Short answer
The Austin metro area has 1,047 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll offices with paid employees, employing 8,024 people (Census County Business Patterns, 2023). Travis County has 658 of them. 386 are CPA offices and 456 bookkeeping and other accounting services. For audited, reviewed or compiled statements, hire a Texas-licensed CPA firm and ask for its peer review; Texas requires one for any firm doing that work. Check licenses in the TSBPA lookup.
- 1,047 offices employ 8,024 people across five counties, at average pay of $87,584.
- Travis County has 63% of the offices and 82% of the jobs.
- Bookkeeping and other non-CPA offices (456) outnumber CPA offices (386).
- Texas requires a peer review for any firm that does audits, reviews or compilations.
- Accountants and auditors in the metro earned a median of $83,120 in May 2025.
On this page
This page is for Austin-area founders, businesses and households looking for an accountant, people job hunting in local accounting, and companies that sell to accounting practices. It's organized by the job you need done, after a look at the numbers.
Austin's accounting market
County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, NAICS 5412 (accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services), Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area (CBSA 12420):
| Measure (2023) | Austin metro |
|---|---|
| Establishments | 1,047 |
| Employees (week of March 12) | 8,024 |
| Annual payroll | $702,773,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 7.7 |
| Average annual pay | $87,584 |
| Share of US establishments | 0.76% of 137,069 |
| County | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Travis | 658 | 6,543 |
| Williamson | 265 | 1,051 |
| Hays | 92 | 358 |
| Bastrop | 23 | 56 |
| Caldwell | 9 | Not reported (high-noise figure) |
Caldwell County's employee total was published but flagged as high-noise, meaning confidentiality noise changed it by 5% or more. By size, 746 offices have 1 to 4 employees, 171 have 5 to 9, 70 have 10 to 19, 37 have 20 to 49, 13 have 50 to 99, 4 have 100 to 249 and 5 have 250 to 499. The Census Bureau doesn't publish the 500 to 999 or 1,000-or-more cells here; subtracting the published classes from the total leaves 1 office with 500 or more employees. All five offices with 250 to 499 are in Travis County.
Austin ranks 25th among US metro areas by number of accounting offices, by our ranking of the CBP metro file. CBP counts establishments with employees, not firms, and leaves out sole practitioners. SEC EDGAR has no listed accounting companies to add, since its industry list has no accounting code.
If you need audited, reviewed or compiled statements
That's CPA firm work. The metro has 386 CPA offices (NAICS 541211) with 4,167 employees. In Texas, any firm with an office in the state that does attest work or calls itself a CPA firm must hold a firm license from the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (TSBPA), and a majority of its owners must be CPAs.
Texas also checks the work. A firm must be peer reviewed if it does audits, reviews, compilations or certain special reports on financial statements, and it must tell the board within 30 days of finishing its first such engagement. So ask any firm you're considering for its latest peer review report, and check the firm and the signing CPA in the TSBPA license lookup. If you're preparing for an IPO or another SEC registration, the auditor must be registered with the PCAOB: 194 US firms issued public company audit reports in 2025.
If you need tax help
The IRS's August 2026 preparer listing, released under the Freedom of Information Act, has 4,525 preparers with a business address in the metro: 1,500 CPAs, 403 enrolled agents and 137 attorneys. 2,223 (49%) have no IRS credential and no Annual Filing Season Program record. The city of Austin lists 2,574 preparers, 1,018 of them CPAs.
For an IRS audit, a payment plan or an appeal, use a CPA, enrolled agent or attorney: the IRS gives only those three unlimited representation rights. For a simple return, any preparer with a PTIN may do. The 167 tax preparation offices (541213) average 4.2 employees and do returns only. The IRS's advice applies everywhere: avoid fees based on your refund, never sign a blank return, and make sure the preparer signs and enters a PTIN.
