Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in the United States
Comprehensive reference for market-sizing, segmentation, and B2B sales research
How many CPAs are there in the United States?
There are 671,855 actively-licensed CPAs across the 55 U.S. licensing jurisdictions (50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands) as of August 29 2024.^1 This figure comes from the Accountancy Licensee Database (ALD) maintained by NASBA using official state board data.
How many CPA firms operate in the U.S.?
Industry analysts (IBISWorld, AICPA) count ≈ 88,000 accounting, tax‐prep & bookkeeping firms (NAICS 5412) in 2024, generating ≈ $145 billion in revenue.^2 The profession spans:
| Firm-size band | Est. # of firms | Typical head-count | Common market labels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo / Micro | ~30 K | 1–2 CPAs | “boutique,” “local tax shop” |
| Small | ~40 K | 3–10 employees | “small public practice” |
| Mid-tier | ~15 K | 11–100 | “regional,” “Top 100” |
| Large / Big 4 | ~400 | 100 + (multi-office) | Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG |
What services do CPAs offer?
Core services
- Tax compliance & planning (1040, 1120S, 1065, SALT)
- Audit & assurance (financial-statement audits, reviews, compilations)
- Client advisory services (CAS): outsourced CFO, FP&A, payroll, AP/AR
- Forensic & valuation (fraud, litigation support, M&A valuations)
- ESG / sustainability reporting (fast-growing niche since 2023)
Specialty designations
| Credential | Focus area | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
| ABV | Business valuation | AICPA |
| CFF | Forensic accounting | AICPA |
| CITP | IT & controls | AICPA |
| CGMA | Management accounting | AICPA & CIMA |
How do CPAs buy software and services?
- Primary purchase cycle: Jan – May (busy season) = “frozen”; June – Sept = evaluation; Oct – Dec = budget lock-in.
- Pain points: staffing shortages, new IRS e-file rules, client write-ups, cybersecurity.
- Common tech stack: QuickBooks/Intuit, Thomson Reuters CS, CCH Axcess, Xero, Practice Ignition, Avalara, DocuSign.
- Vendor filters: peer referrals, CPE webinars, state society sponsorships, SOC 2 compliance.
- Deal breakers: data-conversion risk, weak busy-season support, total cost >1 % of firm revenue.
State-by-State Estimate of Active CPAs (2024)
Methodology: NASBA total (671,855) × state share of U.S. population (Vintage 2024 Census). Rounded to nearest 100. Counts serve as a reasonable planning base for TAM sizing; finance hubs (NY, IL, GA) tend to run 10-20 % above population-share because of industry mix.^3
| State | Est. CPAs | State | Est. CPAs | State | Est. CPAs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 78,900 | MD | 12,400 | MT | 2,200 | ||
| TX | 62,600 | WI | 12,000 | RI | 2,100 | ||
| FL | 46,700 | CO | 11,900 | DE | 2,000 | ||
| NY | 39,700 | MN | 11,700 | SD | 1,900 | ||
| PA | 26,000 | SC | 10,900 | ND | 1,600 | ||
| IL | 25,300 | AL | 10,200 | AK | 1,500 | ||
| OH | 23,800 | LA | 9,300 | DC | 1,300 | ||
| GA | 22,200 | KY | 9,000 | VT | 1,300 | ||
| NC | 21,700 | OR | 8,500 | WY | 1,200 | ||
| MI | 20,100 | OK | 8,100 | PR* | 1,000 | ||
| NJ | 18,600 | CT | 7,200 | GU / VI / MP | ‹1 K | ||
| VA | 17,800 | UT | 6,900 | — | — | ||
| WA | 15,800 | IA | 6,400 | ||||
| AZ | 15,100 | NV | 6,400 | ||||
| TN | 14,200 | AR | 6,100 | ||||
| MA | 14,000 | MS | 5,900 |
*Puerto Rico estimate shown for context; licensing administered separately.
Interpretation tip: A SaaS vendor aiming for 1 % penetration in California (≈ 79 K CPAs) would target ≈ 790 paid seats.
Where can I obtain CPA contact data?
| Source | Coverage | Typical Cost | Data depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASBA (ALD / CPAverify) | 50 states + D.C. | Free lookup (one-by-one) | License status, name, city |
| State boards | Varies (some CSV downloads) | Free/FOIA | Name, license #, firm (rarely email) |
| AICPA list rental | ~430 K members | ≈ $150 / M (postal only) | Name, address, membership flags |
| Third-party data brokers | 100 K – 650 K emails | $0.05–0.15 / record | Email, phone, firm, size |
| PromptLoop CPA List (this product) | 46 K firms / 60 K contacts | $599 (nationwide) | Named partner, email, phone, physical & web, filters by size/specialty |
Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQ)
How reliable are state estimates?
They use the latest Census Vintage 2024 population and assume an average CPA-per-capita ratio (≈ 2 CPAs per 1,000 residents). Finance-heavy states (NY, IL) and D.C. skew higher; rural states (ND, SD) skew lower. Adjust ±15 % for finer planning.
How many CPAs work in public accounting vs. industry?
Rough rule-of-thumb: 55 % public practice, 45 % private/industry/government. The public slice shrinks each year as CPAs move to corporate roles.
What is the median CPA firm revenue?
Solo & small firms average $220–250 K per CPA in gross billings, with net margins 35-45 %. Mid-tier firms push $300 K+ per CPA by leveraging staff leverage and advisory services.
Which states require CPE ethics courses?
All but Colorado, Wisconsin, and Delaware have stand-alone ethics CPE mandates (usually 2–4 hours each cycle). Details vary by state board.
Citations
Last updated: 30 Jun 2025 – compiled by CPA list market research team.