Hartford-area business data / Original analysis
CPA offices outnumber bookkeeping and other accounting offices more than two to one in the Hartford area
When a Hartford-area business looks for help with its books, what kind of office is it most likely to find? We counted each type in the U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Patterns for Connecticut's Capitol Planning Region, for 2022 and 2023.
More than two CPA offices for every bookkeeping office
The Capitol Planning Region had 186 offices of certified public accountants and 81 bookkeeping and other accounting establishments in 2023. It also had 88 tax preparation offices and 10 payroll services establishments.
Measured against the region's 23,642 employer businesses, that is 7.87 CPA offices per 1,000 businesses and 3.43 bookkeeping and other accounting establishments.
One year of change
Connecticut's planning regions only appear in County Business Patterns from 2022, so there are two years to compare. CPA offices went from 190 to 186, and tax preparation offices from 83 to 88. Bookkeeping and other accounting held at 81. The region's employer businesses went from 23,773 to 23,642.
Most are small offices
In 2023, 62 of the 81 bookkeeping and other accounting establishments had fewer than five employees. For CPA offices it was 104 of 186. Across the whole group of 365 accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll establishments, 224 were that small.
What this means if you're deciding who keeps your books
Most of the accounting offices in the region are CPA offices. The counts can't tell you what work any one office does each month, so ask before you hand over your books.
- Ask whether your monthly bookkeeping is done in house or passed to someone else.
- Find out who reconciles your accounts each month, and by what date you'll see a profit and loss statement.
- If you already have a tax preparer, check what they need from your books at year end.
How we got these numbers
We downloaded the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns county files for 2022 and 2023 and read the rows for Connecticut's Capitol Planning Region (FIPS 09110). 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. The fewer-than-five-employees figures come from the file's n<5 column.
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.
From 2022, Census data for Connecticut uses the state's nine planning regions in place of its eight old counties. Hartford and Wethersfield are in the Capitol Planning Region.
Industry establishments ÷ all employer establishments in the region × 1,000
For example, Capitol Planning Region in 2023: 81 ÷ 23,642 × 1,000 = 3.43. Percentage changes compare 2022 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.
- Counties. Connecticut's Census data uses planning regions in place of the old counties from 2022, so these figures can't be lined up with county figures from earlier years.
- 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 | Planning region | Industry | Establishments | Fewer than 5 employees | All businesses | Per 1,000 businesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Capitol Planning Region | All accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll | 363 | 225 | 23,773 | 15.27 |
| 2022 | Capitol Planning Region | CPA offices | 190 | 105 | 23,773 | 7.99 |
| 2022 | Capitol Planning Region | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 81 | 59 | 23,773 | 3.41 |
| 2022 | Capitol Planning Region | Tax preparation | 83 | 58 | 23,773 | 3.49 |
| 2022 | Capitol Planning Region | Payroll services | 9 | 3 | 23,773 | 0.38 |
| 2023 | Capitol Planning Region | All accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll | 365 | 224 | 23,642 | 15.44 |
| 2023 | Capitol Planning Region | CPA offices | 186 | 104 | 23,642 | 7.87 |
| 2023 | Capitol Planning Region | Bookkeeping and other accounting | 81 | 62 | 23,642 | 3.43 |
| 2023 | Capitol Planning Region | Tax preparation | 88 | 56 | 23,642 | 3.72 |
| 2023 | Capitol Planning Region | Payroll services | 10 | n/a | 23,642 | 0.42 |
The CSV download has the same rows with the Census industry codes and region code.
Sources and update record
U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns county files (ZIP), one per year: 2022, 2023. Release list: County Business Patterns datasets. Planning region names: Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer county file.
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.