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Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

US occupation · SOC 43-3031

Job titles people report: Account Clerk, Accounting Assistant, Accounting Associate, Accounting Clerk, Accounting Specialist, Accounting Technician, Accounts Payable Clerk, Accounts Payable Specialist, Accounts Payables Clerk, Accounts Receivable Clerk

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$50,670
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$43,520 – $61,470
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
1,373,680
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
-5.6%
Shrinking (below 0%)
Openings a year (projected)
144,100
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Some college, no degree
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

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.

Main tasks

  • 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.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Some college, no degree
Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
O*NET Job Zone 3
Medium preparation
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
  • Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
  • Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Business

  • Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Business at the Major step.

Where many students take business

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk