Labor Market Pulse · Finance · September 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Tyler, TX MSA — September 2026
Tyler finance pay splits: credit roles up, leadership roles down.
Metro Credit Analyst pay climbed to $72,599 even as Controller pay fell to $96,573, against a local unemployment rate that rose to 4.2% in September.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Tyler MSA unemployment rate: 4.2% — Up from Smith County's 3.8% prior reading
- National financial activities jobs lost: 129,000 — Since May 2025, per BLS payrolls data
- F&A hiring intent: 74% — Of finance leaders plan headcount increases, 2H 2026
- National wage growth deceleration: 3.0% y/y — Below 3.2% consensus estimate, September 2026
Key takeaways
Controller and FP&A Manager pay are softening against national trend.
Metro Controller pay fell to $96,573 against a rising national median of $113,754, and FP&A Manager pay dropped to $122,125 while the national figure held stable. Widening gaps like this may signal Tyler employers are under less competitive pressure for senior finance leadership than peer metros, or that local demand for these roles has simply cooled.
Credit Analyst demand looks like the standout local signal.
Metro Credit Analyst pay rose significantly to $72,599, now outpacing the national median of $71,758 — a reversal of the typical metro discount pattern. This tracks with reports of tightening F&A talent nationally (a 2026 Talent Shortage Index of 77%, up from a 2025 surplus) and suggests underwriting and credit-risk functions are where local competition is actually intensifying.
Tax Specialist pay collapse warrants a second look at job scope.
Metro Tax Specialist pay dropped significantly to $40,409, nearly 39% below the rising national median of $65,842. A gap this wide may reflect genuine role-scope differences locally rather than market weakness — worth validating before using it to anchor any tax-function hiring plan.
National wage deceleration buys budget room, but not everywhere.
September average hourly earnings growth decelerated to 3.0% year-over-year, below the 3.2% economists expected, easing aggregate wage pressure for FY27 planning. Locally, that relief is uneven — Financial Analyst and Credit Analyst pay are still climbing, meaning blanket wage freezes could leave high-demand roles underpriced.
Median advertised pay by role — Tyler, TX MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $65,957 | $96,573 | $111,950 | Moderate decline | $113,754 |
| Senior Accountant | $75,000 | $82,620 | $82,621 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst * | $72,922 | $93,298 | $101,911 | Moderate increase | $94,782 |
| Billing Specialist | $31,856 | $39,312 | $43,680 | Stable | $49,512 |
| Tax Specialist | $29,839 | $40,409 | $42,818 | Significant decline | $65,842 |
| Credit Analyst | $65,485 | $72,599 | $75,880 | Significant increase | $71,758 |
| FP&A Manager * | $104,393 | $122,125 | $132,700 | Moderate decline | $128,139 |
* 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
Tyler MSA unemployment climbed to 4.2% in September as nonfarm employment slipped 200 positions month-over-month, even as the metro posted 1.4% annual job growth driven by healthcare, distribution, and manufacturing expansion tied to new entrants like Amazon and YellaWood. Smith County's jump from 3.8% to 4.5% unemployment suggests labor supply is loosening slightly even as the area's two major hospital systems and logistics operators continue to anchor demand for finance and administrative talent.
What it means
National financial activities payrolls have now contracted for 16 straight months, shedding 129,000 jobs since May 2025, yet 74% of finance and accounting leaders report plans to grow permanent headcount — a divergence that is playing out locally as metro advertised pay for Controller ($96,573) and FP&A Manager ($122,125) softens even as Credit Analyst ($72,599) and Financial Analyst ($93,298) pay climbs. This bifurcation suggests Finance leaders are not facing a uniform talent market but a role-specific one, where legacy oversight functions are seeing pay compression while analytical and credit-facing roles tighten. Consider reviewing budget assumptions role-by-role rather than applying a blanket merit or market adjustment across the finance function this cycle.
Looking ahead
Expected: Smith County's unemployment uptick from 3.8% to 4.5% bears watching for whether it reflects genuine labor slack or seasonal/statistical noise; a sustained rise would ease sourcing pressure for finance support roles into Q4.
Worth watching: National financial activities losses (-129,000 since May 2025, concentrated in insurance carriers) have not yet shown up as major Tyler WARN activity, but any spillover into regional insurance or banking operations would directly affect local finance talent supply.
Emerging pressure point: Finance and accounting's national CPA/accountant shortage signal (Talent Shortage Index of 77%, Hiring Index of 134%) has not yet clearly surfaced in Tyler's Senior Accountant pay, which remains flat at $82,620 — watch for this to move if the shortage broadens beyond metro peers.
Potential inflection point: Continued build-out of the Tyler Economic Development Council's 280+-acre business park could draw new finance and back-office hiring if announced tenants include corporate or shared-services operations, shifting local demand away from its current healthcare/logistics concentration.
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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