Tax Preparers vs Accountants & Auditors
Median pay is about $29k higher for Accountants & Auditors. The usual entry education is high school for Tax Preparers and bachelor's for Accountants & Auditors.
marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.
| Measure | Tax Preparers | Accountants & Auditors |
|---|---|---|
| Pay | ||
| Median pay | $54,920 | $83,680, higher |
| Entry pay 25th percentile | $38,910 | $67,020, higher |
| Experienced pay 75th percentile | $76,300 | $109,810, higher |
| Outlook, 2025 to 2035 | ||
| Projected growth | +4.7% Growing fast | +5.0% Growing fast, higher |
| Openings a year | 9,400 | 115,300 |
| Getting in | ||
| Typical education | High school | Bachelor's |
| Difficulty modeled | 2 / 5 | 2.8 / 5 |
| AI | ||
| Displacement risk modeled | Very high | High |
| AI exposure modeled, percentile | 86th pct | 95th pct |
Where the skills differ
Only Tax Preparers
- Active Learning
Only Accountants & Auditors
- Monitoring
Both lean on reading comprehension, active listening, critical thinking, speaking, writing.
More comparisons
Compare Tax Preparers with
Compare Accountants & Auditors with
Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills: O*NET 30.3. Difficulty, displacement risk and AI exposure are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.