Utah business data / Original analysis
Salt Lake County gained 35 bookkeeping and other accounting offices as CPA offices fell by 20
How has the number of bookkeeping and CPA offices in Salt Lake County changed? We counted both in the U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Patterns for every year from 2018 to 2023, and did the same for Davis County.
Bookkeeping and other accounting offices grew. CPA offices shrank.
Salt Lake County had 232 bookkeeping and other accounting establishments in 2023, up from 197 in 2018. Over the same years, offices of certified public accountants fell from 262 to 242.
That is a gain of 35 bookkeeping and other accounting establishments (17.8%) against a loss of 20 CPA offices (7.6%). The county's business base grew 9.0% in that time, from 32,767 to 35,732 employer establishments.
Measured per 1,000 employer businesses in the county, bookkeeping and other accounting establishments rose from 6.01 to 6.49. CPA offices dropped from 8.00 to 6.77.
Davis County kept pace with its own growth
In Davis County, bookkeeping and other accounting establishments went from 68 to 78 (14.7%), while its business base grew 14.4%. So the rate held almost flat, at 9.03 per 1,000 businesses in 2023. CPA offices there rose from 68 to 74.
Per 1,000 employer businesses, Davis has more of these establishments than Salt Lake County (9.03 against 6.49 in 2023), though far fewer in total.
Most are small shops
In 2023, 176 of Salt Lake County's 232 bookkeeping and other accounting establishments had fewer than five employees. For CPA offices it was 155 of 242.
What this means if you're choosing a bookkeeper
There are more business locations in this category than there were five years ago, and most of them are small. More choice makes the questions you ask matter more, because a firm's industry code says nothing about the work it actually does each month.
- Ask whether your accounts are reconciled every month, and by what date you'll see a profit and loss statement.
- Ask what your CPA receives at year end and in what state the books arrive.
- If you run more than one entity, collect sales tax or have staff in another state, ask how that is handled before you sign.
The data counts business locations, not quality. A shrinking count of CPA offices also doesn't mean tax help is hard to find: it only says how many employer locations were classified that way.
How we got these numbers
We downloaded the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns county files for each year from 2018 to 2023 and read the rows for Salt Lake County (FIPS 49035) and Davis County (FIPS 49011). We used the employer establishment count (est) for three industry codes: 541219 Other Accounting Services, the code that includes bookkeeping services; 541211 Offices of Certified Public Accountants; and 5412, the full accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll group. The fewer-than-five-employees figures come from the file's n<5 column.
Industry establishments ÷ all employer establishments in the county × 1,000
For example, Salt Lake County in 2023: 232 ÷ 35,732 × 1,000 = 6.49. Percentage changes compare 2018 with 2023 and are rounded to one decimal place.
The 2023 County Business Patterns release is the latest the Census Bureau's dataset directory listed when we checked on October 10, 2026. These are 2023 counts, not 2026 counts.
What this study does not measure
- Self-employed bookkeepers. County Business Patterns covers businesses with paid employees. Sole proprietors with no staff are not in these counts.
- Companies. An establishment is one business location. A firm with two offices counts twice.
- Where clients are. Firms are counted where they are located. A firm may serve clients in other counties or states.
- Demand, quality or prices. These are counts of business locations only.
Every county, industry and year
| Year | County | Industry | Establishments | Fewer than 5 employees | All businesses in county | Per 1,000 businesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Salt Lake County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 197 | 151 | 32,767 | 6.01 |
| 2018 | Salt Lake County | CPA offices | 262 | 192 | 32,767 | 8.00 |
| 2018 | Davis County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 68 | 56 | 7,547 | 9.01 |
| 2018 | Davis County | CPA offices | 68 | 50 | 7,547 | 9.01 |
| 2019 | Salt Lake County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 196 | 153 | 33,028 | 5.93 |
| 2019 | Salt Lake County | CPA offices | 249 | 172 | 33,028 | 7.54 |
| 2019 | Davis County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 73 | 62 | 7,722 | 9.45 |
| 2019 | Davis County | CPA offices | 72 | 50 | 7,722 | 9.32 |
| 2020 | Salt Lake County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 216 | 175 | 33,829 | 6.39 |
| 2020 | Salt Lake County | CPA offices | 243 | 171 | 33,829 | 7.18 |
| 2020 | Davis County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 83 | 72 | 8,040 | 10.32 |
| 2020 | Davis County | CPA offices | 69 | 50 | 8,040 | 8.58 |
| 2021 | Salt Lake County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 215 | 169 | 34,648 | 6.21 |
| 2021 | Salt Lake County | CPA offices | 241 | 162 | 34,648 | 6.96 |
| 2021 | Davis County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 82 | 67 | 8,282 | 9.90 |
| 2021 | Davis County | CPA offices | 74 | 47 | 8,282 | 8.94 |
| 2022 | Salt Lake County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 226 | 177 | 35,284 | 6.41 |
| 2022 | Salt Lake County | CPA offices | 237 | 155 | 35,284 | 6.72 |
| 2022 | Davis County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 79 | 65 | 8,485 | 9.31 |
| 2022 | Davis County | CPA offices | 76 | 48 | 8,485 | 8.96 |
| 2023 | Salt Lake County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 232 | 176 | 35,732 | 6.49 |
| 2023 | Salt Lake County | CPA offices | 242 | 155 | 35,732 | 6.77 |
| 2023 | Davis County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 78 | 62 | 8,636 | 9.03 |
| 2023 | Davis County | CPA offices | 74 | 47 | 8,636 | 8.57 |
The CSV download also includes the full NAICS 5412 group for both counties.
Sources and update record
U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns county files (ZIP), one per year: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023. Release list: County Business Patterns datasets.
October 10, 2026: first publication. When the Census Bureau releases a newer year, this page is recalculated and reviewed before any figure changes. Spotted an error? Tell us.