Labor Market Pulse · Finance · October 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Greeley, CO MSA — October 2026
Greeley Controller pay surges as labor force shrinks beneath it.
Weld County unemployment hit 5.0% in September even as Greeley's advertised Controller pay climbed to $133,255 — 15% above the national median of $115,420 — signaling scarcity concentrated at the top of finance teams.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Weld County unemployment: 5.0% — vs 4.1% Colorado, Sept. 2026
- Controller advertised pay, Greeley: $133,255 — vs $115,420 national median
- Colorado financial activities job loss: -4,500 jobs — Statewide, September 2026
- Greeley Q1 vacancy growth: 15.7% — 2nd-highest among CO metros
Key takeaways
Controller pay is pulling away from the national market.
Greeley's advertised Controller median of $133,255 sits 15% above the national figure of $115,420 and is rising significantly, consistent with the 18.3% CFO turnover rate reported nationally and acute finance leadership scarcity. Budget cycles planning Controller replacement or succession should assume a local premium.
Support-role finance pay is softening even as leadership pay climbs.
Billing Specialist ($40,560, down significantly) and Credit Analyst ($66,500, down moderately) advertised pay in Greeley both trail national medians and are declining, suggesting softer local demand for transactional finance roles even as the county's unemployment rate rises. This may create near-term hiring leverage for backfilling lower-tier finance positions.
Weld County's unemployment-vacancy gap is a warning on talent quality.
A 5.0% unadjusted jobless rate paired with 15.7% vacancy growth indicates openings exist but qualified finance candidates may not match them locally. Expect longer time-to-fill for specialized roles like FP&A Manager even as overall applicant volume appears to rise.
Statewide financial-sector job losses have yet to show up in Greeley's advertised pay.
Colorado shed about 4,500 financial activities jobs in September, yet Greeley's Financial Analyst ($94,457) and FP&A Manager ($131,513) pay held stable or rose. Finance leaders should watch whether statewide contraction lags into local postings over Q4, which would ease some benchmarking pressure heading into 2027 planning.
Median advertised pay by role — Greeley, CO MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $114,139 | $133,255 | $135,000 | Significant increase | $115,420 |
| Senior Accountant | $79,101 | $87,857 | $90,054 | Moderate decline | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $75,320 | $94,457 | $97,283 | Moderate increase | $94,646 |
| Billing Specialist | $34,900 | $40,560 | $44,720 | Significant decline | $49,000 |
| Tax Specialist | $39,520 | $51,240 | $85,706 | Stable | $69,556 |
| Credit Analyst | $58,757 | $66,500 | $66,500 | Moderate decline | $71,397 |
| FP&A Manager * | $107,198 | $131,513 | $140,940 | Stable | $130,000 |
* 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
Weld County's unadjusted unemployment rate climbed to 5.0% in September, nearly a full point above the state's 4.1%, even as Q1 vacancy growth of 15.7% ranked second-highest among Colorado metros, pointing to a local market where labor supply has tightened faster than hiring demand has cooled. Colorado's financial activities sector shed roughly 4,500 jobs statewide in September, and a statewide labor force contraction of about 95,000 workers over two years is compounding the mismatch between open roles and available finance talent in Greeley.
What it means
Rising Greeley unemployment alongside statewide financial-sector contraction signals a bifurcated market: Finance leaders face softer competition for junior and transactional roles while senior finance talent, particularly Controllers, commands sharply rising advertised pay (Metro median $133,255, up significantly versus national $115,420) as scarcity concentrates at the top. Headcount cost planning for FY2027 should assume continued premium pressure on Controller and FP&A-level hires even as roles like Billing Specialist and Credit Analyst show local pay softening, widening the internal pay band finance teams must manage during close and audit cycles. Consider reviewing compensation structures by seniority tier, since Greeley's wage signals are diverging sharply between leadership and support-level finance roles.
Looking ahead
Expected: Colorado's October unemployment data releases November 20 — watch whether Weld County's 5.0% rate extends its climb, which would further validate the local talent-scarcity premium showing up in Controller and FP&A pay.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide financial activities sector lost 4,500 jobs in September; monitor whether released finance talent from Denver or other Front Range metros begins appearing in Greeley applicant pools, which could ease senior-role scarcity.
Early indicator: National CFO external hiring rate hit 37.5%, and 70% of finance leaders report increased contract talent use in H2 2026 — watch whether Greeley employers follow with interim or fractional Controller and FP&A postings ahead of year-end close.
Worth watching: Colorado's labor force participation rate is at its lowest level since 1976; a continued decline would tighten competition for finance talent further and could sustain Greeley's Controller pay premium into 2027 budget cycles.
Sources
- BizWest / Colorado Department of Labor and Employment — Weld County unadjusted unemployment rate reached 5.0% in September 2026
- Colorado Chamber of Commerce — Greeley led regional Q1 2026 vacancy growth at 15.7%
- Colorado Department of Labor and Employment — Colorado financial activities sector shed approximately 4,500 jobs in September 2026
- Crist|Kolder Associates — CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic
- Colorado Department of Labor and Employment — Colorado labor force participation at lowest level since records began in 1976
- Robert Half / AFP FP&A Forum — 70% of finance and accounting leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026
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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