{"schema_version": 1, "id": "cheyenne-wy-msa/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 184, "label": "Cheyenne, WY MSA", "slug": "cheyenne-wy-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:11:14.546248+00:00", "headline": "Cheyenne finance pay climbs even as broader job growth stalls.", "headline_summary": "Laramie County lost nonfarm jobs for the first time since 2022, yet Financial Analyst advertised pay rose to $106,993 \u2014 well above the $94,646 national median \u2014 while Credit Analyst pay fell to $62,326 against a stable national figure.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Laramie County nonfarm employment", "value": "49,100 jobs", "context": "Down 300 jobs YoY, first decline since Dec 2022"}, {"label": "Cheyenne MSA unemployment rate", "value": "3.0%", "context": "vs 4.1% U.S. rate, Sept 2026"}, {"label": "Financial Analyst advertised pay, metro", "value": "$106,993", "context": "vs $94,646 national median, rising significantly"}, {"label": "CFO turnover rate, national", "value": "18.3%", "context": "Highest since pandemic, per Crist|Kolder"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Financial Analyst pay is outrunning the national market here.", "body": "Metro median advertised pay of $106,993 sits well above the $94,646 national figure and is rising significantly locally versus stable nationally, suggesting Cheyenne employers are competing hard for a thin analytical talent bench on local terms, apart from any national trend."}, {"headline": "Credit Analyst pay is sliding against a stable national market.", "body": "Metro median fell significantly to $62,326, well under the $71,397 national figure \u2014 a divergence that may reflect softening demand tied to the mining and large-project slowdown, a local pattern distinct from a broad-based talent glut."}, {"headline": "Tax Specialist pay gains locally track a national tightening.", "body": "Metro median rose significantly to $61,720, moving with a significant national increase to $69,556, consistent with tax function scarcity flagged broadly by finance talent surveys this month \u2014 Cheyenne remains exposed to this pressure despite its small labor market."}, {"headline": "Overall employment contraction masks role-specific scarcity.", "body": "Laramie County's first year-over-year job loss since 2022 coincides with rising pay for Financial Analyst, Senior Accountant, and FP&A Manager roles, indicating the contraction is concentrated in mining and project-driven work while finance and professional functions hold steady."}], "local_conditions": "Cheyenne MSA unemployment held near 3.0% in September, well below the 4.1% national rate, while Laramie County posted its first year-over-year nonfarm employment decline since December 2022 \u2014 a loss of 300 jobs to 49,100 \u2014 signaling the local labor market is tight but no longer expanding. State-level softness in mining and the Bechtel-TerraPower Natrium project split are consistent with reduced demand for project-based and technical finance support tied to large capital projects, even as core government, healthcare, and education employment remains stable.", "implications": "Flat-to-declining headcount in the broader Laramie County economy alongside a 3.0% unemployment rate means Finance leaders are competing for a shrinking pool of qualified talent, with a tight market rather than layoff-driven slack keeping pressure on advertised pay for analytical roles like Financial Analyst (+significant locally) even as commodity-exposed project work contracts. Headcount cost planning should account for this divergence \u2014 budget cycles built around easing wage pressure may understate costs for FP&A and analyst-level roles while overestimating pressure on project-accounting or credit functions tied to mining and construction. Consider reviewing FP&A Manager and Financial Analyst compensation positioning against the metro's upward trend before the next budget cycle locks in assumptions.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Expected release", "body": "BLS October Cheyenne MSA employment data publishes mid-November; watch whether the Laramie County nonfarm decline deepens or stabilizes, which will shape 2027 headcount budget assumptions."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "CFO turnover nationally is projected at 18.3% for 2026 with a 37.5% external hire rate \u2014 the highest vacancy risk sits squarely inside close and audit cycles, and metros with thin senior-finance benches like Cheyenne may see longer backfill timelines."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Continued mining-sector contraction and the Bechtel-TerraPower Natrium separation could add project-accounting and credit-analyst talent to the local pool; watch whether this eases the Credit Analyst pay decline or signals deeper demand erosion."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "70% of finance and accounting leaders nationally are increasing contract talent use in H2 2026 \u2014 if that trend reaches Cheyenne's smaller employer base, it could reshape headcount cost forecasting and audit-readiness documentation expectations."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 80202.0, "metro_p50": 117213.2, "metro_p75": 123000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 115420.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 63086.0, "metro_p50": 86406.4, "metro_p75": 89673.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 87731.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Financial Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 85759.5, "metro_p50": 106993.0, "metro_p75": 115796.5, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 94646.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 39751.5, "metro_p50": 46852.0, "metro_p75": 48889.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 49000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 44195.0, "metro_p50": 61720.0, "metro_p75": 66639.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 69556.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Credit Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 62326.0, "metro_p50": 62326.0, "metro_p75": 68735.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 71397.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "FP&A Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 107602.5, "metro_p50": 128407.0, "metro_p75": 153259.25, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "Wyoming Department of Workforce Services / Cheyenne Economic Health Index", "source_url": null, "statement": "Laramie County nonfarm employment fell 300 jobs YoY to 49,100, first decline since Dec 2022"}, {"source_name": "Wyoming Department of Workforce Services", "source_url": null, "statement": "Cheyenne MSA/Laramie County unemployment near 3.0% in Sept 2026"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder Associates", "source_url": null, "statement": "CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, external hire rate 37.5%"}, {"source_name": "Robert Half / AFP FP&A Forum", "source_url": null, "statement": "70% of finance/accounting leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": "https://www.bls.gov", "statement": "National unemployment rate at 4.1% in October 2026"}, {"source_name": "State layoff notice tracking", "source_url": null, "statement": "Bechtel split from TerraPower Natrium project, October 2026 layoff notice"}], "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.", "edition_label": "November 2026", "files": {"html": "cheyenne-wy-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "cheyenne-wy-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:19:52.906921+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/cheyenne-wy-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/cheyenne-wy-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}