Short answer
New York City has 3,487 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll offices with paid employees, employing 61,367 people (Census County Business Patterns, 2023). Manhattan has 1,140 of them and 83% of the jobs; 1,059 citywide are CPA offices. To check a CPA firm, use the State Education Department's verification search. Commercial tax preparers must register with the state Tax Department, and the IRS lists credentialed preparers in a public directory.
- 3,487 offices employ 61,367 people across the five boroughs, at average pay of $129,682.
- Manhattan's 1,140 offices average 45 employees; Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island average 4 to 5.
- 16,363 registered New York CPAs give a city mailing address, and 7,165 CPAs with a city business address appear in the IRS preparer listing.
- The Bronx has 2,304 state-registered commercial tax preparers, the most of any borough, but only 95 CPA preparers.
- A firm must register with the State Education Department if it audits, compiles or puts "CPA" in its name.
On this page
This report is for New York businesses and households choosing an accountant, people looking for accounting jobs in the city, and companies that sell to accounting firms. It counts the firms by borough and type, shows how to check a firm or a tax preparer with the state and the IRS, and ends with how to prospect them.
Accounting firms in New York City by the numbers
County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 counts establishments in NAICS 5412 (accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services) in Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens and Richmond counties, New York: the five boroughs.
| Measure (2023) | Five boroughs |
|---|---|
| Establishments | 3,487 |
| Employees (week of March 12) | 61,367 |
| Annual payroll | $7,958,183,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 17.6 |
| Average annual pay | $129,682 |
| Share of US establishments | 2.54% of 137,069 |
| Borough (county) | Establishments | Employees | Employees per office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan (New York) | 1,140 | 51,078 | 44.8 |
| Brooklyn (Kings) | 975 | 4,827 | 5.0 |
| Queens | 916 | 3,539 | 3.9 |
| The Bronx | 284 | 1,236 | 4.4 |
| Staten Island (Richmond) | 172 | 687 | 4.0 |
By size, 2,431 offices have 1 to 4 employees, 595 have 5 to 9 and 248 have 10 to 19. For the five boroughs combined, the Census Bureau doesn't publish the classes from 20 employees up, because some outer-borough cells are withheld; by subtraction, 213 offices have 20 or more. Manhattan's own classes are all published: 62 offices with 20 to 49 employees, 31 with 50 to 99, 21 with 100 to 249, 18 with 250 to 499, 7 with 500 to 999 and 9 with 1,000 or more. Average pay in Manhattan offices is $146,625.
CBP counts establishments with paid employees, not companies: a national firm with offices in Midtown and downtown counts twice, and a sole practitioner with no staff isn't counted. SEC EDGAR lists no public accounting companies here: its own industry list has no accounting code (SIC 8721), and the largest firms are privately owned partnerships. For those, see the Big 4 accounting firms.
CPA firm, bookkeeper, tax preparer or payroll service?
Census splits the industry into four NAICS 2022 codes, and they map to four different kinds of help:
| Type (NAICS) | Offices | Employees | What they do |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPA offices (541211) | 1,059 | 40,897 | Audits, reviews, financial statements, tax and advice; only CPAs can sign an audit report |
| Tax preparation (541213) | 878 | 3,880 | Returns only, no bookkeeping or payroll |
| Payroll services (541214) | 189 | 6,741 | Paychecks, payroll reports and payroll tax filings |
| Other accounting, including bookkeeping (541219) | 1,361 | 9,849 | Bookkeeping, billing and non-CPA accounting, often with tax returns |
If a lender, investor or regulator wants audited or reviewed statements, you need a CPA firm. For monthly books, a bookkeeper is usually cheaper. Tax-only shops average 4.4 employees and peak in filing season, which is when CBP takes its count.
Checking a New York firm or preparer
CPA firms. A firm must register with the New York State Education Department (NYSED) if it provides attest or compilation services to New York clients or uses "CPA" or "certified public accountant" in its name. A professional corporation or PLLC needs at least one New York-licensed CPA owner, and a firm with non-CPA owners can't use "CPA" in its name. Firms renew every three years and file an annual peer review and competency statement. NYSED's online verification search covers both licensees and firms.
Individual CPAs. NYSED counts 16,363 registered CPAs with a mailing address in the five boroughs as of 1 July 2026: 6,289 in Manhattan, 4,715 in Queens, 3,928 in Brooklyn, 996 on Staten Island and 435 in the Bronx. The address may be home or office, and being registered doesn't mean the CPA is practicing.
Tax preparers. Commercial preparers who aren't CPAs, attorneys or enrolled agents must register with the state Tax Department every year and pay a $100 fee. The state publishes the register as open data. Matching its ZIP codes to boroughs, it holds 7,121 registrations in the city: 2,304 in the Bronx, 1,825 in Queens, 1,566 in Brooklyn, 1,120 in Manhattan and 306 on Staten Island.
