Labor Market Pulse · Finance · October 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Green Bay, WI MSA — October 2026
Green Bay finance pay splits: analysts up, credit analysts down.
Financial Analyst pay in Green Bay rose to $82,175 while Credit Analyst pay fell to $59,249, against a backdrop of 3.2% Wisconsin unemployment and the nation's steepest real wage decline at -5.1%.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Green Bay MSA unemployment: 2.9%-3.4% — vs 4.1% national rate (2026)
- Wisconsin real wage growth: -5.1% — Steepest decline of all 50 states, YoY
- CFO turnover rate, national: 18.3% — Highest since pandemic (Crist|Kolder)
- Finance leaders increasing contract talent use: 70% — H2 2026, shifting from FTE models
Key takeaways
FP&A and analyst pay is pulling away from core accounting roles.
Financial Analyst pay is up significantly locally ($82,175) while Senior Accountant and Controller postings sit flat. Budget allocation for finance headcount appears to be shifting toward forecasting and analysis capacity, a pattern worth tracking against your own open requisitions.
Tax Specialist pay is climbing faster than almost any other finance role.
Metro Tax Specialist pay is up significantly to $67,500, tracking a matching national trend (also up significantly, $69,556). Compressed timelines around compliance work and a thin specialist pool locally may be driving employers to bid aggressively for this skill set ahead of year-end filing season.
Credit Analyst pay is softening against a stable national market.
Metro Credit Analyst advertised pay is down moderately to $59,249 while the national median holds at $71,397 — a widening gap that may reflect reduced local demand for credit risk functions as manufacturing-adjacent lending activity cools. Worth checking whether this reflects fewer postings overall or an actual pay reset.
CFO turnover risk is a national story with local teeth.
CFO turnover is projected at 18.3% in 2026, the highest since the pandemic, with external hiring rates climbing to 37.5%. A Green Bay finance leader departure during close season now carries higher replacement risk than in prior years, given how thin the regional executive-level bench runs.
Median advertised pay by role — Green Bay, WI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $95,484 | $103,320 | $110,158 | Stable | $115,420 |
| Senior Accountant | $70,006 | $76,382 | $77,500 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $65,736 | $82,175 | $83,450 | Significant increase | $94,646 |
| Billing Specialist | $36,585 | $45,765 | $47,840 | Moderate increase | $49,000 |
| Tax Specialist | $44,188 | $67,500 | $70,720 | Significant increase | $69,556 |
| Credit Analyst | $55,625 | $59,249 | $63,648 | Moderate decline | $71,397 |
| FP&A Manager * | $100,074 | $116,859 | $126,976 | Moderate increase | $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
Green Bay MSA unemployment sat near 2.9%-3.4% through mid-2026, well below the 4.1% national rate, reflecting a labor pool still tight by any historical measure despite WARN notices at Ryder (151 workers, June) and Green Bay Converting (32 workers, April) signaling pockets of manufacturing softening. Wisconsin's -5.1% year-over-year real wage decline — the steepest of any state — suggests Green Bay employers are holding nominal pay steady while inflation erodes purchasing power, a dynamic distinct from the slack showing up in national white-collar layoff data.
What it means
Finance function hiring in Green Bay sits at the intersection of two pressures: a metro labor market still too tight for easy backfills, and a national CFO/controller talent shortage (85% of CFOs report finance talent shortages per MAVI) that makes replacing departures during close and audit cycles materially harder than a year ago. Advertised pay for Financial Analyst ($82,175, up significantly) and FP&A Manager ($116,859, up moderately) locally is outpacing Controller and Senior Accountant postings, which have gone flat — a sign budget dollars are being redirected toward forecasting and analysis capacity, with traditional accounting headcount receiving a smaller share. Consider reviewing whether flat Controller and Senior Accountant advertised pay reflects retention strength or simply fewer postings masking turnover risk ahead of year-end close.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Brown County's unemployment uptick (2.7% in December to 3.4% in August) continues into Q4 data — a sustained rise would suggest manufacturing-linked WARN activity (Ryder, Green Bay Converting) is starting to loosen the broader labor pool, easing backfill pressure for finance roles.
Emerging pressure point: Wisconsin's real wage decline of -5.1% year-over-year is the steepest in the nation; if that persists through Q4, expect retention pressure to intensify on lower- and mid-level finance staff whose pay has not kept pace with local cost-of-living increases.
Worth watching: National shift toward contract finance talent (70% of leaders increasing contractor use in H2 2026) may show up locally as fewer permanent postings and more project-based engagements — a signal worth tracking when budgeting headcount for 2027 close cycles.
Potential inflection point: Tax Specialist and Financial Analyst pay are both climbing significantly in Green Bay; sustained movement into Q1 2027 would mark a structural repricing of analytical and compliance talent tied to longer-term demand shifts, beyond the seasonal blip around filing deadlines.
Sources
- Bureau of Labor Statistics / Wisconsin DWD — Green Bay MSA unemployment rate trend through mid-2026
- BLS / Wisconsin Examiner — Wisconsin real wage decline of -5.1% year-over-year, steepest among states
- WARN Act Tracker — Ryder and Green Bay Converting WARN Act filings
- MAVI — 85% of CFOs report finance talent shortages affecting operations
- Crist|Kolder Associates — CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic
- Robert Half / AFP FP&A Forum — 70% of finance 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.
Free to read and cite with attribution to WageScape. Terms of use.