{"schema_version": 1, "id": "colorado-springs-co-msa/finance/2026-09", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 125, "label": "Colorado Springs, CO MSA", "slug": "colorado-springs-co-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-09", "public_after": "2026-09-01", "frozen_at": "2026-10-09T13:26:46.803080+00:00", "headline": "Colorado Springs finance pay splits: scarcity premiums up, FP&A pay down.", "headline_summary": "Tax Specialist advertised pay hit $73,148 in Colorado Springs against a national $65,842, while FP&A Manager pay fell to $127,918 even as the state's financial activities sector shed roughly 5,300 jobs since mid-2025.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Tax Specialist advertised pay (metro)", "value": "$73,148", "context": "vs $65,842 national; significant upward trend"}, {"label": "FP&A Manager advertised pay (metro)", "value": "$127,918", "context": "vs $128,139 national; metro trending down"}, {"label": "Colorado financial activities job losses", "value": "~5,300 jobs", "context": "Since July 2025, statewide"}, {"label": "El Paso County wage growth", "value": "5.0% YoY", "context": "Q1 2026, vs 3.9% national county average"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Tax Specialist pay is rising sharply while headcount budgets tighten elsewhere.", "body": "Metro advertised pay for Tax Specialist roles climbed to $73,148, above the national median of $65,842 and marked 'significant' upward movement. This outpaces the sector's broader contraction, consistent with national data showing CPA and tax talent shortages driving a 2026 Talent Shortage Index of 77%, up from a 2025 surplus."}, {"headline": "FP&A Manager pay softened locally even as national rates held flat.", "body": "Metro advertised pay for FP&A Manager fell to $127,918, moving below the national median of $128,139 despite a 'stable' national trend. Divergence from the national pattern suggests metro-specific demand softening rather than a broad occupational trend, and merits confirmation before budget cycles lock in lower offer ranges."}, {"headline": "Financial activities job losses mask selective, aggressive hiring intent.", "body": "Colorado financial activities payrolls shed roughly 5,300 jobs since July 2025, yet national F&A leader surveys show 74% planning to increase permanent headcount in H2 2026. Headcount reductions appear concentrated in commoditized functions, while automation absorbs routine work and employers compete harder for scarce technical and senior talent."}, {"headline": "Colorado Springs wage growth is outrunning a softening state labor market.", "body": "El Paso County wages rose 5.0% year-over-year in Q1 2026 even as statewide unemployment climbed to 4.0% and employed population fell by 9,800 in August. Divergence suggests local finance and accounting talent remains scarce despite broader cooling, a dynamic Finance leaders should factor into retention budgeting rather than assuming market-wide softening applies equally to their roles."}], "local_conditions": "Colorado Springs finance hiring sits at an inflection point: the metro's financial activities sector is contracting in step with statewide losses of roughly 5,300 positions since mid-2025, even as El Paso County wages grew 5.0% year-over-year in Q1 2026 on a shrinking labor pool. Statewide unemployment climbing to 4.0% and a declining employed base point to softening demand, but Colorado Springs-specific advertised pay for Tax Specialist and Controller roles still rising suggests finance talent scarcity is holding even as broader hiring cools.", "implications": "Rising Controller and Tax Specialist advertised pay against a backdrop of sector-wide financial activities job losses signals a bifurcated market \u2014 Finance leaders are cutting headcount in some functions while bidding up pay for scarce senior and specialized talent in others. Falling FP&A Manager pay locally, against a national flat trend, may reflect either a genuine softening in demand for that role in this metro or a correction after prior overhiring, and warrants scrutiny before assuming it reflects budget relief. Consider reviewing whether current FP&A Manager compensation positioning still clears the bar for attracting candidates, given the metro figure has moved against the national trend.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Watch whether Colorado's 42 WARN notices filed in 2026 (down 11% from 2025) begin including financial services employers; none of the major filings to date (PNC Bank, Alan Ritchey, Eagle Rock) were Colorado Springs-based, but statewide financial activities contraction could eventually surface locally."}, {"category": "Expected", "body": "BLS metro-level data for Colorado Springs lags by one to two months; expect July and August 2026 unemployment and wage figures to post in October, which should clarify whether the metro is tracking the statewide unemployment rise to 4.0% or holding its more favorable spring readings."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "National average hourly earnings growth decelerated to 3.0% year-over-year in September, below expectations, which may ease salary budget pressure mid-fiscal-year even as metro-specific Tax Specialist and Controller pay continues climbing against that national grain."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Nearly half of F&A organizations nationally expect direct labor rate increases above 4% given labor scarcity; monitor whether Colorado Springs employers follow this pattern for senior accounting and FP&A roles or continue the local FP&A Manager pay softening seen this month."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 101000.0, "metro_p50": 120335.0, "metro_p75": 125589.75, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 113754.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 75000.0, "metro_p50": 87466.0, "metro_p75": 88200.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 87731.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Financial Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 77319.0, "metro_p50": 102767.6, "metro_p75": 113650.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 94782.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 42023.0, "metro_p50": 47320.0, "metro_p75": 52000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 49512.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 58608.25, "metro_p50": 73148.0, "metro_p75": 88437.5, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 65842.4, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Credit Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 58240.0, "metro_p50": 72023.0, "metro_p75": 79349.5, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 71758.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "FP&A Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 105408.75, "metro_p50": 127918.0, "metro_p75": 138500.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 128139.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [], "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": "October 2026", "files": {"html": "colorado-springs-co-msa/finance/2026-09.html", "pdf": "colorado-springs-co-msa/finance/2026-09.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-10-09T13:49:37.411411+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/colorado-springs-co-msa/finance/2026-09.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/colorado-springs-co-msa/finance/2026-09.pdf"}