Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
13-2082 Tax Preparers
Prepare tax returns for individuals or small businesses. Excludes “Accountants and Auditors” (13-2011).
National estimates for Tax Preparers
Industry profile for Tax Preparers
Geographic profile for Tax Preparers
National estimates for Tax Preparers:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Tax Preparers:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 83,190 |
2.8 % |
$ 24.56 |
$ 51,080 |
1.4 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Tax Preparers:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 11.51 |
$ 14.59 |
$ 22.26 |
$ 29.86 |
$ 41.09 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 23,930 |
$ 30,340 |
$ 46,290 |
$ 62,100 |
$ 85,470 |
Industry profile for Tax Preparers:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Tax Preparers are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Tax Preparers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Tax Preparers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services |
79,090 |
7.88 |
$ 24.23 |
$ 50,390 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services |
2,480 |
0.16 |
$ 33.20 |
$ 69,060 |
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities |
210 |
0.02 |
$ 33.25 |
$ 69,160 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
160 |
0.01 |
$ 35.89 |
$ 74,660 |
| Employment Services |
120 |
0.00 |
$ 24.34 |
$ 50,630 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Tax Preparers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services |
79,090 |
7.88 |
$ 24.23 |
$ 50,390 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services |
2,480 |
0.16 |
$ 33.20 |
$ 69,060 |
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities |
210 |
0.02 |
$ 33.25 |
$ 69,160 |
| Nondepository Credit Intermediation |
60 |
0.01 |
$ 29.33 |
$ 61,010 |
| Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities |
80 |
0.01 |
$ 20.56 |
$ 42,770 |
Top paying industries for Tax Preparers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
160 |
0.01 |
$ 35.89 |
$ 74,660 |
| Legal Services |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 33.78 |
$ 70,260 |
| Insurance Carriers |
30 |
(7) |
$ 33.76 |
$ 70,220 |
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities |
210 |
0.02 |
$ 33.25 |
$ 69,160 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services |
2,480 |
0.16 |
$ 33.20 |
$ 69,060 |
Geographic profile for Tax Preparers:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Tax Preparers are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Tax Preparers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Tax Preparers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Texas |
9,980 |
0.82 |
1.38 |
$ 28.55 |
$ 59,380 |
| California |
8,310 |
0.50 |
0.85 |
$ 28.91 |
$ 60,140 |
| Florida |
6,880 |
0.80 |
1.35 |
$ 21.33 |
$ 44,370 |
| New York |
6,610 |
0.76 |
1.29 |
$ 28.25 |
$ 58,760 |
| Pennsylvania |
2,960 |
0.53 |
0.90 |
$ 23.84 |
$ 49,590 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Tax Preparers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Arkansas |
1,100 |
0.92 |
1.56 |
$ 16.68 |
$ 34,690 |
| South Carolina |
1,900 |
0.92 |
1.56 |
$ 21.19 |
$ 44,080 |
| New Hampshire |
570 |
0.90 |
1.53 |
$ 26.19 |
$ 54,470 |
| Texas |
9,980 |
0.82 |
1.38 |
$ 28.55 |
$ 59,380 |
| South Dakota |
340 |
0.81 |
1.38 |
$ 20.56 |
$ 42,760 |
Top paying states for Tax Preparers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Alaska |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 38.80 |
$ 80,710 |
| Colorado |
1,780 |
0.68 |
1.15 |
$ 32.51 |
$ 67,620 |
| Massachusetts |
1,730 |
0.51 |
0.86 |
$ 30.27 |
$ 62,970 |
| California |
8,310 |
0.50 |
0.85 |
$ 28.91 |
$ 60,140 |
| Texas |
9,980 |
0.82 |
1.38 |
$ 28.55 |
$ 59,380 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Tax Preparers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
6,240 |
0.72 |
1.22 |
$ 29.20 |
$ 60,730 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
2,750 |
1.12 |
1.90 |
$ 24.36 |
$ 50,680 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
2,000 |
0.47 |
0.80 |
$ 28.46 |
$ 59,200 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
1,750 |
0.68 |
1.15 |
$ 22.19 |
$ 46,160 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
1,720 |
0.59 |
1.00 |
$ 26.25 |
$ 54,590 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
1,640 |
0.78 |
1.31 |
$ 29.56 |
$ 61,490 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
1,400 |
0.53 |
0.89 |
$ 24.90 |
$ 51,800 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
1,320 |
0.51 |
0.86 |
$ 31.77 |
$ 66,080 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,320 |
0.59 |
0.99 |
$ 32.08 |
$ 66,730 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
1,160 |
0.60 |
1.02 |
$ 28.74 |
$ 59,780 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Tax Preparers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Grants Pass, OR |
60 |
2.07 |
3.51 |
$ 18.51 |
$ 38,490 |
| Sumter, SC |
60 |
1.65 |
2.80 |
$ 13.91 |
$ 28,940 |
| Jacksonville, NC |
70 |
1.36 |
2.31 |
$ 15.37 |
$ 31,960 |
| Medford, OR |
120 |
1.35 |
2.29 |
$ 23.53 |
$ 48,940 |
| Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC |
510 |
1.30 |
2.20 |
$ 29.44 |
$ 61,220 |
| Rapid City, SD |
90 |
1.29 |
2.19 |
$ 21.05 |
$ 43,790 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
2,750 |
1.12 |
1.90 |
$ 24.36 |
$ 50,680 |
| Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO |
260 |
1.08 |
1.82 |
$ 17.62 |
$ 36,640 |
| Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ |
60 |
1.07 |
1.81 |
$ 18.93 |
$ 39,380 |
| San Angelo, TX |
50 |
1.06 |
1.79 |
$ 21.22 |
$ 44,130 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Tax Preparers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Anchorage, AK |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 39.36 |
$ 81,880 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
630 |
0.59 |
0.99 |
$ 38.21 |
$ 79,470 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
1,110 |
0.76 |
1.28 |
$ 35.18 |
$ 73,170 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 33.75 |
$ 70,190 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
800 |
0.52 |
0.88 |
$ 33.45 |
$ 69,570 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,320 |
0.59 |
0.99 |
$ 32.08 |
$ 66,730 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
1,320 |
0.51 |
0.86 |
$ 31.77 |
$ 66,080 |
| Portsmouth, NH-ME |
50 |
0.57 |
0.97 |
$ 31.43 |
$ 65,380 |
| Tyler, TX |
50 |
0.53 |
0.89 |
$ 31.42 |
$ 65,360 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX |
870 |
0.81 |
1.38 |
$ 31.18 |
$ 64,840 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Tax Preparers:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Tax Preparers:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Tax Preparers:
About May 2021 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 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.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(8) Estimate not released.
(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 OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
