2023 Best Accounting Schools
Finding the Best Accounting School for You
Accounting is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 2nd of all the majors we analyze. In <nil>, 93,982 degrees and certificates were awarded to students with this major.
Today's business students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
The Best Accounting Schools ranking is one of many tools that Business Degree Central has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 1,470 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for business students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Accounting Schools in the United States
Check out the accounting programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools in Accounting
Our 2023 rankings named University of Notre Dame the best school in the United States for accounting students. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.
The average amount in student loans that accounting majors at Notre Dame take out is $22,250.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Bucknell University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Accounting Schools list. Located in the town of Lewisburg, Bucknell is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Accounting majors at Bucknell take out an average of $26,881 in student loans while working on their egree.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Lehigh University is a great place for accounting students. Lehigh is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Bethlehem.
The average amount in student loans that accounting majors at Lehigh take out is $23,179.
Out of the 1,470 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a very large student population.
The excellent programs at University of Pennsylvania helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best accounting schools in the United States. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
With a ranking of #6, Georgetown University did quite well on this year’s best schools for accounting students. Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
On average, accounting graduates from Georgetown take out $17,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
Emory University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for accounting students. It came in at #7 on the list. Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Atlanta.
Washington and Lee University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best accounting programs. Located in the distant town of Lexington, Washington and Lee is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
On average, accounting graduates from Washington and Lee take out $16,750 in student loans while working on their degree.
Santa Clara University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for accounting students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
On average, accounting graduates from SCU take out $15,563 in student loans while working on their degree.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for accounting students. It came in at #10 on the list. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.
On average, accounting graduates from UIUC take out $20,125 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $410.
Read full report on Accounting at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Vanderbilt University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Accounting Schools list. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.
Accounting majors at Vanderbilt take out an average of $60,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
College of the Holy Cross landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best accounting programs. Located in the midsize city of Worcester, Holy Cross is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
After completing their degree, accounting graduates from Holy Cross carry an average student debtload of $27,000.
Washington University in St Louis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for accounting students. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Accounting at Washington University in St Louis
Villanova University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Accounting Schools ranking. Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Villanova.
After completing their degree, accounting graduates from Villanova carry an average student debtload of $23,179. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $643.
New York University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Accounting Schools list. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
After completing their degree, accounting graduates from NYU carry an average student debtload of $33,052.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranked #16 on this year’s Best Accounting Schools list. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the city of Chapel Hill.
Accounting majors at UNC Chapel Hill take out an average of $58,824 in student loans while working on their egree.
Read full report on Accounting at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of Texas at Austin ranked #17 on this year’s Best Accounting Schools list. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Austin.
Accounting majors at UT Austin take out an average of $22,231 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $437, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
University of Richmond landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best accounting programs. Located in the medium-sized city of University of Richmond, URichmond is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Accounting majors at URichmond take out an average of $20,500 in student loans while working on their egree.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for accounting students. It came in at #19 on the list. U-M is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.
The average amount in student loans that accounting majors at U-M take out is $20,500.
Full Accounting at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Report
University of Southern California did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for accounting students. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
The average amount in student loans that accounting majors at USC take out is $32,579. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $555, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
Illinois Wesleyan University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Accounting Schools ranking. Located in the city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that accounting majors at Illinois Wesleyan take out is $26,967. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $543.
With a ranking of #22, Virginia Tech did quite well on this year’s best schools for accounting students. Located in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Accounting majors at Virginia Tech take out an average of $18,402 in student loans while working on their egree.
College of Saint Benedict landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best accounting programs. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Saint Joseph, CSB is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
On average, accounting graduates from CSB take out $26,323 in student loans while working on their degree.
Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for accounting students. It came in at #24 on the list. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that accounting majors at IU Bloomington take out is $32,000.
Read full report on Accounting at Indiana University - Bloomington
With a ranking of #25, Texas Christian University did quite well on this year’s best schools for accounting students. Located in the large city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that accounting majors at TCU take out is $19,139.
Read full report on Accounting at Texas Christian University
Rest of the Top 50 Best Accounting Schools
Additional Award Winners
This list shows the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Accounting Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 1470 different United States accounting schools we analyzed.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Accounting Schools award.
Accounting by Region
View the Best Accounting Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Other U.S. Territories |
| Great Lakes |
Accounting Related Rankings by Major
One of 21 majors within the business area of study, accounting has other similar majors worth exploring.
Accounting Focus Areas
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Accounting | 68,501 |
| Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping | 19,139 |
| Accounting and Finance | 3,781 |
| Accounting and Business/Management | 1,538 |
| Other Accounting and Related Services | 844 |
| Auditing | 179 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Business Administration & Management | 403,753 |
| General Business/Commerce | 56,779 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 54,690 |
| Marketing | 52,078 |
| Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods | 48,037 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Pixabay.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Featured Schools
You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs.
Visit School