Accounting Degrees in Kentucky

Kentucky features beautiful landscapes, unique music culture, and a diversifying economy. The state generates about 1% of the nation’s gross domestic product, making it a mid-size economic engine.

Historically, Kentucky has relied on agriculture and forestry as its primary economic drivers. Today, manufacturing, services, and transportation help fuel Kentucky’s growth. The state’s labor force continues to expand as manufacturing firms, automotive plants, and food and beverage corporations rapidly move into the state.

Kentucky businesses employ nearly 12,000 accountants and auditors to help manage corporate and personal finances. Other popular careers include bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks; budget analysts; and personal financial advisors.

The birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, Bluegrass music, and bourbon, Kentucky offers diverse cities and towns for life, education, and work. Discover more about Kentucky’s colleges and universities with this guide, along with why this may be the right state to earn a degree in accounting.

Sources: U.S. Census, Current Results, NCES, Statista, BLS

Kentucky’s colleges and universities offer diversity and flexibility. The state’s 57 institutions include 19 two-year colleges, eight public universities, and many private schools.

According to the Center for Postsecondary Education, the state’s public and private institutions enroll more than 250,000 total students. Community and technical colleges have recently experienced the strongest growth among Kentucky’s higher education sectors.

Kentucky’s low cost of living and lower-than-average tuition rates help drive its college enrollment. The state’s lottery funds a tuition grant, work-ready scholarship, and merit-based Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship. Students can also pursue private scholarships and federal grants.

Schools offer in-person or online accounting degrees in Kentucky. Upon graduation, new accountants can serve in one of the state’s flourishing industries. Kentucky is home to major auto manufacturers, agritech enterprises, distribution and logistics employers, and food and beverage companies. New graduates who remain in the state can benefit from alumni networks around Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana.

Kentucky is home to 57 institutions of higher education. Students can apply to community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and research universities. Options include public, private, and Christian schools across urban and rural areas.

More than 60% of Kentucky’s students learn entirely or partly online. Some may study at Kentucky-based schools, while others earn degrees from colleges in other states. Learners can pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees online or in person at Kentucky’s schools.

Sources: NCES, SHEEO, U.S. Census ACS

When researching higher education options, you should only consider accredited schools. Accreditation is a process in which a third-party approved agency reviews a school’s educational offerings and student outcomes to grant approval. Institutional accreditors grant their approval to the entire college or university. Programmatic accreditors only approve certain programs.

In Kentucky, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is the primary institutional accreditor. Accounting-related programmatic accreditors include the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International and the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs.

Once you’ve narrowed your search to accredited schools in Kentucky, you’ll want to consider other factors before making your selection, including program delivery format.

Kentucky students can opt for online, on-campus, or hybrid programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 27.9% of Kentucky-based learners attend school exclusively online, and more than 60% take at least one online course.

The state features a higher-than-average percentage of learners pursuing hybrid degrees. This may be related to Kentucky’s large rural areas where online coursework is easier to access.

On-campus programs offer face-to-face interaction with peers and professors. Traditional college students just leaving high school may dream of studying on Kentucky’s college campuses. Professionals living in urban centers, such as Lexington or Louisville, often seek on-campus programs to commute from their homes and offices.

Distance education has grown for many years, and during the COVID pandemic, it reached record enrollment. In fall of 2020, 40% of students were enrolled in a fully online program. While that percentage has declined, online learning remains an attractive option for learners who live far from college campuses or prefer more flexible formats.

Hybrid programs blend online coursework with on-campus learning. These programs’ requirements vary widely. At one school, the on-campus component of a degree could include a long weekend of in-person learning. At another school, may comprise the majority of courses. Always research hybrid delivery to ensure it fits your schedule.

The Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority helps Kentuckians find the financial resources they need to attend college. This public agency administers several financial aid programs, including the Kentucky Tuition Grant — a need-based aid resource that can pay up to $3,200 a year toward undergraduate tuition.

Private organizations and colleges also offer aid packages. For example, students attending Bellarmine University or the University of Louisville can apply for the John E. Brown Scholarship, which supports accounting majors.

Kentucky counties also help support residents who attend college in the state. The Cumberland County Soil Conservation District Scholarship, for example, provides $750 to a graduating senior from Cumberland County.

Kentucky residents pay low in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities. Some schools also offer significant scholarships to qualifying non-resident students. For example, the University of Kentucky provides competitive scholarships to non-resident students with benefits ranging from $5,000 to full tuition, room, and board.

Other institutions provide tuition breaks to students in adjacent states, such as Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, and Ohio. Eight Kentucky colleges participate in the Southern Regional Education Board‘s academic common market. Qualifying students may attend these schools at reduced prices if no public school in their state offers the major they require.

When budgeting for college, include your living costs as you add up tuition, fees, and other educational expenses. Fortunately, Kentucky features a relatively low cost of living.

World Population Review, which calculates each state’s cost of living, gives Kentucky a score of 93.1 against a national average of 100. For context, it’s about as expensive to live in Kentucky as it is to live in South Carolina, Louisiana, or Texas.

With a GDP of $215 billion, Kentucky enjoys plenty of room for economic growth. Besides hosting a major military installation at Fort Knox, Kentucky is a major supplier of agriculture products, including soybeans, wheat, hay, and most of the world’s bourbon.

The Big Four accounting firms — Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG — all maintain a presence in Kentucky. Other major accounting employers have offices in major cities such as Lexington, Louisville, Paducah, and Bowling Green.

In addition to traditional firms, accountants may also find lucrative positions in the state’s burgeoning manufacturing industry. Others could pursue jobs at fast-growing private companies like Guardian Baseball or eBlu Solutions.

Accountants could also move into similar, well-paying careers. For example, Kentucky is one of the highest-paying states for private wealth managers. Kentucky’s flat tax rate and its somewhat unusual inheritance tax may be helping to drive this career’s salary growth.

Source: Projections Central

Source: BLS OEWS

In Kentucky, most auditing and accounting careers pay slightly below the national average. However, Kentucky’s cost of living is also lower than average, meaning your salary goes further in this state than it would in most others. An accounting-related degree can position a new graduate for a lucrative, fast-growing, and interesting career in this state.

In general, accountants with master’s degrees earn higher salaries than their peers. Accounting graduates may want to consider pursuing MBAs, master’s in accounting programs, or master of accountancy degrees. Becoming a certified public accountant (CPA) may also help boost Kentucky accountants’ careers.

Every state sets requirements for becoming a CPA, so if you’re looking to earn that certification, you’ll need to check the requirements in the state in which you’re hoping to practice.

The Kentucky Board of Accountancy licenses and regulates this state’s CPAs. Its website provides extensive data on what requirements you need to meet to sit for the CPA exam and then how to apply for a license. The list below covers the primary qualifications for becoming a CPA in Kentucky.

The University of Kentucky offers bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. programs in accounting through the Von Allmen School of Accountancy. UK Online students can take accounting courses as part of a certificate in business or an MBA. A University of Kentucky accounting degree can help prepare graduates to become CPAs.

Several Kentucky-based schools offer online accounting programs. Students can earn graduate and undergraduate degrees from private and public institutions. Kentucky-based students can also pursue online degrees from schools outside the state.

According to the BLS, accountants and auditors in Kentucky earn an average annual wage of $73,360. The state’s highest-paid accountants, however, can earn over $105,000.

The Kentucky State Board of Accountancy is the state agency that licenses and regulates certified public accountants and accounting firms. It evaluates applications from prospective accountants and collects re-licensing fees from current accounting professionals.