How much do bookkeepers make in 2026?
Bookkeepers are counted in the BLS bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks series, where OEWS May 2025 reports a national median of $50,670 a year ($24.36 an hour), with a 10th percentile near $36,000 and a 90th percentile of $74,550. The series is broad, pooling 1,373,680 clerks across bookkeeping, accounts payable, accounts receivable and general accounting support. The projection deserves stating plainly rather than softening: employment is projected to decline 5.8% through 2034, though roughly 170,000 openings a year still arise because the occupation is very large and turnover is high. The cause is automation — bank feeds, invoice capture, automated coding and reconciliation now handle work that once occupied full-time roles, particularly in small businesses using cloud accounting platforms. What has not gone away is judgement and ownership: small businesses still need someone who understands their books, catches errors the automation makes confidently, handles payroll and sales tax correctly, and produces something an accountant can work from. Bookkeepers who work across multiple clients, know their platforms deeply and can advise rather than only record are the ones with durable demand. → Full bookkeeper career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $50,670 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Bookkeepers earn a national median $50,670/yr ($24.36/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 43-3031); the P10 to P90 range is $36,000 to $74,550.
- The $50,670 median comes from a 1,373,680-person series pooling bookkeeping, payable, receivable and general accounting clerks, with a $36,000 to $74,550 band.
- Employment is projected to decline 5.8% through 2034 — automation of bank feeds, invoice capture and reconciliation is the cause — though roughly 170,000 openings a year still arise from the occupation's size and turnover.
- Durable demand sits with bookkeepers who own the books rather than key them: platform depth, payroll and sales tax competence, error detection and the ability to advise a small business owner.
US Bookkeeper Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do bookkeepers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 43-3031; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 43-3031, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a bookkeeper earn at each career stage?
Bookkeeping pay progresses from data entry to ownership of a full set of books. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 43-3031, which pools several clerical accounting roles.
By State
Which states pay bookkeepers the most in 2026?
State figures are modeled estimates — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations. Bookkeeping pay tracks local small business markets closely, and much of the work is now performed remotely for clients in other states, which flattens geographic differences for practice-based bookkeepers.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($58,270), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
bookkeeper pay by state — all 4 state guides
By Metro
Which cities pay bookkeepers the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Metro premiums are modest here because the work is priced against small business budgets rather than corporate ones.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a bookkeeper’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does bookkeeper pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Bookkeepers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify bookkeeper wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a bookkeeper actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Bookkeeper Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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