Labor Market Pulse · Finance · October 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA MSA — October 2026
Kingsport finance leadership pay falls behind as turnover risk climbs nationally.
Metro Controller pay dropped to $100,000 against a national median climbing to $115,420, even as CFO turnover is projected at 18.3% for 2026 — the highest since the pandemic.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Sullivan County unemployment: 3.5% — vs 4.2% national, August 2026
- TN financial activities job change: -4,100 jobs — Over trailing 12 months, TDLWD
- CFO turnover rate, 2026 projection: 18.3% — Highest since pandemic, Crist|Kolder
- Metro avg. annual wage growth: 4.0% — $53,050 to $55,176, 2024 to 2025
Key takeaways
Senior-level finance pay is falling behind just as turnover risk rises nationally.
Controller and FP&A Manager advertised pay both declined significantly in the metro while national medians climbed, a divergence that widens exposure to the 18.3% CFO turnover rate projected for 2026. Organizations relying on metro-only benchmarks may be underpricing the risk of losing finance leadership to national or remote competitors.
Entry and mid-level finance roles are pricing up sharply and locally.
Senior Accountant, Billing Specialist, and Tax Specialist advertised pay all rose significantly in the metro even where national medians held stable, suggesting local employers are competing harder for execution-level finance talent than for leadership. This may reflect the same labor tightness showing up statewide, where financial activities lost jobs even as overall unemployment stayed near record lows.
Financial activities job losses complicate Finance headcount planning.
Tennessee's financial activities sector shed 4,100 jobs over the past year even as leisure, hospitality, and professional/technical services expanded, pointing to sector-specific contraction amid otherwise resilient broad labor conditions. Finance leaders budgeting headcount for FY2027 should treat this as a sign of selective restructuring and stay alert to the possibility that talent will remain neither easier nor cheaper to find.
Credit Analyst pay decline may signal shrinking local demand for the role.
Metro Credit Analyst advertised pay fell significantly to $53,750 against a stable national median of $71,397, a gap wide enough to suggest fewer or lower-stakes postings locally alongside simple wage compression. Teams hiring for credit functions should confirm whether this reflects actual demand softening before anchoring offers to the lower local figure.
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 | $100,000 | $114,200 | Significant decline | $115,420 |
| Senior Accountant | $79,795 | $80,000 | $81,076 | Significant increase | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $66,458 | $73,999 | $75,882 | Stable | $94,646 |
| Billing Specialist | $40,034 | $40,955 | $40,955 | Significant increase | $49,000 |
| Tax Specialist | $33,280 | $39,520 | $44,050 | Significant increase | $69,556 |
| Credit Analyst | $52,500 | $53,750 | $53,750 | Significant decline | $71,397 |
| FP&A Manager * | $83,283 | $102,239 | $125,210 | Significant decline | $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
Sullivan County unemployment held at 3.5% in August and Tennessee's rate sat at 3.4% through September — both well below the national 4.2% — meaning Kingsport-area Finance teams continue competing for talent in a labor pool with little statewide slack. Manufacturing's structural decline in the metro, paired with Tennessee's financial activities sector shedding 4,100 jobs over the year, suggests finance and accounting talent may be absorbing displaced workers from adjacent industries while also fielding less hiring demand from its own sector.
What it means
Metro advertised pay for Controller ($100,000) and FP&A Manager ($102,239) both dropped significantly against rising national medians ($115,420 and $130,000), a gap that complicates retention for finance leadership roles even as lower-tier positions like Senior Accountant and Tax Specialist post sharp local pay increases. With CFO turnover nationally projected at 18.3% for 2026 and 85% of CFOs reporting finance talent shortages, a widening local-to-national pay gap at the Controller and FP&A Manager level raises flight risk precisely where succession bench strength matters most during close and audit cycles. Consider reviewing total rewards structures for mid-to-senior finance roles against national medians as the primary benchmark, particularly where remote work options expose local teams to national compensation competition.
Looking ahead
Expected: BLS metro-level unemployment data for Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol covering October will not post until December 2 — Finance leaders relying on county-level proxies from Sullivan and Hawkins counties should treat current figures as directional when setting Q1 2027 headcount budgets, pending final data.
Emerging pressure point: National finance and accounting leaders report 70% increased use of contract talent in H2 2026, a shift that creates fixed-cost forecasting and audit-documentation complications. Watch whether Kingsport-area finance teams follow this pattern given the local Controller and FP&A Manager pay gap relative to national rates.
Worth watching: TNTalent's $5 million workforce development funding targets AI infrastructure and advanced manufacturing skills — finance teams planning automation investments in close or FP&A processes may find retraining budget support worth tracking as programs roll out.
Early indicator: Tennessee's projected 2026 job growth of just 31,400 statewide, down sharply from a typical 60,000-per-year pace, suggests a cooling hiring cycle that could ease wage pressure on entry-level finance roles into early 2027 — but Controller and FP&A Manager scarcity may persist regardless given national leadership turnover trends.
Sources
- USA Facts / Bureau of Labor Statistics — Sullivan County unemployment at 3.5% in August 2026
- Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development — Tennessee financial activities sector lost 4,100 jobs over the year
- Crist|Kolder Associates — CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic
- MAVI — 85% of CFOs report finance talent shortages affecting operations
- Industry survey (AFP FP&A Forum) — 70% of finance leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Metro average annual wage rose from $53,050 to $55,176
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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