Labor Market Pulse · Finance · August 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Ogden-Clearfield, UT MSA — August 2026
Ogden wages outpace the nation while billing roles buck the trend.
Weber County wages grew 4.4% year-over-year — well above the 3.1% national pace — even as metro Billing Specialist pay fell to $43,430 against a rising $49,700 national median.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of August 2026.
Key indicators
- Weber County wage growth: 4.4% — vs 3.1% U.S. average hourly earnings growth
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.3% — vs 4.1% national, 3.5% Utah statewide
- Building permit growth: 59.2% — Year-over-year, signals construction finance hiring
- Utah WARN notices (2026): 13 notices / 1,684 workers — Down 11% from 2025, layoff activity subdued
Key takeaways
Weber County wages are outrunning the national trend.
4.4% year-over-year wage growth in Q4 2025 versus 3.1% nationally suggests Finance leaders using national comp guidance may be underbudgeting local headcount costs, particularly for roles tied to defense and manufacturing contractors.
FP&A Manager pay signals a strategic premium, not noise.
Metro FP&A Manager pay is up significantly to $123,454, actually exceeding the stable national median — consistent with employers competing hard for forecasting and scenario-planning talent amid AI-driven changes to the function.
Billing Specialist pay is falling even as demand tightens elsewhere.
Metro advertised pay for this role dropped significantly to $43,430, well below the national $49,700 median moving up — a divergence worth investigating before assuming local billing/AR roles can be filled at historical rates.
Construction-linked permit growth is pulling talent from adjacent functions.
Permits up 59.2% year-over-year point to real estate and construction finance hiring competing for the same accounting and analyst talent pool Finance departments rely on for close and audit support.
Median advertised pay by role — Ogden-Clearfield, UT MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $79,953 | $110,552 | $120,613 | Stable | $112,500 |
| Senior Accountant | $56,664 | $80,998 | $86,781 | Moderate decline | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $66,908 | $79,941 | $96,200 | Stable | $82,905 |
| Billing Specialist | $36,965 | $43,430 | $50,000 | Significant decline | $49,700 |
| Tax Specialist | $38,931 | $70,762 | $92,819 | Moderate increase | $66,725 |
| Credit Analyst | $52,500 | $60,873 | $67,011 | Moderate increase | $72,000 |
| FP&A Manager | $98,256 | $123,454 | $126,087 | Significant increase | $127,341 |
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
Ogden-Clearfield's labor market remains structurally tight, with unemployment near 3.3% against a backdrop of Weber County wage growth running 4.4% year-over-year in Q4 2025 — well above the national 3.1% pace — as Hill Air Force Base's 22,000-plus workforce and aerospace/defense contractors (Autoliv, Williams International, Northrop Grumman) continue to anchor demand for finance, contracts, and program-cost talent. Building permit activity up 59.2% year-over-year signals construction and real estate finance hiring pressure layered on top of an already thin candidate pool, even as statewide labor force participation has softened.
What it means
Wage growth outpacing the national rate in a metro this tight complicates headcount cost forecasting — Finance leaders budgeting flat merit increases risk being undercut by a local market where Weber County pay gains are running nearly 40% above the U.S. average. Defense-sector stability at Hill AFB provides a rare hedge against the broader cooling DWS economists describe at the margins, but it also means finance and accounting talent tied to government contracting carries premium pricing that generic national salary guidance will understate. Consider reviewing FP&A and controller headcount budgets against local wage trajectories rather than national benchmarks before finalizing Q4 planning cycles.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: September 18 release of official Utah Department of Workforce Services August metro data will confirm whether Ogden-Clearfield's unemployment held near 3.3% or ticked toward the softer edges DWS economists flagged statewide.
Emerging pressure point: Billing Specialist pay's significant local decline against a rising national trend warrants a look at whether this reflects genuine oversupply or a data lag — either way it affects AR/billing hiring budgets differently than other finance functions.
Potential inflection point: Statewide labor force participation has fallen 1.5 points over twelve months; watch whether Weber County's aerospace-anchored labor pool insulates local finance hiring or begins tightening further into Q4.
Early indicator: National F&A hiring data shows 74% of leaders planning permanent headcount increases in H2 2026 — track whether Hill AFB contractor expansion translates into visible local competition for controller and analyst roles.
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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