Pitt County business data / Original analysis
Pitt County has fewer accounting, tax and payroll offices for every 1,000 businesses than in 2018
How many accounting, tax and payroll offices does Pitt County have for its businesses, and is that number keeping up? We counted them in the U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Patterns for every year from 2018 to 2023.
The business count grew. The accounting offices did not.
Pitt County had 62 accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll establishments in 2023, down from 65 in 2018. Over the same years the county's employer businesses grew 6.0%, from 3,601 to 3,817.
Per 1,000 employer businesses, that is a fall from 18.05 to 16.24. Each of these offices now sits alongside more local businesses than it did in 2018.
What the 62 offices are
The Census splits this group into four industry codes. In 2023, Pitt County had 32 offices of certified public accountants, 15 bookkeeping and other accounting establishments, 11 tax preparation offices and 4 payroll services establishments.
The biggest move was in bookkeeping and other accounting, which went from 19 to 15. CPA offices went from 33 to 32.
Most are small offices
In 2023, 44 of the 62 establishments in the group had fewer than five employees.
What this means if you're choosing an accountant in Pitt County
The data can't tell you whether local firms are busy. It does say there are fewer of them for each business than there were in 2018, so the questions you ask up front matter.
- Ask who will keep your books each month and who prepares your tax return.
- Ask whether payroll and payroll tax filings are handled by the firm or passed to a separate provider.
- If you run a church or nonprofit, ask whether the firm already works with organizations like yours.
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 Pitt County, North Carolina (FIPS 37147). We used the employer establishment count (est) for NAICS 5412, the accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services group, and the four industries inside it.
Those four are 541211 Offices of Certified Public Accountants, 541213 Tax Preparation Services, 541214 Payroll Services and 541219 Other Accounting Services, the code that includes bookkeeping services. 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, Pitt County in 2023: 62 ÷ 3,817 × 1,000 = 16.24. 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 accountants and 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.
- Small numbers. With counts this small, one office opening or closing moves the rate noticeably, so read single-year changes with care.
Every industry and year
| Year | County | Industry | Establishments | Fewer than 5 employees | All businesses | Per 1,000 businesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Pitt County | All accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll | 65 | 47 | 3,601 | 18.05 |
| 2018 | Pitt County | CPA offices | 33 | 21 | 3,601 | 9.16 |
| 2018 | Pitt County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 19 | 16 | 3,601 | 5.28 |
| 2018 | Pitt County | Tax preparation | 10 | 7 | 3,601 | 2.78 |
| 2018 | Pitt County | Payroll services | 3 | 3 | 3,601 | 0.83 |
| 2019 | Pitt County | All accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll | 65 | 43 | 3,659 | 17.76 |
| 2019 | Pitt County | CPA offices | 31 | 18 | 3,659 | 8.47 |
| 2019 | Pitt County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 20 | 15 | 3,659 | 5.47 |
| 2019 | Pitt County | Tax preparation | 11 | 7 | 3,659 | 3.01 |
| 2019 | Pitt County | Payroll services | 3 | 3 | 3,659 | 0.82 |
| 2020 | Pitt County | All accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll | 64 | 45 | 3,664 | 17.47 |
| 2020 | Pitt County | CPA offices | 33 | 21 | 3,664 | 9.01 |
| 2020 | Pitt County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 18 | 14 | 3,664 | 4.91 |
| 2020 | Pitt County | Tax preparation | 10 | 7 | 3,664 | 2.73 |
| 2020 | Pitt County | Payroll services | 3 | 3 | 3,664 | 0.82 |
| 2021 | Pitt County | All accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll | 67 | 48 | 3,718 | 18.02 |
| 2021 | Pitt County | CPA offices | 34 | 20 | 3,718 | 9.14 |
| 2021 | Pitt County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 19 | 17 | 3,718 | 5.11 |
| 2021 | Pitt County | Tax preparation | 10 | 7 | 3,718 | 2.69 |
| 2021 | Pitt County | Payroll services | 4 | 4 | 3,718 | 1.08 |
| 2022 | Pitt County | All accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll | 65 | 46 | 3,785 | 17.17 |
| 2022 | Pitt County | CPA offices | 32 | 18 | 3,785 | 8.45 |
| 2022 | Pitt County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 17 | 15 | 3,785 | 4.49 |
| 2022 | Pitt County | Tax preparation | 12 | 9 | 3,785 | 3.17 |
| 2022 | Pitt County | Payroll services | 4 | 4 | 3,785 | 1.06 |
| 2023 | Pitt County | All accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll | 62 | 44 | 3,817 | 16.24 |
| 2023 | Pitt County | CPA offices | 32 | 20 | 3,817 | 8.38 |
| 2023 | Pitt County | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 15 | 12 | 3,817 | 3.93 |
| 2023 | Pitt County | Tax preparation | 11 | 8 | 3,817 | 2.88 |
| 2023 | Pitt County | Payroll services | 4 | 4 | 3,817 | 1.05 |
The CSV download has the same rows with the Census industry codes and county code.
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.