Labor Market Pulse · Finance · October 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: St. Joseph, MO-KS MSA — October 2026
St. Joseph FP&A pay surges as Controller pay falls behind.
FP&A Manager pay in St. Joseph climbed to $130,328, matching the national median, while Controller pay fell to $101,392 against a rising $115,420 national figure.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.7% — vs 4.1% national rate
- FP&A Manager advertised pay: $130,328 — Up significantly; matches $130,000 national median
- Controller advertised pay: $101,392 — Down vs $115,420 national median, rising
- Missouri September job loss: -10,600 jobs — Private sector down 10,700, govt +100
Key takeaways
FP&A talent is being priced like a scarce asset locally.
Metro FP&A Manager pay rose to $130,328, matching the national median and outpacing the national growth rate. That signals employers are competing hard for forecasting and planning capacity in a thin local talent pool, a dynamic distinct from simply tracking national trend.
Controller pay is softening while national demand climbs.
Metro Controller advertised pay fell to a $101,392 median even as the national figure rose to $115,420 — a widening gap of roughly $14,000. Organizations benchmarking against national data risk under- or over-shooting local offers for this role.
Credit Analyst and Tax Specialist pay compression may reflect local demand softness.
Both roles moved down significantly or moderately locally (Credit Analyst to $56,476, Tax Specialist to $52,817) while national medians held or rose. Consider whether this reflects local oversupply or thinner posting volume distorting the metro median.
Delayed state jobs data adds risk to Q4 close timing.
Missouri's October jobs report faces a collection gap, pushing validation data into November. Finance teams relying on current labor cost trends for close or forecasting should flag this gap explicitly and treat September figures as provisional, not current.
Median advertised pay by role — St. Joseph, MO-KS MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $86,332 | $101,392 | $106,133 | Moderate decline | $115,420 |
| Senior Accountant | $75,095 | $76,192 | $79,753 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $66,207 | $84,119 | $88,902 | Significant increase | $94,646 |
| Billing Specialist | $37,084 | $53,121 | $61,249 | Significant increase | $49,000 |
| Tax Specialist | $40,652 | $52,817 | $65,324 | Moderate decline | $69,556 |
| Credit Analyst | $48,149 | $56,476 | $64,122 | Significant decline | $71,397 |
| FP&A Manager | $96,129 | $130,328 | $136,545 | Significant increase | $130,000 |
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
St. Joseph metro unemployment held at 3.7% through the latest available reading, roughly half a point tighter than the national 4.1% rate, reflecting a labor base concentrated among roughly 2,713 establishments and anchored by manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare employers. State-level volatility — Missouri shed 10,600 jobs in September while financial activities alone lost 700 positions statewide — has not yet shown up as metro-level softening, but it raises the odds that St. Joseph's next data release surprises in either direction.
What it means
Local Financial Analyst and FP&A Manager pay climbing well above national trend (Financial Analyst up significantly to a $84,119 metro median, FP&A Manager up to $130,328) signals employers are bidding aggressively for planning and forecasting talent even as broader state financial-activities employment contracts — a sign that scarcity is setting the price even as overall headcount stays flat or contracts. With Missouri's September jobs report delayed and CFO turnover nationally projected at 18.3% for 2026, headcount cost models built on last quarter's assumptions carry real staleness risk heading into Q4 close and 2027 budget cycles. Consider stress-testing FP&A and controller-level compensation assumptions against the gap between metro and national movement before finalizing year-end budget guidance.
Looking ahead
Expected: Missouri's delayed October jobs report should surface in November, likely alongside September's -10,600 print getting revised. Treat current state-level softness as provisional until that release lands.
Worth watching: National CFO turnover at 18.3% and an external hiring rate of 37.5% suggest controller and FP&A vacancies could surface locally with little warning. Metro Controller pay is already down against a rising national benchmark, which could widen further if local employers compete for displaced talent.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide financial activities employment dropped 700 jobs in September even as warehousing/logistics wages average $61,305 and continue drawing workers. Watch whether finance support roles in St. Joseph face retention pressure from adjacent logistics-sector pay competition.
Early indicator: 70% of finance leaders nationally are shifting toward contract talent in H2 2026. Monitor whether local staffing firms report rising placements in accounting and analyst roles, which would signal the same shift reaching St. Joseph employers.
Sources
- Federal Reserve/Trading Economics — St. Joseph MSA unemployment rate at 3.7%
- Missouri Department of Labor — Missouri lost 10,600 jobs in September 2026
- Crist|Kolder Associates — CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026
- Robert Half / AFP FP&A Forum — 70% of finance leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026
- Missouri Department of Labor — Warehousing average wage of $61,305 in Missouri
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — National unemployment rate stable at 4.1%
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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