{"schema_version": 1, "id": "dallas-fort-worth-arlington-tx-msa/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 148, "label": "Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA", "slug": "dallas-fort-worth-arlington-tx-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:09:22.323421+00:00", "headline": "DFW finance pay cools as national CFO turnover hits a high.", "headline_summary": "DFW wages and salaries rose just 1.8% against 3.4% nationally, even as national CFO turnover reaches 18.3% and Controller pay in the metro holds flat at $127,919.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "DFW wage growth", "value": "1.8%", "context": "vs 3.4% nationally, year ending March 2026"}, {"label": "Financial Activities employment", "value": "-0.7%", "context": "DFW metro, through August 2026"}, {"label": "CFO turnover rate", "value": "18.3%", "context": "National, highest since pandemic (Crist|Kolder)"}, {"label": "DFW unemployment rate", "value": "4.4%", "context": "Up from 4.2% national rate, Aug 2026"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Financial Activities is the one metro sector losing ground.", "body": "DFW Financial Activities employment fell 0.7% even as the broader metro added jobs, concentrated in Professional and Business Services. This divergence suggests finance functions should benchmark headcount plans against sector-specific trends alongside metro-wide job growth figures."}, {"headline": "DFW wage growth is lagging both the nation and the state.", "body": "Wages and salaries rose just 1.8% in DFW over the year ending March, against 3.4% nationally and 4.5% statewide in Texas. Controllers relying on metro wage trends to set merit budgets may understate competitive pressure building elsewhere in Texas."}, {"headline": "Controller pay has gone flat while CFO churn accelerates nationally.", "body": "Advertised Controller pay in DFW sits at a stable $127,919 median even as national CFO turnover hits an 18.3% high and external CFO hiring rises to 37.5%. A flat advertised market for the role beneath the CFO may understate succession and retention risk building at the top of finance organizations."}, {"headline": "Tax and credit specialist pay is firming while generalist roles hold.", "body": "Tax Specialist advertised pay rose moderately in DFW to $69,680, alongside significant national gains, while Senior Accountant and Controller pay held flat. Specialized technical finance roles appear to be pulling away from generalist accounting pay in both directions \u2014 benchmark these separately as distinct cost lines."}], "local_conditions": "Dallas-Fort Worth added 43,100 jobs over the year through August, but growth has slowed to 1.0% from 1.3% in June, with unemployment ticking up to 4.4% as Professional and Business Services \u2014 the metro's dominant hiring engine \u2014 adds jobs while Financial Activities shed 2,900 positions over the same period. Wage growth in DFW is running well below the national pace, with wages and salaries up just 1.8% versus 3.4% nationally, even as Texas statewide wage growth outpaces the U.S. at 4.5% \u2014 a divergence that puts DFW compensation posture out of step with its own state.", "implications": "Financial Activities payroll contraction alongside soft local wage growth signals Finance organizations have room to be selective in headcount decisions, but national CFO turnover running at 18.3% and finance talent shortages reported by 85% of CFOs mean leadership and senior technical roles remain exposed even in a cooling metro market. Controllers and FP&A leads building 2027 headcount budgets should weigh DFW's below-national wage growth against the national shift toward contract talent \u2014 70% of finance leaders are leaning on contractors, which changes cost structure but raises audit-readiness and control documentation questions during close cycles. Consider stress-testing budget assumptions against both a soft local wage trend and a tighter national market for senior finance and controller-level talent.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Collin County unemployment jumped from 4.2% to 4.4% in August, the sharpest county-level move in the metro. Watch whether this spreads to neighboring counties or reflects a one-time shift in labor supply relevant to back-office and shared-services hiring."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Financial Activities employment has now declined for multiple months in DFW even as Professional and Business Services expands. Finance leaders should watch whether this reflects restructuring at specific large employers or a broader repositioning of finance work into shared-services and professional-services structures."}, {"category": "Compliance watch", "body": "Texas HB 149 imposes civil penalties up to $200,000 per violation for AI systems used in covered business functions. Finance teams using AI in forecasting, FP&A modeling, or compensation analysis should confirm vendor and internal tools have been reviewed against the statute's requirements."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Texas WARN filings are down 35% year over year statewide, but national CFO and finance leadership turnover is at its highest since the pandemic. Watch whether reduced layoff activity locally coincides with rising voluntary departures among senior finance staff during Q4 budget and close cycles."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 106288.0, "metro_p50": 127919.0, "metro_p75": 140121.0, "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": 79927.5, "metro_p50": 89022.4, "metro_p75": 94697.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 87731.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Financial Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 74237.0, "metro_p50": 96347.6, "metro_p75": 101920.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 94646.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 40040.0, "metro_p50": 50000.0, "metro_p75": 56886.5, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 49000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 47507.0, "metro_p50": 69680.0, "metro_p75": 76688.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 69556.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Credit Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 57163.25, "metro_p50": 71391.0, "metro_p75": 83560.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 71397.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "FP&A Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 110831.0, "metro_p50": 129300.0, "metro_p75": 138660.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "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": "November 2026", "files": {"html": "dallas-fort-worth-arlington-tx-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "dallas-fort-worth-arlington-tx-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:20:38.343321+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/dallas-fort-worth-arlington-tx-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/dallas-fort-worth-arlington-tx-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}