If you need books or payroll
Bookkeeping and other non-CPA accounting offices (541219) are the largest group: 456 offices with 2,165 employees, averaging 4.7 people. They keep the books and may also prepare returns or run payroll, usually at lower rates than a CPA firm. Payroll services (541214) number 38 offices; their employee total is not reported (high-noise figure). Many startups use a bookkeeper for monthly close and bring in a CPA firm at year end or for a review.
Working in Austin accounting
Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro:
| Occupation | Employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Accountants and auditors | 12,480 | $83,120 |
| Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks | 11,900 | $54,320 |
| Financial managers | 7,210 | $167,180 |
| Tax preparers | 490 | $48,150 |
CBP puts pay per employee at the metro's CPA offices at $104,024, our calculation from payroll.
Prospecting Austin accounting firms
Illustrative example. The company and rates are invented; the counts come from CBP.
Pecan Review Prep (pecanreview.example) helps small CPA firms get ready for peer review. Its buyers are firms that do audits, reviews or compilations with 5 to 49 staff. The metro has 171 + 70 + 37 = 278 offices of that size; at the CPA share of offices, an illustrative 37%, that's about 103 CPA firms, and Pecan confirms each in the TSBPA lookup. It writes to the managing partner in late spring, when firms schedule reviews for the slower months. At an illustrative 10% reply rate, that's 10 conversations from one metro, with a second pass in Williamson and Hays counties.
Confirming licenses and finding the partner responsible for quality at each firm takes time; Bebop finds matching firms and researches each. The list of accounting firms explains buying cycles, and how many accountants there are covers the IRS file.
Local sources
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| TSBPA peer review program | Which services need a peer review, and how firms enroll |
| TSBPA license lookup | Individual CPA and firm searches |
| TXCPA Austin | The Austin chapter of the Texas Society of CPAs, with a member directory |
| Austin Chamber | The regional chamber and economic development group |
Next step: for the next metro down I-35, see accounting firms in San Antonio.
Sources
- County Business Patterns (CBP), 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- North American Industry Classification System, 2022 (industries 541211 to 541219), US Census Bureau, 2022, accessed 30 October 2026
- Peer review program, Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, accessed 30 October 2026
- The Public Accountancy Act, Chapter 901 of the Occupations Code (sections 901.159, 901.351 and 901.354), Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, 2025, accessed 30 October 2026
- PTIN information and the Freedom of Information Act (preparer listings by state), Internal Revenue Service, updated 14 August 2026
- Understanding tax return preparer credentials and qualifications, Internal Revenue Service, accessed 30 October 2026
- Topic no. 254, How to choose a tax return preparer, Internal Revenue Service, accessed 30 October 2026
- 2025 Annual Report (registered firms as of 31 December 2025), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, 2026
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: metropolitan area estimates, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many accounting firms are in Austin?
Census County Business Patterns counted 1,047 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll establishments with paid employees in the Austin metro area in 2023, employing 8,024 people. Travis County had 658 and Williamson County 265. 386 were CPA offices. The figures count offices with employees, not firms, and leave out sole practitioners.
What is a peer review for a CPA firm?
It's an outside review of a CPA firm's audit and accounting work, run by a board-approved sponsor. In Texas, a firm must be peer reviewed if it performs audits, reviews, compilations or certain special reports on financial statements, and it must notify the state board within 30 days of completing its first such engagement. Ask a prospective firm for its latest report.
Do I need a CPA or a bookkeeper for my Austin startup?
For monthly books, payroll and invoicing, a bookkeeping service is usually enough and costs less; the metro has 456 such offices. When a lender or investor asks for reviewed or audited statements, or you face an IRS audit, you need a CPA firm or another credentialed professional. Many companies use both: a bookkeeper monthly and a CPA at year end.
How much do accountants make in Austin?
Accountants and auditors in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area earned a median of $83,120 a year in May 2025, across 12,480 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bookkeeping clerks earned $54,320 and financial managers $167,180. Census puts pay per employee at the metro's CPA offices at $104,024 in 2023.