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Accountants and Auditors

SOC 13-2011 · 2024-2034

Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data.

How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.

What California expects of this job

Typical pay in California

$98,678per year

Projected openings

154,340

Projected change

+7.5%

Usually needs

Bachelor's degree

Skills this work uses most

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.

1. Reading Comprehension
2. Active Listening
3. Speaking
4. Critical Thinking
5. Judgment and Decision Making
6. Writing

Pay by region

What the pay actually ranges across

The lowest-paid tenth earn under

$62,806

A quarter earn under

$77,082

Half earn under

$98,678

Three quarters earn under

$127,961

The highest-paid tenth earn over

$163,213

A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.

Similar work

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.

Programs that train for this job — 65

• Accounting - Accounting AS Degree

  Cabrillo College · Aptos · $5,270

  Working 6 months later

  83%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $9,611

• Accounting Clerk

  Richard N. Slawson Occupational Center - LAUSD · Bell · $2,988

  Working 6 months later

  39%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $13,495

• Accounting Assistant & Core Skills Certificate of Achievement

  City College of San Francisco · San Francisco · $200

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Computer Accounting Certificate of Achievement

  City College of San Francisco · San Francisco · $998

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Accounts Payable Specialist Certification - Ed2Go

  Los Medanos College · Pittsburg · $1,295

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Payroll & Tax Accounting

  Mt. San Antonio College · Walnut · $99

  Working 6 months later

  31%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $9,198

• Accounting

  Mt. San Antonio College · Walnut · $99

  Working 6 months later

  41%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $9,716

• Accounting Specialist (Certificate) (Fast Track)

  UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education · Davis · $3,740

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Accounting Principles

  UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education · Davis · $3,168

  Working 6 months later

  7%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Accounting Principles (Fast Track)

  UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education · Davis · $2,992

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Accounting Specialist (Certificate)

  UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education · Davis · $3,960

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Accounting Clerk

  El Monte Rosemead Adult School · El Monte · $145

  Working 6 months later

  73%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Taxation Certificate (Hybrid)

  UCLA Extension · Los Angeles · $4,153

  Working 6 months later

  29%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $16,250

• Internal Audit Certificate (Hybrid)

  UCLA Extension · Los Angeles · $8,120

  Working 6 months later

  60%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $12,944

• Accounting Certificate of Achievement

  Rio Hondo College · Whittier · $1,564

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Accounting For Government And Nonprofit Organizations

  Rio Hondo College · Whittier · $736

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Bookkeeping/Accounting

  MAOF Skill Center-Bakersfield · Bakersfield · $10,000

  Working 6 months later

  78%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $7,252

• Accounting Assistant

  Liberty Adult Education · Brentwood · $2,700

  Working 6 months later

  57%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $4,950

• Accounting - Advanced

  De Anza College, Occupational Training Institute · Cupertino · $7,131

  Working 6 months later

  5%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $24,515

  Outcomes cover more than this program The provider filed these figures against more than the program named — several of its programs, or the whole institution. They are shown because they are real, and nothing here ranks or rates them, because they do not describe this program.

• Accounting

  De Anza College, Occupational Training Institute · Cupertino · $5,761

  Working 6 months later

  6%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $12,220

  Outcomes cover more than this program The provider filed these figures against more than the program named — several of its programs, or the whole institution. They are shown because they are real, and nothing here ranks or rates them, because they do not describe this program.

• CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT EXAMINATION PREPARATION.

  De Anza College, Occupational Training Institute · Cupertino · $5,200

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

  Outcomes cover more than this program The provider filed these figures against more than the program named — several of its programs, or the whole institution. They are shown because they are real, and nothing here ranks or rates them, because they do not describe this program.

• Business- Accounting Certificate of Achievement

  Mendocino College · Ukiah · $1,438

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Business- Accounting Associate of Science Degree

  Mendocino College · Ukiah · $4,377

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Applied Accounting (Online)

  UC Irvine Continuing Education · Irvine · $10,025

  Working 6 months later

  50%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $10,000

• Accounting Clerk Core

  Los Angeles Technology Center - LAUSD · Los Angeles · $1,565

  Working 6 months later

  38%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $13,495

• Business Office Specialist and Accounting Assistant

  CA Trade Academy · Ontario · $3,900

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• AI-Driven Accounting and Bookkeeping Mastery Program

  California Institute of Career Development · San Jose · $9,300

  Working 6 months later

  91%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $18,000

• Accounting

  UCSD Division of Extended Studies · La Jolla · $7,885

  Working 6 months later

  43%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $14,817

• Accounting Clerk Certificate

  Abram Friedman Occupational Center-LAUSD · Los Angeles · $3,281

  Working 6 months later

  68%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $13,495

• Accounting Certificate of Achievement

  College of the Desert · Palm Desert · $1,402

  Working 6 months later

  4%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

  Outcomes cover more than this program The provider filed these figures against more than the program named — several of its programs, or the whole institution. They are shown because they are real, and nothing here ranks or rates them, because they do not describe this program.

• Accounting AS Degree

  College of the Desert · Palm Desert · $2,867

  Working 6 months later

  4%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

  Outcomes cover more than this program The provider filed these figures against more than the program named — several of its programs, or the whole institution. They are shown because they are real, and nothing here ranks or rates them, because they do not describe this program.

• Computerized Financial Accounting

  Ventura Adult and Continuing Education · Ventura · $7,314

  Working 6 months later

  96%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $11,625

  Outcomes cover more than this program The provider filed these figures against more than the program named — several of its programs, or the whole institution. They are shown because they are real, and nothing here ranks or rates them, because they do not describe this program.

• Accounting: Taxation and Quickbooks for Accounting

  Amfasoft · Fremont · $6,003

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Payroll Certification and Taxation

  Amfasoft · Fremont · $9,600

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Accounting: Taxation

  Amfasoft · Fremont · $4,703

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Accounting: All in One & Payroll Certification

  Amfasoft · Fremont · $10,500

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Accounting All in One & Taxation

  Amfasoft · Fremont · $9,080

  Working 6 months later

  75%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $15,340

• Accounting: All in One

  Amfasoft · Fremont · $6,403

  Working 6 months later

  79%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $7,300

• Bookkeeping & MS Office Professional

  Amfasoft · Fremont · $4,002

  Working 6 months later

  Not reported

  Earnings in one quarter after

  Not reported

• Quickbooks for Accounting

  Amfasoft · Fremont · $2,750

  Working 6 months later

  90%

  Earnings in one quarter after

  $15,500