Labor Market Pulse · Finance · October 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Jacksonville, NC MSA — October 2026
Jacksonville finance pay splits: FP&A climbs, Controller and Credit Analyst slide.
FP&A Manager advertised pay rose to $135,200 against a $130,000 national median, while Controller pay fell to $104,893 and Credit Analyst pay dropped to $74,315, both diverging from firmer national trends.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Jacksonville MSA unemployment: 3.9% — vs 3.4% statewide, 4.1% nationally
- FP&A Manager advertised pay (metro): $135,200 — up significantly, above $130,000 national median
- Controller advertised pay (metro): $104,893 — down vs $115,420 national median
- Metro nonfarm job growth, year-over-year: +0.3% — 2,600 jobs added, led by Education/Health
Key takeaways
Controller pay is falling locally while rising nationally.
Metro Controller advertised pay sits at $104,893 against a national median of $115,420 and is trending down, a divergence that suggests local employers face less competitive pressure to raise senior finance pay even as national benchmarks climb. Organizations recruiting Controllers from outside the metro should expect resistance to relocation without a pay adjustment.
FP&A Manager pay signals where real demand sits.
Local FP&A Manager advertised pay has risen significantly to $135,200, outpacing the national median of $130,000 and bucking the metro's broader wage softness. This looks like a scarcity premium for strategic finance capability in a market otherwise dominated by healthcare and government hiring.
Credit Analyst compression cuts against the national grain.
Metro Credit Analyst pay fell to $74,315, now below the stable national median of $71,397's prior trajectory and reversing the premium this role typically held locally. A shrinking base of lenders and finance employers in Onslow County appears to be softening competition for this role specifically.
Finance talent scarcity is a national story playing out locally in slow motion.
85% of CFOs nationally report finance talent shortages, and Jacksonville's 3.9% unemployment and modest 2,600 annual job gains point to a local finance talent pool that is shallow. Expect longer time-to-fill for mid-to-senior finance vacancies than national benchmarks would predict.
Median advertised pay by role — Jacksonville, NC MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $82,500 | $104,893 | $112,500 | Significant decline | $115,420 |
| Senior Accountant | $72,742 | $74,735 | $77,823 | Moderate increase | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst * | $70,600 | $88,450 | $96,908 | Stable | $94,646 |
| Billing Specialist | $34,921 | $37,034 | $37,283 | Stable | $49,000 |
| Tax Specialist | $30,640 | $40,196 | $42,270 | Stable | $69,556 |
| Credit Analyst * | $61,469 | $74,315 | $83,654 | Moderate decline | $71,397 |
| FP&A Manager * | $109,967 | $135,200 | $142,500 | Significant 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
Jacksonville MSA unemployment held at 3.9% in August, well above the state's 3.4% rate, reflecting the metro's reliance on military-adjacent and public-sector employment while Professional/Business Services growth lifts Charlotte and Raleigh. Nonagricultural employment rose just 0.3% year-over-year with Education and Health Services driving nearly all net job gains, leaving finance and back-office hiring largely dependent on local government and hospital system headcount decisions, with a broader private-sector base still absent.
What it means
Thin local demand for finance talent means Controller and Credit Analyst pay in this metro is softening even as national rates for those same roles hold or rise, widening the gap Finance leaders must account for when justifying out-of-market hires or remote arrangements. With CFO turnover nationally at an 18.3% high and 70% of finance organizations leaning on contract talent, Jacksonville's shallow candidate pool for senior finance roles raises real exposure during close and audit cycles if a Controller or FP&A lead departs unexpectedly. Consider reviewing succession coverage for senior finance positions now, before a vacancy forces a national search against a market where local advertised Controller pay already trails national rates by roughly $10,500.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: NC's average weekly wage fell 1.8% year-over-year statewide; watch whether Onslow County's $21.78 average hourly pay follows that softening trend into Q4, which would further widen the gap against national finance role pay.
Emerging pressure point: North Carolina logged 10 WARN notices affecting 1,123 workers in the past 90 days, concentrated in manufacturing and transportation. None currently touch Onslow County, but any regional spillover could add unexpected finance and back-office candidates to a thin local pool.
Worth watching: Education and Health Services drove nearly all of the metro's job growth this year; any pullback in hospital or school system hiring budgets would disproportionately affect the metro's already narrow private finance hiring pipeline.
Potential inflection point: National CFO turnover at 18.3% and rising external hiring rates mean a single senior finance departure in this metro could force a costly out-of-market search given the local Controller pay gap of roughly $10,500 against national rates.
Sources
- North Carolina Department of Commerce — Jacksonville MSA unemployment rate at 3.9% in August 2026
- Jacksonville Business Calendar — Metro nonagricultural employment up 0.3% year-over-year, 2,600 jobs added
- Crist|Kolder Associates — CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic
- Robert Half / AFP FP&A Forum — 70% of finance and accounting leaders increasing use of contract talent
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — North Carolina seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 3.4%
- USA Facts / BLS — NC average weekly wage down 1.8% year-over-year to $1,179
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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