Labor Market Pulse · Finance · September 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: IN NONMETROPOLITAN AREA — September 2026
Nonmetro Indiana Finance pay falls as national rates hold firm.
Advertised pay for Controller, Financial Analyst and FP&A Manager roles declined locally this month — Financial Analyst down to $78,219 against a stable national $94,782 — even as Credit Analyst pay jumped to $60,320 on manufacturing-linked demand.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Nonmetro county unemployment range: 2.7%–2.9% — Pulaski, Wells, Boone counties vs 4.1% national
- Financial Analyst advertised pay: $78,219 — Down significantly vs stable $94,782 national median
- Credit Analyst advertised pay: $60,320 — Up significantly, tracking $71,758 national median gain
- Indiana financial services job swing: -300 to +4,100/qtr — Forecast volatility range through 2027
Key takeaways
Nonmetro Finance pay is falling while national rates hold steady.
Controller, Financial Analyst and FP&A Manager advertised pay all declined locally this month against stable national medians — a divergence that widens the remote-work arbitrage risk for employers trying to retain analytical talent in rural counties.
Credit Analyst pay is the exception, and it's telling.
Metro Credit Analyst pay rose significantly to $60,320, outpacing a moderate national increase to $71,758. This likely reflects localized demand tied to manufacturing and agbioscience capital investment requiring credit and underwriting support near new facility sites.
Tax and billing roles show the steepest local pay erosion.
Tax Specialist ($43,046) and Billing Specialist ($34,769) advertised pay both fell significantly locally while national rates rose moderate-to-significant — a gap wide enough to create retention risk if these roles are benchmarked against stale local data.
Sector volatility complicates nonmetro headcount budgeting.
Indiana financial services employment forecasts swing between a 300-job loss and 4,100-job gain per quarter through 2027. Nonmetro Finance functions tied to statewide shared-services models should treat quarterly headcount assumptions as provisional, not fixed.
Median advertised pay by role — IN NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $80,000 | $99,425 | $106,425 | Moderate decline | $113,754 |
| Senior Accountant | $75,440 | $81,033 | $85,000 | Moderate increase | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $66,269 | $78,219 | $87,952 | Significant decline | $94,782 |
| Billing Specialist | $33,377 | $34,769 | $43,999 | Significant decline | $49,512 |
| Tax Specialist | $32,278 | $43,046 | $44,246 | Significant decline | $65,842 |
| Credit Analyst | $49,087 | $60,320 | $67,460 | Significant increase | $71,758 |
| FP&A Manager * | $91,023 | $112,241 | $122,778 | 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
Nonmetropolitan Indiana's rural counties continue to post unemployment rates well below the national 4.1% — Pulaski at 2.7%, Wells and Boone near 2.9% — while capital flowing into advanced manufacturing, agbioscience and defense (570 new jobs announced in September alone) signals sustained demand for skilled technical talent even as wage levels in 82 of 83 smaller counties trail the national average. This gap between tight local labor supply and below-average pay — Martin County's $1,695 weekly wage is the exception, Brown County's $742 the reality for most — reflects a nonmetro economy still absorbing manufacturing-linked investment without the compensation growth typically associated with that demand.
What it means
Statewide financial services volatility — Indiana forecasts show financial services employment swinging between a 300-job loss and a 4,100-job gain per quarter through 2027 — makes nonmetro Finance headcount planning unusually sensitive to short-cycle revisions rather than annual budget assumptions. Metro-level advertised pay for Controller ($99,425), Financial Analyst ($78,219) and FP&A Manager ($112,241) all moved down this month against stable-to-rising national medians, suggesting nonmetro employers are not yet competing on pay for these roles despite statewide talent scarcity signals in skilled trades and manufacturing. Consider reviewing whether Finance role postings in nonmetro locations are losing ground to national remote-eligible competition before the next hiring cycle locks in below-market offers.</br>
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Indiana's unemployment rate is projected to rise from 3.6% toward 4.4% through year-end even as nonmetro counties post sub-3% readings. Watch whether this statewide softening reaches rural labor markets or remains concentrated in metro areas.
Emerging pressure point: Nonmetro advertised pay fell across five of seven tracked Finance roles this month while national medians held or rose. If this gap persists into Q4 budget cycles, expect increased attrition risk for remote-capable roles like Financial Analyst and FP&A Manager.
Potential inflection point: Capital investment announcements (Givaudan's $215M Dearborn County facility, Amazon's Greenwood plant) are manufacturing-focused but typically pull adjacent demand for credit, billing and site-level finance support. Monitor whether Credit Analyst's pay gain this month is the leading edge of a broader local repricing.
Expected: National financial activities employment has shed 129,000 jobs since May 2025, with insurance carriers hit hardest. Nonmetro Indiana employers with insurance-adjacent Finance functions should watch for talent becoming available locally as national contraction continues.
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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