Labor Market Pulse · Finance · October 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: VT NONMETROPOLITAN AREA — October 2026
Vermont's shrinking workforce is pushing finance pay up selectively.
FP&A Manager pay climbed to $125,021 and Controller pay to $118,963 even as Vermont's labor force shed nearly 10,000 workers and commercial banking headcount fell 1.8% annually.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Vermont labor force attrition: -10,000 workers — Nearly 3% decline over past year, VT Dept. of Labor
- Jobs-to-unemployed ratio: 1.6 to 1 — Statewide, among tightest in U.S.
- Vermont finance sector wage gap: $102,897 avg — 16.8% below national $123,705 average
- Nonmetro county unemployment range: 3.1%–3.3% — Bennington 3.1%, Orleans 3.3%, Sept-Oct 2026
Key takeaways
FP&A Manager pay is moving because the talent pool is shrinking.
Metro advertised pay for FP&A Manager rose significantly to $125,021, approaching the $130,000 national median, consistent with a nonmetro labor force that lost nearly 10,000 workers over the past year. Organizations competing for FP&A talent may need to benchmark against national figures going forward.
Credit Analyst pay is softening against a national gap.
Metro advertised pay for Credit Analyst fell to $64,803, moderately down and now $6,594 below the national median of $71,397. Declining commercial banking headcount statewide (-1.8% annually) may be easing pressure on this role even as broader finance hiring tightens elsewhere.
Controller demand is outpacing the national benchmark.
Metro Controller pay rose moderately to $118,963, now above the $115,420 national median — an unusual local premium given Vermont's finance sector wages trail the U.S. average by 16.8% overall. Rising close-cycle complexity and CFO turnover nationally (18.3% in 2026) may be pushing Controller compensation up as a succession hedge.
Tax Specialist pay signals a widening national-local disconnect.
Metro Tax Specialist pay held stable at $55,202, a full $14,354 below the national median of $69,556, which is rising significantly. Nonmetro Vermont employers may be underpricing this role relative to where national demand is heading, risking turnover into remote or out-of-state opportunities.
Median advertised pay by role — VT NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $89,273 | $118,963 | $130,000 | Moderate increase | $115,420 |
| Senior Accountant | $69,912 | $78,125 | $85,080 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $74,439 | $94,064 | $107,526 | Moderate increase | $94,646 |
| Billing Specialist | $40,324 | $48,928 | $50,688 | Moderate increase | $49,000 |
| Tax Specialist | $33,748 | $55,202 | $64,480 | Stable | $69,556 |
| Credit Analyst | $62,500 | $64,803 | $67,500 | Moderate decline | $71,397 |
| FP&A Manager | $87,472 | $125,021 | $136,753 | 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
Vermont's nonmetropolitan labor supply continues contracting — nearly 10,000 workers left the labor force statewide over the past year, with Bennington County unemployment at 3.1% and Orleans County at 3.3%, reflecting demographic attrition. Finance sector employment in Vermont grew just 0.4% in 2026 while commercial banking headcount declined 1.8% annually, a structural contraction colliding with a workforce that has 1.6 open jobs for every unemployed worker statewide.
What it means
Shrinking labor supply combined with declining finance-sector headcount creates a paradox for Finance leaders: fewer roles are opening, but the candidates to fill them are also disappearing, lengthening time-to-fill for Controller and FP&A Manager vacancies even as overall demand softens. Vermont finance wages sit 16.8% below the national average ($102,897 vs. $123,705), a gap that may widen retention risk as remote-capable roles like Financial Analyst and FP&A Manager face out-of-state competition. Consider evaluating whether current compensation bands for finance leadership and analyst roles reflect the premium needed to retain talent against a labor force shrinking for structural reasons tied to demographics.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: UI claims for the week ending October 24 ran 27 higher than the prior week and above 2025 levels, a trend worth tracking against UVM Health Network's 179 layoffs and Vermont Information Processing's 66-person reduction for signs of broader spillover into finance support roles.
Structural pressure point: Labor force attrition of nearly 3% statewide shows no sign of reversing, with demographic headwinds expected to constrain labor supply through 2027 — budget cycles built on historical headcount assumptions may need recalibration.
Worth watching: Beta Technologies' plan to double its Vermont workforce could pull finance and accounting talent from the same shallow nonmetro labor pool, intensifying competition for Financial Analyst and Controller candidates.
Potential inflection point: CFO turnover nationally sits at an 18.3% high with 37.5% filled externally — Vermont's below-national finance wages ($102,897 vs. $123,705) may make external recruitment into nonmetro roles harder to close without compensation adjustment.
Sources
- Vermont Public — Nearly 10,000 Vermonters left the labor force in the past year
- Manchester Journal — Bennington County unemployment at 3.1%, Orleans at 3.3%
- Vermont Department of Labor / industry wage analysis — Vermont finance sector wages average $102,897, 16.8% below national average
- Vermont Department of Labor — Vermont has 1.6 open jobs for every unemployed worker
- Crist|Kolder Associates — CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic
- CT Public — Beta Technologies plans to double Vermont workforce
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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