Accountant Jobs in New York, NY
Accountants in the New York metro earn a median of about $105,650 a year, far above the national median, and Deloitte, EY and KPMG all hire from big Manhattan offices at Rockefeller Plaza and Manhattan West. Here are the current openings, then who is hiring, what it pays and how to get licensed.
Current accountant Openings in New York, NY
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Accountant Work in New York
New York has more ways into accounting than almost any city in the country. Public accounting is concentrated in Midtown and on the Far West Side, where Deloitte runs its National Office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and EY and KPMG sit side by side at One and Two Manhattan West near Hudson Yards. Wall Street feeds the work: the State Comptroller counts 198,200 securities jobs in the city in 2025, and every bank and fund needs people to close the books.
The public sector is a second big employer. The City Comptroller at 1 Centre Street hires staff auditors, NYCHA fills civil service Accountant titles, and MTA Audit Services works out of 2 Broadway. Hospitals and startups round it out, from Memorial Sloan Kettering's finance offices on Third Avenue to fintech firms such as Betterment on West 23rd Street in the Flatiron District. Under the city's pay transparency law, most postings show a salary range.
Top New York Employers Hiring Accountants
These New York employers have posted accountant or auditor roles on their own career sites in 2025 and 2026:
- Deloitte - the Big Four firm's National Office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza recruits audit and assurance assistants for New York straight out of accounting programs.
- EY - hires assurance staff through managers at One Manhattan West, with a September 2026 audit manager posting at $141,066.
- KPMG - the firm's U.S. headquarters at Two Manhattan West recruits audit associates for New York, including a Korean-language practice.
- NYCHA - the housing authority fills civil service Accountant titles in Manhattan, recently posted at $58,357 to $79,294.
- MTA - MTA Audit Services at 2 Broadway hires Auditor I and Senior Auditor I, posted at $74,162 and $89,737.
- Memorial Sloan Kettering - the cancer center's finance team hires accountants and fund accountants at $61,300 to $116,900, mostly hybrid.
Accountant Salaries in New York
- Entry level: about $58,000 to $80,000 a year for staff accountants, city Accountant Level I and first-year auditors.
- Experienced: roughly $80,000 to $117,000 for accountants with two to five years of experience or a CPA in progress.
- Senior: $110,000 to $145,000 and up for senior accountants and audit managers, with the top 10 percent of the metro above $174,750.
These are estimates built from BLS 2025 wage data for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro, where the median is $105,650, and from ranges posted by New York employers. A CPA license moves pay the most, then the employer: banks, asset managers and fintech firms usually pay more than nonprofits, while city jobs start lower but add pensions and step raises.
How to Become an Accountant in New York
Most accountant jobs want a bachelor's degree in accounting, and no license is needed to work as one. To sign audit opinions or call yourself a CPA, you need a license from the NYSED Office of the Professions, State Board for Public Accountancy: 150 semester hours including 33 in accounting and 36 in general business, a passing score of 75 on all four parts of the Uniform CPA Examination, one year of full-time experience supervised by a U.S. CPA, and a $427 fee. Chapter 530 of 2025 adds a second route, a bachelor's degree plus two years of experience, once it takes effect; check NYSED for the start date. Locally, Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business on Lexington Avenue at 24th Street runs the Stan Ross Department of Accountancy, Queens College in Flushing and Brooklyn College offer 30-credit MS in Accounting programs that meet the 150-hour rule, and BMCC in Tribeca and LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City offer two-year accounting degrees.
What the Job Involves
Accountants record and check an organization's financial transactions. Daily work includes journal entries, reconciliations, month-end close, financial statements and supporting the audit. Auditors test a client's records and controls and write up what they find. Tax season and year-end close bring long hours in public accounting.
Skills Employers Look For
- Solid knowledge of U.S. GAAP and month-end close
- Advanced Excel, including lookups and pivot tables
- Experience with an ERP or general ledger system
- Account reconciliation and attention to detail
- Progress toward a CPA or 150 credit hours
- Clear writing for audit and management reports
Career Path and Advancement
A common New York path starts in audit or tax at a Big Four or mid-size firm in Midtown, moves from staff to senior within two or three busy seasons, then either stays on the partner track or jumps to a bank, asset manager, hospital or startup, where the ladder runs to accounting manager, controller and CFO. In city government, the Accountant and auditor titles have their own levels and promotion exams.
Related Careers in New York
If accounting interests you, these related New York guides are worth a look:
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a CPA license to work as an accountant in New York?
No. Staff accountant, fund accountant and many government accounting jobs are open without a license. You need a CPA license from the NYSED Office of the Professions to practice public accounting, sign audit reports or use the CPA title.
How much do accountants make in New York City?
BLS 2025 data puts the median for accountants and auditors in the New York metro at $105,650 a year, with the middle half earning about $82,830 to $137,490. Entry-level postings in the city commonly start between $58,000 and $80,000.
How do I meet New York's 150-hour CPA requirement?
Most candidates add a master's degree or extra coursework to a four-year accounting degree. Queens College and Brooklyn College offer 30-credit MS in Accounting programs registered with NYSED for the 150-hour rule, and Baruch offers an MS in Accountancy.
Can I get a New York City government accounting job without a CPA?
Yes. The civil service Accountant title used by NYCHA and other agencies accepts a bachelor's degree with 24 accounting credits, and the Comptroller's staff auditor postings accept a year of auditing experience in place of a license.
How long does it take to become a CPA in New York?
Plan on about five years of school to reach 150 hours, then one year of supervised experience, with the four exam sections passed within a 30-month rolling window.
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