manager) to $329,500 (Chief Financial Officer) — about 2.7× across the ladder.
| Role / level | Low | Est. median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Financial Officer | $329,500 | ||
| Partner | $304,200 | ||
| Director of Finance | $207,000 | ||
| Senior Manager | $173,200 | ||
| Controller | $164,800 | ||
| Tax Manager | $131,000 | ||
| Audit Manager | $131,000 | ||
| Accounting Manager | $120,000 | ||
| Audit Senior | $92,900 | ||
| Tax Senior | $91,200 | ||
| Senior Accountant | $86,200 | ||
| Audit Associate | $70,100 | ||
| Tax Associate | $69,300 | ||
| Staff Accountant | $65,900 |
Role multipliers applied to the BLS national median for Accountants & Auditors. The low–high band is a modeled typical range, not a guaranteed offer.
Frequently asked questions
- How much do accountants make in Professional & technical?
- The median wage for accountants and auditors in Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services is $84,490 per year ($40.62/hr) — +1.0% versus the national median of $83,680 across all industries. The middle half earn between $68,760 and $118,620. This is a direct BLS OEWS May 2025 measurement.
- Do CPAs earn more than this in Professional & technical?
- Typically yes, but BLS does not measure it. The $84,490 figure covers all accountants and auditors in the industry — licensed CPAs and unlicensed staff together. BLS publishes no CPA-specific wage for any industry. Applying our modeled ~12% license premium to this industry's median gives roughly $94,600, which is an estimate, not a measurement.
- Is Professional & technical a good industry for accountants?
- It ranks #21 of 52 published industry cuts by median pay, and #8 of 20 sectors. BLS measures 474,030 accountants and auditors working in it, so weigh pay against how many roles actually exist, where they are located, and how specialized the work is.
- What do top earners make in Professional & technical?
- The 90th percentile is $158,850 and the 10th percentile is $56,960 — a 2.8× spread, versus 2.6× nationally. Top earners are generally senior, licensed, and in the industry's higher-cost metros.
- Are these figures verified or estimated?
- The industry wage figures on this page are verified: they are direct BLS OEWS May 2025 measurements of what accountants and auditors earn within Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, nationally. The role-level and CPA-license figures are clearly labeled estimates — modeled by applying documented multipliers to that verified median, because BLS does not publish pay by role or license.
How to read these numbers
National, state, and metro pay comes straight from the federal wage measurement for accountants & auditors — direct and source-backed, not scaled from anything.
Role, experience, CPA-license, and employer figures are modeled on top of that measurement and labeled Estimate — the federal data does not break those out, so we never present them as measurements.
Add your Professional & technical salary
BLS measures the occupation, not the license. Anonymous submissions are how we build a real CPA-specific picture on top of it — it takes two minutes.