Labor Market Pulse · Finance · October 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Lima, OH MSA — October 2026
Lima Controller pay jumps past the national median.
Lima's advertised Controller pay climbed to $121,982, now ahead of the $115,420 national figure, even as Senior Accountant and Financial Analyst pay held flat against 3.7% statewide inflation.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Controller advertised pay, Lima MSA: $121,982 — vs. $115,420 national median
- Allen County unemployment: 3.0%-3.3% — vs. 3.4% statewide, 4.1% national
- Ohio inflation rate: 3.7% — up from 3.4% in August 2026
- Manufacturing WARN notices, Ohio YTD: 23 notices / 3,159 workers — largest sector share of 2026 layoffs
Key takeaways
Controller pay in Lima has pulled ahead of the national median.
Advertised Controller pay rose to $121,982 locally versus $115,420 nationally — a reversal of the typical metro discount seen in administrative and analyst roles. This points to acute local scarcity for senior finance oversight talent as the primary driver, distinct from a broad regional wage lift.
Mid-level finance roles show no pay movement despite a tight labor pool.
Senior Accountant and Financial Analyst advertised pay are flat both locally and nationally, even as Allen County unemployment holds near 3%. Flat postings alongside a tight labor market may indicate employers are holding the line on base pay and relying on non-cash levers to retain mid-level finance staff.
Manufacturing-linked WARN activity bears watching for finance-adjacent fallout.
Ohio's 2026 WARN filings are concentrated in manufacturing (23 notices, 3,159 workers), a sector central to Lima's employment base including the Ford Engine Plant. Plant-level disruption historically spills into local finance and accounting support roles tied to manufacturing operations and supply-chain reporting.
Tax Specialist and Credit Analyst pay gains outpace the metro's broader wage stagnation.
Both roles show moderate upward movement locally (Tax Specialist to $62,781, Credit Analyst to $65,947) against a backdrop of otherwise stable advertised pay across the finance function. Consider evaluating whether this reflects compliance-driven demand or early repositioning ahead of 2027 regulatory or credit-cycle pressures.
Median advertised pay by role — Lima, OH MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $108,305 | $121,982 | $125,554 | Significant increase | $115,420 |
| Senior Accountant * | $75,684 | $85,580 | $89,299 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst * | $70,743 | $88,390 | $97,940 | Stable | $94,646 |
| Billing Specialist * | $36,977 | $44,720 | $51,000 | Stable | $49,000 |
| Tax Specialist * | $35,360 | $62,781 | $77,500 | Moderate increase | $69,556 |
| Credit Analyst * | $52,042 | $65,947 | $75,166 | Moderate increase | $71,397 |
| FP&A Manager * | $102,056 | $125,000 | $133,797 | Stable | $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
Allen County unemployment sits near 3.0%-3.3% through mid-2026, tighter than Ohio's statewide 3.4%, even as manufacturing-led WARN activity across Ohio (23 notices, 3,159 workers) signals pockets of contraction in the production-heavy base that underpins the Lima MSA economy. Local average hourly wages remain roughly 15% below the national average ($28.41 vs. $33.54), a gap that persists even as statewide inflation has climbed to 3.7% and outpaced wage growth, compressing real purchasing power for finance and accounting staff in the metro.
What it means
Lima's low-wage-dominant occupational base, combined with a persistent regional pay gap and 1,909 open jobs listed within 20 miles of downtown as of late May, suggests finance leaders are competing for accounting and analyst talent against a backdrop where candidates have real local alternatives despite a small labor pool. Controller pay in the metro rose to a median $121,982 — now exceeding the national figure of $115,420 — which appears to reflect scarcity pricing for senior finance oversight roles, a signal distinct from broad-based wage inflation across the function. Consider reviewing controller and FP&A compensation bands against current advertised rates before the next budget cycle, since a local premium on senior finance talent may already be baked into the market ahead of 2027 headcount planning.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Ohio shed 5,000 jobs statewide in September against rising inflation (3.7%) — watch whether Allen County's relatively tight 3.0-3.3% unemployment holds or converges toward the state's softer trend over the next two reporting cycles.
Emerging pressure point: Manufacturing WARN notices remain the dominant layoff category statewide; any additional filings tied to Lima-area plants would test whether displaced production and plant-finance staff enter the local candidate pool in meaningful numbers.
Early indicator: National CFO turnover is tracking 18.3% for 2026, the highest since the pandemic, with external CFO hiring up to 37.5%. Smaller metros like Lima often feel this pressure with a lag as regional firms lose controllers and FP&A talent to larger markets offering the premium pay now showing up in Controller postings.
Potential inflection point: Statewide inflation outpacing wage growth (3.7% vs. flat local pay for mid-level finance roles) could accelerate turnover risk in Senior Accountant and Financial Analyst positions if real wages continue eroding into year-end budget cycles.
Sources
- LimaOhio.com / BLS Occupational Employment Statistics — Allen County unemployment and Lima MSA average hourly wage vs. national
- layoffdata.com — Ohio manufacturing WARN notice activity in 2026
- OhioMeansJobs.com via LimaOhio.com — Job listings within 20 miles of downtown Lima, May 2026
- Crist|Kolder Associates — CFO turnover and external hiring rate for 2026
- Ohio Capital Journal — Ohio statewide inflation rate increase, August to September 2026
- Ohio Department of Job and Family Services — Ohio unemployment rate change, August to September 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.
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