Labor Market Pulse · Finance · August 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: San Antonio, TX MSA — August 2026
San Antonio wages stall as Austin pulls ahead on jobs.
San Antonio wage growth ran just 1.3% year-over-year in June against 3.5% nationally, and the metro lost 1,600 jobs in August while Austin added 7,500.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of August 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro wage growth: 1.3% — vs 2.9% Texas, 3.5% national (June 2026)
- Metro unemployment rate: 4.7% — Up from 4.2% a year ago (July 2026)
- August job change: -1,600 — Vs Austin's +7,500 same month
- Annual job growth: 0.9% — 10,100 jobs added, below TX 1.1% rate
Key takeaways
San Antonio wage growth is falling behind, not just Texas.
1.3 percent year-over-year wage growth trails Texas's 2.9 percent and the national 3.5 percent by wide margins, a gap unusual even for a historically lower-cost metro. Compensation benchmarking that defaults to statewide Texas figures risks materially overpaying relative to local market clearing rates.
Credit Analyst pay is surging while Tax Specialist pay is not.
Advertised Credit Analyst pay rose significantly to a $69,407 metro median, tracking national demand, while Tax Specialist pay fell moderately to $56,169 even as national tax specialist pay climbed sharply. Finance leaders hiring tax talent locally may be underpricing roles against a national market moving in the opposite direction.
August's job losses may be a preview, not a blip.
San Antonio lost 1,600 jobs in August against Austin's gain of 7,500, a divergence that appears consistent with broader softening rather than statistical noise given June's flat payroll growth. Finance leaders should treat headcount plans built on prior-year San Antonio growth assumptions with caution.
FP&A Manager and Controller premiums signal where budget pressure concentrates.
FP&A Manager advertised pay rose moderately to $132,961, above the national median, while Controller pay also moved up to $115,000 locally — both outpacing overall metro wage stagnation. Rising premiums for forecasting and oversight roles amid AI-driven skill demand suggest compensation pressure is concentrating in leadership and technical finance roles even as broader metro wages flatten.
Median advertised pay by role — San Antonio, TX MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $84,299 | $115,000 | $123,472 | Moderate increase | $112,500 |
| Senior Accountant | $77,063 | $84,555 | $87,156 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $68,091 | $73,850 | $83,737 | Stable | $82,905 |
| Billing Specialist | $36,304 | $43,680 | $50,000 | Stable | $49,700 |
| Tax Specialist | $42,434 | $56,169 | $69,433 | Moderate decline | $66,725 |
| Credit Analyst | $60,273 | $69,407 | $70,782 | Significant increase | $72,000 |
| FP&A Manager | $110,229 | $132,961 | $162,190 | Moderate 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
San Antonio's July unemployment rate held at 4.7 percent, down slightly from June but a full half-point above July 2025, while the metro shed 1,600 jobs in August even as Texas added net payrolls statewide. Wage growth has stalled at 1.3 percent year-over-year in June against 2.9 percent for Texas and 3.5 percent nationally, suggesting local labor demand is softening faster than the broader state economy.
What it means
Divergence between state-level payroll growth and San Antonio's flat-to-declining headcount trend complicates workforce planning built on statewide assumptions — budget models anchored to Texas's 1.1 percent job growth rate may overstate local hiring conditions and understate retention risk in a metro where wages are compressing relative to peers. Finance functions competing for accounting and analyst talent against Austin's stronger job growth may find candidates increasingly willing to consider a commute or relocation given the pay gap. Consider reviewing headcount and compensation forecasts separately from state-level Texas benchmarks, given San Antonio's materially weaker wage and employment trajectory.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: August BLS metro figures, due in coming weeks, will confirm whether San Antonio's 1,600-job loss reflects a one-month dip or a trend break from July's modest 0.9 percent annual growth.
Emerging pressure point: Widening wage gap with Austin and the state overall may accelerate talent outflow for finance and analyst roles; watch whether local postings begin offering relocation incentives or remote flexibility to compete.
Potential inflection point: National tax specialist pay is up significantly while San Antonio's is down moderately — a divergence that, if it persists into Q4 hiring for year-end close and tax season staffing, could force sharp local pay corrections.
Early indicator: Texas-wide WARN filings remain concentrated in transportation, logistics, and manufacturing rather than finance; monitor whether Houston- or statewide-driven layoffs begin releasing finance and accounting talent into the San Antonio candidate pool.
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.
Free to read and cite with attribution to WageScape. Terms of use.