Labor Market Pulse · Finance · September 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Glens Falls, NY MSA — September 2026
Glens Falls Controller pay surges as Tax Specialist rates collapse.
Metro Controller advertised pay climbed to $125,000, outpacing the $113,754 national median, while Tax Specialist pay fell to $44,895 — a third below the $65,842 national figure.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Glens Falls unemployment rate: 3.4% — Up from 2.7% a year ago (Aug 2025)
- Metro Controller advertised pay: $125,000 — vs $113,754 national median, rising
- Metro vs national average weekly wage: $1,231 — 26% below U.S. average of $1,654 (Q1 2026)
- Nonfarm payroll change, Glens Falls: -0.4% — YoY through Dec 2025; private jobs +0.9%
Key takeaways
Controller pay is outrunning the national market, not tracking it.
Metro Controller advertised pay sits at $125,000, roughly 10% above the national median of $113,754, and is still rising. That gap is unusual for a lower-wage metro and signals intense competition for a thin senior-finance bench in Glens Falls specifically.
Tax Specialist pay collapse looks local, not structural.
Metro Tax Specialist advertised pay fell to $44,895 — down moderately and roughly a third below the $65,842 national median, which is rising significantly. The divergence suggests metro employers are posting lower-skill or seasonal tax roles while national demand for tax expertise accelerates, a distinction worth confirming before setting local offers.
FP&A Manager pay softening despite a national hiring rebound.
Metro FP&A Manager advertised pay dipped moderately to $128,881 even as national F&A leaders report 74% plan to add permanent headcount and a 2026 Hiring Index of 134%. Local softening amid national appetite may reflect fewer open requisitions rather than falling demand — a signal to watch, not yet act on.
Metro wage gap widens the recruiting radius, for better or worse.
Average weekly wages of $1,231 sit 26% below the national $1,654 figure, meaning remote-capable finance talent can likely earn more elsewhere without relocating. Current conditions suggest evaluating which finance roles genuinely require local presence before anchoring offers to historical metro pay levels.
Median advertised pay by role — Glens Falls, NY MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $114,593 | $125,000 | $127,500 | Significant increase | $113,754 |
| Senior Accountant * | $79,427 | $87,694 | $90,101 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst * | $72,517 | $94,295 | $102,336 | Moderate increase | $94,782 |
| Billing Specialist | $48,100 | $51,857 | $53,148 | Significant decline | $49,512 |
| Tax Specialist | $33,748 | $44,895 | $81,166 | Moderate decline | $65,842 |
| Credit Analyst * | $59,986 | $72,023 | $85,935 | Significant decline | $71,758 |
| FP&A Manager * | $104,005 | $128,881 | $137,500 | 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
Glens Falls MSA unemployment held at 3.4% in August, up from 2.7% a year earlier, as nonfarm payrolls contracted 0.4% year-over-year even while private-sector jobs grew 0.9% — a split signal consistent with public-sector softening layered on modest private hiring. Local average weekly wages of $1,231 in Q1 2026 remain roughly 26% below the national $1,654 figure, a structural gap that widens the pool of candidates for employers able to pay above metro norms but narrows it for those anchored to local pay history.
What it means
National Finance sector job losses (-129,000 since May 2025, concentrated in insurance) are not mirrored locally, where healthcare and professional services remain the hiring engines — meaning Glens Falls Finance leaders are competing for talent against a smaller, more concentrated employer base than national data implies. Metro Controller pay has risen sharply to $125,000 against a national median of $113,754, suggesting local employers are bidding up senior finance talent faster than the broader market, even as Tax Specialist and Credit Analyst advertised rates have fallen significantly — a divergence that likely reflects role-specific churn rather than a uniform cooling. Consider reviewing Controller-level compensation structures against this metro premium before FY planning cycles lock in budget assumptions built on national averages.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Nonfarm payrolls in Glens Falls fell 0.4% year-over-year through December 2025 even as private employment grew 0.9%. Confirm whether Q3 2026 data extends that split or signals broader softening before finalizing Q4 headcount plans.
Emerging pressure point: National Financial Analyst roles show extreme applicant competition (128 per opening in NYC), while metro Financial Analyst pay rose moderately to $94,295. Watch whether downstate talent oversupply begins pushing candidates toward lower-cost metros like Glens Falls.
Potential inflection point: National F&A wage pressure remains elevated (nearly half of organizations expect direct labor rate increases above 4%) even as average hourly earnings growth cooled to 3.0% nationally in September. Watch whether metro finance pay follows the national deceleration or continues its Controller-level premium trend.
Early indicator: New York State WARN filings remain low (46 notices, 4,694 workers over 90 days) with no large-scale local layoffs reported. Monitor whether healthcare or manufacturing — the metro's largest employers — show any uptick given statewide healthcare and manufacturing WARN activity.
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.
Free to read and cite with attribution to WageScape. Terms of use.