Short answer
The Seattle metro area has 1,900 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll offices with paid employees, employing 14,388 people (Census County Business Patterns, 2023). King County has 1,218 of them. 704 are CPA offices and 791 are bookkeeping and other accounting services. Washington's Board of Accountancy licenses 1,432 CPA firms; a firm needs one if it performs attest or compilation services from a Washington office. Check firms in the board's open-data search.
- 1,900 offices employ 14,388 people in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, at average pay of $95,095.
- Bookkeeping and other non-CPA accounting offices (791) outnumber CPA offices (704).
- Washington had 26,263 CPA licenses and 1,432 CPA firm licenses on 30 September 2026.
- No office in the metro has 1,000 or more employees; eight have 250 to 999.
- Accountants and auditors in the metro earned a median of $99,370 in May 2025.
On this page
This page is for Puget Sound businesses and households hiring an accountant, accountants comparing employers, and vendors who sell to accounting practices. It starts with the rule that decides what you're hiring, then the Census count, the state's license data and the IRS preparer file, and ends with prospecting.
Does the firm need a Washington license?
| What the firm does | Washington CPA firm license needed? |
|---|---|
| Audits, reviews or other attest work from an office in Washington | Yes |
| Compilations of financial statements from an office in Washington | Yes |
| Attest work for Washington clients from an office in another state | No, if it qualifies for firm mobility under RCW 18.04.195 |
| Tax returns, bookkeeping or advice only | Not covered by the firm license rule; check the individual CPA's license |
So a licensed firm is the right choice when a bank, investor or grantor wants audited, reviewed or compiled statements. For tax or bookkeeping, the person's credentials matter more. The Board of Accountancy publishes its licensee and firm search as open data, including discipline, and links to NASBA's national CPAverify lookup.
On 30 September 2026 the board counted 26,263 CPA licenses, 909 inactive CPA certificates, 1,432 CPA firm licenses and 93 registered non-licensee firm owners statewide.
Seattle's accounting offices in Census data
County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, NAICS 5412 (accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services), Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area (CBSA 42660):
| Measure (2023) | Seattle metro |
|---|---|
| Establishments | 1,900 |
| Employees (week of March 12) | 14,388 |
| Annual payroll | $1,368,227,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 7.6 |
| Average annual pay | $95,095 |
| Share of US establishments | 1.39% of 137,069 |
| County | Establishments | Employees | Per office |
|---|---|---|---|
| King | 1,218 | 10,733 | 8.8 |
| Snohomish | 371 | 1,493 | 4.0 |
| Pierce | 311 | 2,162 | 7.0 |
| Employees | Offices |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 1,376 |
| 5 to 9 | 311 |
| 10 to 19 | 125 |
| 20 to 49 | 58 |
| 50 to 99 | 9 |
| 100 to 249 | 13 |
| 250 to 499 | 4 |
| 500 to 999 | 4 |
| 1,000 or more | 0 |
The Census Bureau doesn't publish the 1,000-or-more cell for the metro, but the published cells already add up to 1,900, so it is zero by subtraction. CBP counts establishments with paid employees, not companies, and leaves out sole practitioners. SEC EDGAR has no listed accounting companies here to add; it has no accounting industry code, and the biggest firms, such as the Big 4, are private partnerships.
What kind of practice you're hiring
| Type (NAICS 2022) | Offices | Employees | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other accounting, including bookkeeping (541219) | 791 | 3,032 | Monthly books, billing, non-CPA accounting |
| CPA offices (541211) | 704 | 8,691 | Attest work, tax, advisory |
| Tax preparation (541213) | 361 | 1,913 | Returns only |
| Payroll services (541214) | 44 | 752 | Paychecks and payroll tax filings |
Bookkeeping offices here average 3.8 employees; CPA offices average 12.3 and pay $123,723 per employee, our calculation from CBP payroll.
