The Best Associate's in Accounting Programs in Georgia for 2027

Wiregrass Georgia Technical College's Accounting AAS (program code AC13) runs 5 terms across a 64-credit-hour curriculum, offered at the Valdosta campus and online. The sequence moves from ACCT 1100 and ACCT 1105 Financial Accounting through ACCT 2000 Managerial Accounting, then into ACCT 1115 Computerized Accounting, ACCT 1120 Spreadsheet Applications, ACCT 1125 Individual Tax Accounting, and ACCT 1130 Payroll Accounting. The program page states that ACCT 1100, 1105, and 2000 transfer as a block to South Georgia State College, counting as equivalents for that school's ACCT 2101 and ACCT 2102.

Wiregrass graduates 50% of accounting AAS students, per IPEDS data, ahead of Central Georgia's 47% but behind Southern Crescent's 58% and Oconee Fall Line's 65%. Tuition holds at the same $2,568 in-state and $5,136 out-of-state rate as the rest of Georgia's top four 2027 programs. College-wide enrollment is 4,466, and its 87.7 Program Score is the lowest of the four ranked schools. It fits a student targeting a named transfer pathway into a four-year business degree, since the AAS core courses are pre-mapped rather than left to a general transfer review.

Wiregrass's own program outcomes point graduates toward bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerk roles, billing clerk, payroll technician, and entry-level tax preparer positions, entry points that feed the broader accounting and auditing field the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook tracks nationally at a $54,920 median wage. That figure is a national benchmark, not a Wiregrass-specific outcome, and a two-year AAS alone doesn't meet the bachelor's-level coursework that CPA licensure requires.

Coastal Pines Technical College's Accounting AAS (program code AC13) is a 64-credit-hour associate degree offered at both the Jesup and Waycross campuses. The occupational core runs financial accounting, managerial accounting, computerized accounting, individual tax accounting, and payroll accounting, plus a required ACCT 1120 Spreadsheet Applications course and 9 credits of accounting electives. Admission requires a completed application, a high school diploma or equivalent, and passing the college's placement test.

The program carries a Program Score of 87.6, the 5th-highest among Georgia's associate accounting programs in this ranking. Its 48% graduation rate sits mid-pack for the state's technical colleges. Tuition is $2,568 a year in-state versus $5,136 out-of-state, exactly double, so this program fits Georgia residents near Waycross or Jesup who want a low-cost AAS heavy on tax, payroll, and computerized accounting rather than a four-year business degree.

Atlanta Technical College houses its Accounting associate degree inside a broader Business Programs division alongside Business Management, Business Technology, and Marketing & Entrepreneurship. The accounting curriculum covers financial accounting, managerial accounting, cost accounting, budget control, tax accounting, legal aspects of accounting, auditing, reporting procedures, statement analysis, business information systems, and accounting research methods, with professional standards and ethics built in throughout. The college lists Evening/Weekend Programs, Dual Enrollment, and Online Learning as delivery options for its business programs.

Atlanta Tech posts a Program Score of 87.4, ranking 6th among Georgia's associate accounting programs, and a 49% graduation rate, the highest of the four schools profiled here. Tuition runs $2,568 in-state against $5,136 out-of-state, and enrollment of 4,498 students is the largest of this group. That mix of scale, completion, and evening, weekend, or online scheduling fits working adults and dual-enrollment high schoolers in metro Atlanta more than a traditional daytime-only student.

Georgia Piedmont Technical College's Accounting AAS (AC13) in Clarkston follows the same 15-credit general education core used across Georgia's technical college system: Composition and Rhetoric, one social science course (Economics, World or U.S. History, American Government, Psychology, or Sociology), one math course (Quantitative Skills, College Algebra, or Precalculus), one humanities course (Art Appreciation, American Literature, Introduction to Humanities, Music Appreciation, or World Religions), plus a general education elective drawn from science and math options like Biology, Chemistry, or Statistics.

The program earns a Program Score of 81.9, ranking 7th in this Georgia list, with a 44% graduation rate and enrollment of 3,282 students, the smallest of the four schools profiled here. In-state tuition is $2,586 a year, marginally above the $2,568 charged at the other three schools, and out-of-state students pay $5,136. It fits students in the Clarkston/DeKalb corridor who want elective flexibility across four general education subject areas before moving into accounting coursework.

Savannah Technical College's Accounting Associate Degree trains students as accounting paraprofessionals: maintaining books for business entities, account classifications, subsidiary record accounting, fixed and intangible assets, current and long-term liabilities, and partnership and corporate accounting. The managerial side covers financial statement analysis, job costing, cost-volume-profit analysis, budgeting, capital investment analysis, payroll, computerized accounting systems, spreadsheet applications, and income tax preparation. The college also offers an Accounting Diploma and short-term certificates (TCCs) as stackable steps toward the associate degree.

