Labor Market Pulse · Finance · September 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Albany, GA MSA — September 2026
Albany Finance pay drops as national roles get pricier.
Controller advertised pay fell to a $67,124 metro median against a rising $113,754 national figure, while Dougherty County unemployment held at 4.6% in a metro where Georgia's statewide rate sits at 3.2%.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Dougherty County unemployment: 4.6% — vs 3.2% Georgia statewide, July 2026
- Controller advertised pay (metro): $67,124 — vs $113,754 national median, trending down
- National financial activities job losses: -129,000 — Since May 2025, concentrated in insurance carriers
- F&A talent shortage index: 77% — Up from 2025 surplus reading of 108%
Key takeaways
Controller pay is falling locally while rising nationally.
Metro Controller advertised pay dropped to $67,124 even as the national median climbed to $113,754, a gap wide enough to suggest Albany employers aren't competing in the same talent pool as larger metros. Budgeting senior finance hires against national data risks significant overspend or misaligned offers.
Tax Specialist pay decline looks like a local anomaly, not a trend.
Metro Tax Specialist advertised pay fell significantly to $41,885 while the national figure rose sharply to $65,842, consistent with national reporting of an emerging CPA and accountant talent shortage. Local employers may be under-pricing a role that's tightening everywhere else, risking longer vacancy cycles.
Financial Analyst pay stability signals a calmer corner of the market.
Metro and national medians both held stable near $90,000-$95,000, making this one of the few finance roles where Albany employers can benchmark confidently against national data. Stability here may reflect steadier demand relative to Controller and Tax Specialist roles, where local and national trends have diverged.
Billing Specialist wage gains track a national pattern.
Metro advertised pay for Billing Specialist rose moderately to $40,120, moving in the same direction as the national median's moderate increase to $49,512. Consistent movement across both geographies may suggest genuine demand growth for transactional finance support roles, not just local noise.
Median advertised pay by role — Albany, GA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $65,365 | $67,124 | $67,379 | Significant decline | $113,754 |
| Senior Accountant | $65,000 | $65,000 | $80,326 | Significant decline | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst * | $66,944 | $90,889 | $98,907 | Stable | $94,782 |
| Billing Specialist | $38,001 | $40,120 | $43,834 | Moderate increase | $49,512 |
| Tax Specialist | $39,712 | $41,885 | $62,695 | Significant decline | $65,842 |
| Credit Analyst * | $54,020 | $70,632 | $77,388 | Moderate increase | $71,758 |
| FP&A Manager * | $101,279 | $116,719 | $130,000 | Moderate decline | $128,139 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Local market conditions
Albany's labor market stayed tight at the state level but uneven locally — Dougherty County unemployment sat at 4.6% in July versus Georgia's record-low 3.2% statewide rate, a gap reflecting the metro's continued reliance on healthcare, education, and manufacturing rather than the services and tech sectors driving statewide gains. Local advertised pay for several finance roles moved against the national grain this month, with Controller and Senior Accountant postings both down significantly even as national medians for the same roles held steady or rose, suggesting Albany employers are pricing finance talent independently of broader market tightening.
What it means
Divergence between local and national finance pay trends complicates headcount cost planning for FY2027 — budgeting off national benchmarks alone risks overstating what it actually takes to fill Controller or Tax Specialist roles in this metro, where advertised medians have fallen sharply while national figures climbed. Finance leaders managing close timelines and audit readiness should also weigh the national contraction in financial activities employment (down 129,000 positions since May 2025) against local hiring realities, since sector-wide softening elsewhere may not translate into easier local recruiting given Dougherty County's narrower talent pool. Consider reviewing whether Albany-specific advertised pay data, rather than national medians, should anchor FY2027 compensation ranges for finance and accounting roles filled locally.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Dougherty County's unemployment gap versus the statewide 3.2% rate bears tracking through fall releases — if it narrows, expect tighter competition for finance talent locally; if it widens, local employers may gain leverage on advertised pay.
Emerging pressure point: National financial activities employment has shed 129,000 jobs since May 2025, concentrated in insurance carriers. Watch whether any of that displaced talent enters the Albany candidate pool, particularly for Controller and Senior Accountant searches where local advertised pay has fallen.
Expected: Official July BLS data for Albany MSA won't update to September figures until late October or early November — budget and headcount plans built on current county-level data should be revisited once that release lands.
Potential inflection point: National finance and accounting leaders report 74% plan to increase permanent headcount in the second half of 2026 alongside a 2026 Talent Shortage Index of 77%. If that national hiring push reaches Albany employers, expect upward pressure on Tax Specialist and Senior Accountant advertised pay to follow.
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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