Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

13-2082 Tax Preparers

Prepare tax returns for individuals or small businesses but do not have the background or responsibilities of an accredited or certified public accountant.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
50,410 4.8 % $15.69 $32,630 2.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.38 $9.07 $12.76 $18.98 $27.19
Annual Wage (2) $15,360 $18,880 $26,530 $39,490 $56,560

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Accounting and bookkeeping services 47,830 $15.35 $31,930 1 14
Management and technical consulting services 410 $20.90 $43,470 2 8
Management of companies and enterprises 390 $27.99 $58,220 3 1
Depository credit intermediation 240 $24.53 $51,010 4 4
Legal services 130 $15.79 $32,840 5 13

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Management of companies and enterprises 390 $27.99 $58,220 3 1
Insurance carriers (6) $26.24 $54,580 (6) 2
Other financial investment activities (6) $25.31 $52,640 (6) 3
Depository credit intermediation 240 $24.53 $51,010 4 4
Architectural and engineering services 30 $23.86 $49,620 12 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Florida 5,510 $11.22 $23,340 0.077% 573
Virginia 2,510 $12.31 $25,610 0.074% 554
Delaware 260 $12.68 $26,380 0.065% 387
Arkansas 620 $10.41 $21,650 0.055% 492
Georgia 1,990 $11.89 $24,740 0.053% 542

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Massachusetts 740 $25.32 $52,670 0.023% 188
California 7,410 $23.21 $48,270 0.051% 274
Minnesota 600 $18.78 $39,070 0.023% 327
Maryland 490 $18.55 $38,580 0.020% 313
New York 2,260 $18.44 $38,360 0.027% 389

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Grand Junction, CO MSA 110 $19.71 $41,000 0.207%
Jacksonville, NC MSA 70 $8.60 $17,880 0.194%
Fort Lauderdale, FL PMSA 960 $9.22 $19,170 0.137%
Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC MSA 920 $9.60 $19,960 0.131%
Kokomo, IN MSA 60 $9.32 $19,380 0.126%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Orange County, CA PMSA (6) $37.62 $78,250 (6)
San Francisco, CA PMSA 710 $31.41 $65,330 0.073%
Boston, MA-NH PMSA 630 $26.23 $54,560 0.033%
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA PMSA 2,080 $24.03 $49,980 0.052%
Yakima, WA MSA 40 $22.93 $47,700 0.052%

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Business and Financial Operations Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004