{"schema_version": 1, "id": "johnson-city-tn-msa/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 271, "label": "Johnson City, TN MSA", "slug": "johnson-city-tn-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:27:58.156810+00:00", "headline": "Johnson City finance pay splits: analysts up, Controllers falling behind.", "headline_summary": "Financial Analyst advertised pay climbed to $73,992 in Johnson City while Controller pay fell to $99,163, a gap against the $115,420 national median that widens retention exposure for senior finance roles.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Johnson City MSA unemployment", "value": "3.5%", "context": "vs 4.1% national, 3.4% Tennessee"}, {"label": "Controller advertised pay gap", "value": "$99,163 vs $115,420", "context": "Metro trails national median by ~14%"}, {"label": "TN financial activities employment", "value": "-4,100 jobs YoY", "context": "While state unemployment holds at 3.4%"}, {"label": "CFO external hiring rate", "value": "37.5%", "context": "Up from 35% in 2025 (Crist|Kolder)"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Financial Analyst pay is pulling away from the rest of finance locally.", "body": "Metro Financial Analyst advertised pay rose significantly to $73,992, closing much of the gap with the $94,646 national median while Controller and FP&A Manager pay moved the opposite direction. This divergence suggests employers are bidding up analytical talent specifically, likely tied to FP&A and reporting demands outpacing supply in a 3.5% unemployment market."}, {"headline": "Controller and FP&A Manager pay softened even as national rates climbed.", "body": "Controller advertised pay fell to $99,163 against a national median of $115,420, and FP&A Manager dropped to $102,239 versus $130,000 nationally \u2014 both moderate-to-significant declines. A widening local-to-national gap on senior finance roles raises retention risk if remote or hybrid postings make the national rate visible to local incumbents."}, {"headline": "Billing Specialist and Credit Analyst pay compression signals support-role vulnerability.", "body": "Billing Specialist advertised pay dropped significantly to $38,480, well below the $49,000 national median, while Credit Analyst fell to $60,770. These are typically the roles most exposed to turnover when adjacent sectors \u2014 hospitality, retail, logistics \u2014 are actively advertising competitive hourly wages in the same labor pool."}, {"headline": "Tax Specialist pay gains may reflect scarcity more than expanding demand.", "body": "Tax Specialist advertised pay rose significantly to $46,877 locally and $69,556 nationally, even though this remains a narrow specialty in a small metro labor market. Consider evaluating whether this reflects role expansion or a thin local candidate pool forcing employers to raise offers to fill isolated vacancies."}], "local_conditions": "Johnson City MSA unemployment held at 3.5% through mid-2026, a historically tight reading that continues to constrain the local talent pool for finance and accounting roles even as state job growth projections cool to 0.9% for the year. Financial activities employment is contracting statewide (down 4,100 jobs year-over-year) while leisure/hospitality, professional/technical services and government absorb most new hiring, meaning finance talent in this metro increasingly competes for workers against sectors with rising advertised pay and steady employer demand.", "implications": "Metro-level pay movement is diverging sharply by role \u2014 Financial Analyst advertised pay is up significantly to $73,992 while Controller ($99,163), Credit Analyst ($60,770) and FP&A Manager ($102,239) advertised pay all declined, a pattern that complicates flat-rate headcount budgeting for FY2027. With 85% of CFOs nationally reporting finance talent shortages and 70% increasing contract talent use in H2 2026, Johnson City finance leaders face the same structural scarcity without the deeper regional candidate pool larger metros can draw on to fill gaps during close and audit cycles. Consider reviewing which finance roles are experiencing metro-specific pay compression versus national gains before finalizing FY2027 compensation ranges, since several roles here are now priced well below national medians.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Tennessee financial activities employment lost 4,100 jobs over the past year even as the state unemployment rate holds at 3.4%. Watch whether this translates into additional available finance talent in Johnson City or reflects consolidation that tightens competition for remaining roles."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "National CFO turnover is projected at 18.3% for 2026, the highest since the pandemic, with external hiring rates up to 37.5%. Smaller metros like Johnson City typically see delayed but amplified effects when senior finance leadership searches extend past 90 days."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Contract and interim finance staffing is rising nationally (70% of leaders increasing use in H2 2026), a trend that could reach Johnson City employers seeking to bridge FP&A Manager and Controller vacancies without committing to the current advertised pay softness."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "TNTalent's $5 million workforce development funding targets AI infrastructure and advanced manufacturing skills, with no direct finance focus, but automation-adjacent reskilling budgets may compete with finance headcount requests in FY2027 planning cycles."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 72422.0, "metro_p50": 99162.8, "metro_p75": 113646.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 115420.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 76711.25, "metro_p50": 82140.0, "metro_p75": 85140.25, "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": 64669.5, "metro_p50": 73992.0, "metro_p75": 77763.5, "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": 34208.25, "metro_p50": 38480.0, "metro_p75": 41737.25, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 49000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 32285.5, "metro_p50": 46877.0, "metro_p75": 47505.5, "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": 52826.0, "metro_p50": 60770.4, "metro_p75": 65537.25, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 71397.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "FP&A Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 83283.0, "metro_p50": 102239.0, "metro_p75": 125210.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development", "source_url": null, "statement": "Johnson City MSA unemployment rate at 3.5%"}, {"source_name": "Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development", "source_url": null, "statement": "Tennessee financial activities sector lost 4,100 jobs year-over-year"}, {"source_name": "MAVI", "source_url": null, "statement": "85% of CFOs report finance talent shortages"}, {"source_name": "Industry survey (AFP FP&A Forum context)", "source_url": null, "statement": "70% of finance leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder Associates", "source_url": null, "statement": "CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic"}, {"source_name": "Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development", "source_url": null, "statement": "Tennessee unemployment held at 3.4% for third consecutive month"}], "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": "johnson-city-tn-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "johnson-city-tn-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:23:54.253951+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/johnson-city-tn-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/johnson-city-tn-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}