Federal credentials. The IRS's August 2026 preparer listing, released under the Freedom of Information Act, has 27,254 preparers with a city business address: 7,165 CPAs, 2,647 enrolled agents and 1,735 attorneys. Another 14,827 (54%) hold no IRS-recognized credential and no Annual Filing Season Program record. The pattern differs sharply by borough: Manhattan has 5,088 of the CPAs, the Bronx 95 of them among 3,403 preparers.
How to choose an accountant in New York
- Match the license to the job. Audits and reviews need a registered CPA firm. Representation in an IRS audit or collection needs a CPA, enrolled agent or attorney: the IRS gives only those three unlimited representation rights.
- Verify. Look up the firm and the CPA in NYSED's search; for a non-CPA preparer, check the state register and the IRS directory.
- Ask about the team. In a large Manhattan office, ask who will do your work and at what rate.
- Check fees. The IRS warns against preparers who base fees on a percentage of your refund.
- Public company audits only: the firm must be registered with the PCAOB. Only 194 US firms issued public company audit reports in 2025, and 12 issued more than 100.
Working at a New York accounting firm
Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates for May 2025 cover the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, which is larger than the city:
| Occupation (metro area) | Employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Accountants and auditors | 111,930 | $105,650 |
| Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks | 77,010 | $60,640 |
| Tax preparers | 8,100 | $71,300 |
Large-firm jobs concentrate in Manhattan, where 55 offices have 100 or more employees; offices in the other boroughs average four or five people.
Selling to New York accounting firms
| Segment | Who usually decides |
|---|---|
| Large Manhattan offices | Procurement, IT and security, often run from a national headquarters |
| CPA firms with 10 to 99 staff | Managing partner, with a firm administrator or COO |
| Tax and bookkeeping shops | The owner, who is often the main preparer |
Illustrative example. The company and rates are invented; the counts come from the state's preparer register.
Ledgerline (ledgerline.example) sells bank-product and e-file software to independent tax offices. The Bronx and Queens registrations carry 1,563 and 1,380 business names, and 76 of those names have five or more registered preparers. Ledgerline starts with the 76 multi-preparer offices, adds owners' phone numbers from each office's website, and calls in August and September, before software decisions are made for the next season. At an illustrative 15% meeting rate, that's 11 demos from a list no data vendor sells. For the CPA firms, the list of accounting firms explains the PCAOB and state registries, and how many accountants there are covers the IRS file. At volume, the research on each office is the slow part; Bebop finds matching firms and contacts and writes a playbook for each account.
Local sources
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| NYSED public accounting firms | Firm registration rules, forms and peer review |
| NYSED CPA license statistics | Registered CPAs by county |
| NYS Tax Department preparer registration | Who must register, fees and penalties |
| New York State Society of CPAs | The state CPA society, with chapters and events |
Next step: if you're comparing the city with the rest of the region, see accounting firms in New Jersey.
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
- Registration of public accounting firms: questions and answers, New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions, accessed 30 October 2026
- License statistics for certified public accountants (as of 1 July 2026), New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions, accessed 30 October 2026
- Tax preparer and facilitator registration and continuing education, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, accessed 30 October 2026
- New York State Registered Tax Return Preparers and Facilitators, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, via data.ny.gov, updated 30 October 2026, 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 NYC?
County Business Patterns counted 3,487 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll establishments with paid employees in the five boroughs in 2023, employing 61,367 people. 1,059 were CPA offices. Manhattan had 1,140 establishments and 51,078 of the jobs. The count is of offices, not firms, and it leaves out sole practitioners with no employees.
How do I check if a New York CPA firm is licensed?
Search the New York State Education Department's online verification system, which covers individual CPAs and registered public accounting firms. A firm must register if it performs attest or compilation services for New York clients or uses "CPA" in its name. Registration renews every three years, with an annual peer review and competency statement in between.
Do tax preparers need to register in New York?
Yes, unless they're exempt. Commercial tax return preparers must register with the New York State Tax Department every calendar year and pay a $100 fee, and they must complete state continuing education. Attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents are exempt from registering as preparers. The state publishes registered preparers' business names, city and ZIP code as open data.
What is the difference between a CPA firm and a bookkeeper?
A CPA firm is licensed by the state and can audit or review financial statements; it also does tax and advisory work. A bookkeeper records transactions and keeps the books but can't issue an audit report. In New York City, Census counts 1,059 CPA offices and 1,361 other accounting offices, the category that includes bookkeepers and billing services.
How much do accountants make in New York City?
Accountants and auditors in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area earned a median of $105,650 a year in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, across 111,930 jobs. Bookkeeping clerks earned a median of $60,640. In Census data, average pay per employee at Manhattan accounting offices was $146,625 in 2023, which includes partners on salary and support staff.