Tax preparers and their credentials
The IRS's August 2026 preparer listing, released under the Freedom of Information Act, has 7,747 preparers with a business address in the three counties: 2,854 CPAs, 901 enrolled agents and 333 attorneys. 3,505 (45%) hold no IRS credential and no Annual Filing Season Program record. The city of Seattle has 2,162 listed preparers, 976 of them CPAs, and Bellevue has 439 CPAs. The IRS reserves unlimited representation rights for CPAs, enrolled agents and attorneys, and advises against preparers who take a percentage of your refund.
For an audit of a public company or SEC-registered broker-dealer, the firm must be registered with the PCAOB: at the end of 2025, 646 US firms were, and 194 issued public company audit reports that year.
A short checklist before you hire
- Name the deliverable. Audited, reviewed or compiled statements need a licensed firm; a tax return or monthly books don't.
- Look up both the firm and the person in the board's open-data searches, and read any board orders listed.
- For tax work, ask for the credential and check enrolled agents in the IRS directory of preparers with credentials.
- Get the fee basis in writing. Hourly, fixed or monthly retainer are all normal; a cut of your refund is a warning sign.
- Ask who keeps your records, and how you get them back if you change firms.
Jobs and pay
Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro:
| Occupation | Employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Accountants and auditors | 22,100 | $99,370 |
| Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks | 17,860 | $60,460 |
| Financial managers | 8,500 | $185,550 |
| Tax preparers | 780 | $47,860 |
Selling to Seattle accounting practices
Most buyers here are owners: 1,812 of the 1,900 offices have fewer than 20 employees, so the partner or owner who does the work also picks the software. The 21 offices with 100 or more employees buy like larger companies, with IT and procurement.
Illustrative example. The company and rates are invented; the counts come from CBP and the IRS listing.
Tallow Books (tallowbooks.example) sells practice software for bookkeeping and small CPA practices. Its target is offices with 5 to 19 employees: 311 + 125 = 436 in the metro. It finds owners through the board's firm search for the CPA practices and through business websites for the rest, then sends a short note in May, when practices review tools after the April deadline. At an illustrative 10% reply rate, 436 offices give 44 conversations; a quarter of those trialing gives 11 trials. Finding the owner of each small practice is the slow part, and Bebop does that research for each account.
The list of accounting firms covers firm types and buying, and how many accountants there are reconciles the national counts.
Local sources
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Washington Board of Accountancy: firm licensing requirements | When a firm needs a license, and mobility rules |
| Board of Accountancy credentialed population | Current counts of CPAs and firm licenses |
| Washington Society of CPAs: find a CPA | A public directory of member CPAs |
Next step: see how the market compares down the coast in accounting firms in Los Angeles.
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
- Firm licensing requirements, Washington State Board of Accountancy, accessed 30 October 2026
- Credentialed population (last updated 30 September 2026), Washington State Board of Accountancy, accessed 30 October 2026
- CPA Firm Search, Board of Accountancy, Washington State Board of Accountancy, via data.wa.gov, 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
- 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 Seattle?
Census County Business Patterns counted 1,900 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll establishments with paid employees in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area in 2023, employing 14,388 people. King County had 1,218. 704 were CPA offices and 791 were bookkeeping and other accounting services. The count is of offices with employees, not firms.
Does a CPA firm need a license in Washington?
A firm with an office in Washington needs a Washington CPA firm license if it performs or offers attest services, such as audits and reviews, or compilation services. A firm without a Washington office can do attest work for Washington clients under the state's mobility rules if it qualifies. The Board of Accountancy counted 1,432 firm licenses on 30 September 2026.
How do I look up a Washington CPA?
The Washington Board of Accountancy publishes separate license and discipline searches for individual CPAs and CPA firms on the state's open data site, data.wa.gov, and links to NASBA's CPAverify for other states. The board counted 26,263 CPA licenses on 30 September 2026. Check the license status and any board orders before you engage someone.
How much do accountants make in Seattle?
Accountants and auditors in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area earned a median of $99,370 a year in May 2025, across 22,100 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bookkeeping clerks earned a median of $60,460 and financial managers $185,550. Census data puts pay per employee at the metro's CPA offices at $123,723 in 2023.