Savannah Tech's Program Score of 81.3 ranks 8th on this Georgia list, with a 42% graduation rate, the lowest of the four programs profiled here, and enrollment of 3,942 students. In-state tuition is $2,568 a year versus $5,136 out-of-state, exactly double. The stackable certificate-to-diploma-to-associate ladder fits students who want to enter paraprofessional accounting work quickly and finish the AAS later, rather than committing to two years upfront.

Athens Technical College offers accounting through its Business, Industry & Technology division on the Athens campus. The credential options listed are an associate degree, a certificate and a diploma, and the program is described as partially online. The page says courses mix theory and principles of accounting with simulations of professional work environments. Featured courses include ACCT 1115 Computerized Accounting, ACCT 1120 Spreadsheet Applications and ACCT 2145 Personal Finance. The program page notes that accounting, bookkeeping and auditing clerks work across nearly all industries and levels of government, and that starting salaries for full-time positions usually fall in the mid-$30,000s to low $40,000s. A program chair is listed, and the page offers downloadable student performance data.

Federal data shows a 51% graduation rate, and Athens Tech is an open-admission college, so there is no selective admit threshold to clear. In-state tuition is $2,568 and out-of-state tuition is $5,136. The program earns a Program Score of 81.2 out of 100, the basis for its ranking. It fits students in the Athens area who want a low-cost route into bookkeeping, payroll or accounting clerk work, and those who plan to earn the associate degree first and continue toward a bachelor's later.

Ogeechee Technical College offers an Accounting AAS degree (AC13) alongside an Accounting diploma and certificates in computerized accounting, office accounting and payroll accounting. The page lists online and in-person day classes. The program's stated purpose is to prepare students for the accounting profession, and its courses combine accounting theory with practical application using both manual and computerized accounting systems. Graduates are prepared for entry-level positions as accounting technicians, bookkeepers or business office managers, and they may specialize in payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable or inventory management. The college lists governmental agencies, businesses, health care providers and education institutions as potential employers, and reports that Intelligent.com ranked the program among the best in the nation.

Federal data show that OTC is open admission and that 43% of students graduate. In-state tuition is $2,568, compared with $5,136 for out-of-state students. The Program Score is 81 out of 100, and that score is the basis of this program's ranking. The program fits students who want a low-cost path into bookkeeping or accounting technician work, and those who want to start with a certificate or diploma and build toward the associate degree.

Albany Technical College offers an Associate of Applied Science in Accounting that requires 64 credits for graduation. The catalog describes it as a sequence of courses preparing students for accounting careers in technology-driven workplaces. The curriculum pairs a 15-credit general education core with 49 occupational credits. The accounting courses include Financial Accounting I and II, Managerial Accounting, Computerized Accounting, Individual Tax Accounting, and Payroll Accounting, each with laboratory work. The program starts each semester, and every first-time college student takes a College Success course. Entry requires a high school diploma or equivalent, plus placement scores such as ACCUPLACER. Credits from the college's diploma and certificate programs can count toward elective hours in this degree.

Albany Tech is an open admission college with a 42% graduation rate. In-state tuition is $2,568, compared with $5,136 for out-of-state students. The program earns a Program Score of 78.7 out of 100, which is the basis of its ranking. It fits students who want a low-cost, skills-focused two-year degree in bookkeeping, payroll, and tax preparation, with the option to move into the workforce or continue toward a bachelor's degree.

North Georgia Technical College teaches accounting principles and the production of financial records using spreadsheets, database management systems, and leading accounting and professional tax preparation software. The department offers an associate of applied science degree, a diploma and two certificates, with program length of two to five semesters, across the Blairsville, Clarkesville and Currahee campuses. Classes are offered days and evenings, online or broadcast to other campuses through a virtual classroom. The page says the associate degree prepares students for jobs such as bookkeeper or for continuing in a four-year program toward the CPA exam.

The diploma targets entry-level work in journal entry, payroll, accounts receivable and accounts payable. Accounting students may join Future Business Leaders of America, and the department notes programs eligible for 100% tuition coverage. Federal data show a 39% graduation rate, and the college is open admission. In-state tuition is $2,568 against $5,136 for out-of-state students. The program earns a Program Score of 75.8 out of 100, the basis of its ranking. It fits students who want a low-cost, flexible route into bookkeeping, payroll or tax preparation work, or a first two years of accounting before transferring to a bachelor's program.