Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

43-3031 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. Excludes "Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks" (43-3051).


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic 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)
1,643,470 0.4 % $17.37 $36,120 0.1 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $10.31 $13.18 $16.70 $20.88 $25.60
Annual Wage (2) $21,450 $27,400 $34,740 $43,440 $53,250


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services 96,260 11.60 $17.13 $35,630
Management of Companies and Enterprises 76,910 4.04 $17.82 $37,070
Local Government (OES Designation) 71,380 1.29 $17.88 $37,200
Depository Credit Intermediation 52,210 3.05 $16.54 $34,410
Elementary and Secondary Schools 39,450 0.47 $17.78 $36,990

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services 96,260 11.60 $17.13 $35,630
Office Administrative Services 23,450 5.80 $17.80 $37,020
Monetary Authorities-Central Bank 1,130 5.68 $19.73 $41,030
Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers 12,100 4.49 $17.33 $36,050
Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers 3,220 4.29 $15.15 $31,510

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Postal Service 700 0.11 $27.68 $57,570
Motion Picture and Video Industries 3,770 1.07 $21.84 $45,420
Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage 7,180 1.55 $21.32 $44,340
Metal Ore Mining 130 0.33 $21.19 $44,080
Other Financial Investment Activities 8,350 2.44 $20.84 $43,350


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 178,590 12.72 0.99 $19.69 $40,950
Texas 122,660 11.90 0.93 $17.02 $35,410
New York 119,840 14.22 1.11 $19.29 $40,120
Florida 95,810 13.40 1.05 $16.05 $33,390
Pennsylvania 68,010 12.26 0.96 $17.38 $36,140




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Montana 11,310 26.60 2.08 $15.23 $31,690
South Dakota 9,220 23.49 1.83 $13.59 $28,260
North Dakota 7,540 20.29 1.58 $15.83 $32,930
Oklahoma 30,020 20.04 1.56 $14.26 $29,670
Vermont 5,310 18.25 1.42 $16.44 $34,200




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 4,390 6.81 0.53 $23.48 $48,830
Connecticut 19,730 12.26 0.96 $19.89 $41,380
Alaska 4,590 14.66 1.14 $19.77 $41,110
California 178,590 12.72 0.99 $19.69 $40,950
Massachusetts 41,020 12.99 1.01 $19.65 $40,860





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 66,060 13.05 1.02 $20.67 $43,000
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 53,800 14.07 1.10 $19.14 $39,820
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 32,870 9.17 0.72 $18.47 $38,430
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 29,600 11.60 0.91 $18.56 $38,600
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 27,890 12.52 0.98 $17.81 $37,050
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 26,600 13.01 1.02 $18.20 $37,860
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 23,060 9.98 0.78 $21.08 $43,840
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 22,840 12.59 0.98 $19.69 $40,950
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 21,010 12.54 0.98 $20.63 $42,920
Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division 20,920 17.30 1.35 $20.39 $42,410




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Rapid City, SD 1,590 27.10 2.12 $13.94 $29,000
Billings, MT 2,100 26.07 2.03 $15.52 $32,270
Lewiston-Auburn, ME 1,120 24.10 1.88 $13.69 $28,480
Missoula, MT 1,270 23.52 1.84 $15.66 $32,560
Great Falls, MT 790 22.76 1.78 $15.35 $31,930
Jefferson City, MO 1,580 22.11 1.73 $13.68 $28,460
Utica-Rome, NY 2,640 21.39 1.67 $16.24 $33,790
Tulsa, OK 8,270 20.29 1.58 $15.32 $31,870
Bismarck, ND 1,260 20.07 1.57 $15.79 $32,850
Sioux Falls, SD 2,670 19.85 1.55 $14.08 $29,290




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 12,090 12.60 0.98 $23.01 $47,860
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 9,100 10.39 0.81 $22.09 $45,960
Napa, CA 870 14.18 1.11 $21.81 $45,360
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 5,230 12.77 1.00 $21.57 $44,870
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division 11,620 12.21 0.95 $21.49 $44,700
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 23,060 9.98 0.78 $21.08 $43,840
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 1,250 15.09 1.18 $20.68 $43,010
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 66,060 13.05 1.02 $20.67 $43,000
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 21,010 12.54 0.98 $20.63 $42,920
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 2,480 14.40 1.12 $20.61 $42,870

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 5,920 15.54 1.21 $14.18 $29,500
Northwestern Texas nonmetropolitan area 3,700 14.97 1.17 $14.04 $29,200
Other North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 3,560 12.19 0.95 $14.84 $30,870
Northwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area 3,530 19.80 1.55 $14.58 $30,320
Eastern Texas nonmetropolitan area 3,370 12.17 0.95 $15.03 $31,270

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Central Montana nonmetropolitan area 1,130 31.54 2.46 $13.39 $27,840
Central South Dakota nonmetropolitan area 920 28.56 2.23 $12.88 $26,800
Western Montana nonmetropolitan area 1,840 27.67 2.16 $14.93 $31,040
Southwestern Montana nonmetropolitan area 3,210 27.44 2.14 $15.83 $32,930
Eastern Montana nonmetropolitan area 860 26.52 2.07 $14.58 $30,330

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard nonmetropolitan area 250 18.20 1.42 $22.42 $46,630
Railbelt / Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area 870 12.17 0.95 $20.45 $42,540
Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area 650 18.64 1.45 $20.00 $41,600
Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area 240 17.24 1.35 $19.80 $41,190
North Central Colorado nonmetropolitan area 1,090 15.16 1.18 $19.29 $40,130


About May 2011 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. 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.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2011 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped XLS files

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 27, 2012