Labor Market Pulse · Finance · August 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA MSA — August 2026
Kingsport finance pay splits: Controllers slide, Tax roles surge.
Metro Controller advertised pay fell to $92,500 against a stable $112,500 national median, even as local Tax Specialist pay jumped to $37,440 — a divergence Finance leaders should factor into FY2027 headcount budgets.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of August 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment range: 3.4%-3.9% — Sullivan, Washington, Hawkins counties vs 4.1% national
- Controller advertised pay: $92,500 — Down significantly; national median stable at $112,500
- TN financial activities jobs: -700 — August 2026 statewide decline
- TN labor force contraction: -50,000 — Year-over-year since August 2025
Key takeaways
Controller pay is softening locally while national demand holds firm.
Metro Controller advertised median fell significantly to $92,500 versus a stable $112,500 nationally, a gap wide enough to affect succession and internal promotion economics. Finance leaders benchmarking against national data risk overpaying for external Controller hires relative to what the local market is actually signaling.
Tax Specialist pay is surging locally from a low base.
Metro Tax Specialist advertised pay rose significantly to $37,440, still far below the $66,725 national median but moving in the same direction — a sign compliance and reporting talent is getting harder to source even in smaller markets. Expect this gap to narrow further as audit and close-cycle staffing pressure persists.
Statewide financial activities losses mask local hiring friction.
Tennessee's financial activities sector lost 700 jobs in August and professional/technical services fell 1,500, even as Kingsport-area county unemployment held near 3.4%-3.9%. Fewer displaced finance professionals are likely entering the regional candidate pool than state-level job losses might imply.
FP&A Manager and Financial Analyst roles are both repricing downward.
Metro FP&A Manager advertised pay dropped significantly to $105,863 and Financial Analyst fell moderately to $71,643, both trailing national medians by wide margins. Current conditions suggest this is a market-specific compression worth confirming against actual close-cycle and forecasting workload before assuming it reflects reduced skill demand.
Median advertised pay by role — Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $92,500 | $92,500 | $113,901 | Significant decline | $112,500 |
| Senior Accountant | $79,794 | $80,000 | $80,000 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $66,285 | $71,643 | $74,106 | Moderate decline | $82,905 |
| Billing Specialist | $33,659 | $40,034 | $40,955 | Moderate decline | $49,700 |
| Tax Specialist | $31,392 | $37,440 | $39,520 | Significant increase | $66,725 |
| Credit Analyst * | $54,745 | $65,108 | $69,290 | Significant increase | $72,000 |
| FP&A Manager * | $83,283 | $105,863 | $128,819 | Significant decline | $127,341 |
* 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
Kingsport-Bristol's labor market stayed structurally tight through mid-2026, with county unemployment ranging 3.4%-3.9% against a 4.1% national rate, even as Tennessee's financial activities sector shed 700 jobs statewide in August and professional/business services fell 2,100. Advanced manufacturing and healthcare — anchored by Eastman, Domtar, BAE Systems and Ballad Health — continue absorbing regional labor supply, leaving finance and accounting talent pools thinner than headline unemployment figures suggest.
What it means
Statewide contraction in financial activities and professional/technical services headcount, paired with a metro Controller advertised median down significantly to $92,500 (versus a stable $112,500 national figure), points to local finance leadership roles softening in relative pricing power even as skilled-talent scarcity persists nationally. This divergence complicates FY2027 headcount cost models: budget cycles built on national compensation benchmarks may understate local retention risk for mid-career finance talent while overstating what's needed to fill senior roles. Consider reviewing whether Kingsport-specific advertised pay trends — rather than national or Tennessee-wide averages — are driving current close-team and FP&A staffing assumptions.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Tennessee's labor force has contracted more than 50,000 since August 2025 despite low unemployment. Watch whether this continues to tighten the pipeline for FP&A, controller and tax specialist searches in the Kingsport-Bristol area over Q4.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide professional and business services employment fell 2,100 in August, with 1,500 in professional, scientific and technical services. If this pattern extends regionally, close-cycle and audit-support staffing could face longer time-to-fill through year-end.
Potential inflection point: Metro Controller and FP&A Manager advertised pay are both down significantly against stable national trends. Finance leaders should monitor whether this reflects genuine local demand softening or temporary underpricing that self-corrects as Q1 2027 budget cycles open new requisitions.
Early indicator: Tax Specialist and Credit Analyst advertised pay are both up significantly locally, a notable divergence from broader metro softening. Sustained movement in these two roles may signal early repricing pressure spreading to adjacent compliance and credit-risk functions.
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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