Bookkeeper Starting Salaries
Bookkeepers are responsible for maintaining accurate accounting records of expenditures and income, accounts payable and receivable, and profit and loss. Bookkeepers may be generalists who handle all aspects of a company's records to specific clerks, such as an accounts receivable clerk, who handles only a specific aspect of the books along with other clerks who handle other areas. They stay up to date on the rules and laws governing their work and make numerous calculations daily.
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National Pay
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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were nearly 1.8 million bookkeepers in the country in 2009. They earned an average hourly wage of $16.71, or an average annual salary of $34,750. However, beginning bookkeepers earned less. The salary in the 10th percentile, which is where bookkeepers who are just starting out would be, the salary was $10.23 an hour, which equates to $21,280 a year.
Pay by Industry
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The industry that paid its bookkeepers the most in 2009 was the postal service, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 820 bookkeepers earned an average of $53,670 a year in the 10th percentile. Other top-paying industries were: securities and commodity exchanges, rail transportation, tobacco manufacturing and the federal executive branch. However the industries that employed the most bookkeepers were: accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services; management of companies and enterprises; local government; depository credit intermediation; and elementary and secondary schools.
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Pay By State
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The top-paying state for bookkeepers in 2009 was Alaska, where beginning bookkeepers earned an average salary of $32,190 a year in the 10th percentile. Other top-paying states were Alaska, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and California. Puerto Rico paid its beginning bookkeepers $14,620 a year in the 10th percentile. Other low-paying areas were Guam, Montana, Oklahoma and Idaho.
Job Outlook
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Bookkeeping jobs are expected to grow about 10 percent through 2018. It is considered one of the largest growth occupations in the U.S. economy. Because of the size of the population and retirements of older workers, positions are expected to remain plentiful. Bookkeepers who can complete a wider range of financial work will have an easier time securing a position than a specialized bookkeeper.
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