Accountants vs Financial Analysts
Financial Analysts earns $19,060 more at the middle. Every figure is US government data you can check.
| Accountants | Financial Analysts | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay in the middle median annual wage, May 2025 | $83,680 | $102,740 |
| Pay range 10th to 90th percentile | $56,020 to $144,090 | $63,720 to $180,860 |
| Years of school you pay for our own estimate from published entry requirements, not a BLS figure | 4 | 4 |
| Typical entry education | Bachelor's degree | Bachelor's degree |
| Jobs opening up each year | 115,300 | 24,700 |
| Growth by 2035 | 5.0% | 7.2% |
| People doing it now | 1,595,200 | 377,200 |
| Where the pay is highest and lowest state medians, not adjusted for cost of living or taxes | $111,530 in Washington DC down to $66,330 in Arkansas | $187,090 in Wyoming down to $69,030 in West Virginia |
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Jobs that use what you already know
Same skills, same knowledge, same daily tasks. Most of these are not on this site.
Financial Analysts covers 2 separate job codes. “2 of 2” means 2 of those 2 name that job as closely related.
Accountants
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
- Financial Examiners
- Treasurers and Controllers
- Tax Preparers
- Financial Managers
- Budget Analysts
What these usually take: Usually a four-year degree, plus a few years of experience.
Financial Analysts
- Personal Financial Advisors2 of 2
- Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents2 of 2
- Investment Fund Managers2 of 2
- Financial Quantitative Analysts2 of 2
- Credit Analysts2 of 2
- Financial Managers2 of 2
What these usually take: Usually a four-year degree, plus a few years of experience.
O*NET 30.3 Database, U.S. Department of Labor. These are jobs that use similar skills, knowledge and daily tasks. It is a measure of how alike two jobs are — not a record of people moving between them.
Jobs that take more training than this one
A job zone is the U.S. Department of Labor’s published measure of how much preparation a job takes. It says nothing about pay.
- Investment Fund Managers2 of 2Graduate school — a master's, or a doctorate.
- Financial Quantitative Analysts2 of 2Graduate school — a master's, or a doctorate.
O*NET 30.3 Database and O*NET Job Zones, U.S. Department of Labor. A job zone is a published measure of how much preparation an occupation takes, not a measure of pay or of whether a job is better. Pay differences are BLS median annual wages, May 2025, and are shown only where both jobs are on this site.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment and wage data, May 2025, and employment projections 2025-35. Years of school is our own estimate from published entry requirements, not a BLS figure. State medians are not adjusted for cost of living or taxes, and that difference could be large either way. No advice, just data.