WestwardAI Consulting

Local market data · Bookkeepers · New York

AI for bookkeepers in New York

The New York metro area had 3,295 bookkeepers in 2022, the most of all 387 US metros and 7% of all in the country. They employed 15,984 people at an average of $65,396 a year. 91% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.

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Bookkeepers in New York vs the US

New York metroUnited States
Businesses3,29546,452
People employed15,984247,793
Average staff per business4.95.3
Average yearly pay per employee$65,396$55,181
Share with fewer than 10 staff91%92%

Pay here is 19% higher than the national average for bookkeepers, so every hour of staff time costs more to spend on admin. The average bookkeeper here has 4.9 people on payroll, 9% lower than the US figure of 5.3.

How big bookkeepers in New York are

Fewer than 5 staff2,538 (77%) US 78%
5 to 9455 (14%) US 13%
10 to 19180 (5%) US 5%
20 to 4985 (3%) US 2%
50 or more36 (1%) US 1%

Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.

Bookkeepers by county in the New York area

Kings County has the most, with 456 of the metro's 3,295 (14%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, New York ranks 6th for average pay and 6th for the share of small firms.

CountyBusinessesEmployeesAvg pay
Kings County4561,799$40,698
Nassau County4241,620$62,855
Queens County3821,055$45,270
Suffolk County3501,355$53,680
New York County3413,399$113,600
Westchester County188636$52,123
Bergen County169936$56,625
Rockland County130479$34,246
Middlesex County107418$48,292
Monmouth County86693$57,557
Ocean County84435$50,793
Richmond County84352$53,028

10 smaller counties not shown. Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.

Where AI helps a bookkeeper first

A bookkeeper gets the most from AI by handing off the repetitive parts of the month: chasing receipts, suggesting categories for odd transactions, reminding clients before close and answering the same questions. The bookkeeper still reconciles and signs off on the books. Westward can build the surrounding pieces, and a person approves anything that goes out.

What your team's admin hours cost in New York

Change any number. The starting values are the New York averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.

Those hours cost you$62,000 a year

The share you would hand off$18,600 a year

Hours your team gets back600 a year

See what we would build for this

Guides for bookkeepers, one job each

Bookkeepers in other big metros

MetroBusinessesAvg payRank of 387
Los Angeles2,607$62,4552nd
Chicago1,407$58,1904th
Miami2,161$55,7803rd
Dallas1,168$65,8075th
Houston1,037$65,7417th
Atlanta1,120$59,8656th
Washington879$90,3948th
Philadelphia614$72,03015th
Boston525$78,58019th

Where these numbers come from

From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 541219 (Other accounting services (incl. bookkeeping)), for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area (22 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.

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A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your bookkeeper to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.

Related businesses in New York

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