WestwardAI Consulting

Local market data · Bookkeepers · Philadelphia

AI for bookkeepers in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia metro area had 614 bookkeepers in 2022, the 15th most of 387 US metros and 1% of all in the country. They employed 4,832 people at an average of $72,030 a year. 88% 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 Philadelphia vs the US

Philadelphia metroUnited States
Businesses61446,452
People employed4,832247,793
Average staff per business7.95.3
Average yearly pay per employee$72,030$55,181
Share with fewer than 10 staff88%92%

Pay here is 31% higher than the national average for bookkeepers, so every hour of staff time costs more to spend on admin. The average bookkeeper here has 7.9 people on payroll, 48% higher than the US figure of 5.3.

How big bookkeepers in Philadelphia are

Fewer than 5 staff430 (70%) US 78%
5 to 9108 (18%) US 13%
10 to 1939 (6%) US 5%
20 to 4922 (4%) US 2%
50 or more13 (2%) US 1%

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

Bookkeepers by county in the Philadelphia area

Montgomery County has the most, with 127 of the metro's 614 (21%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Philadelphia ranks 3rd for average pay and 9th for the share of small firms.

CountyBusinessesEmployeesAvg pay
Montgomery County1271,288$55,995
Bucks County91343$43,883
New Castle County86758$56,960
Philadelphia County821,199$106,344
Chester County63385$98,101
Camden County55285$60,716
Delaware County45329$70,578
Burlington County37143$49,406
Gloucester County1992$46,043
Cecil County89$58,000

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 Philadelphia

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

Those hours cost you$112,000 a year

The share you would hand off$33,600 a year

Hours your team gets back960 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
New York3,295$65,3961st
Chicago1,407$58,1904th
Miami2,161$55,7803rd
Dallas1,168$65,8075th
Houston1,037$65,7417th
Atlanta1,120$59,8656th
Washington879$90,3948th
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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area (11 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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Related businesses in Philadelphia

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