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Finance controller salary

Quoted expert
Dr. William Wood Ph.D.

Average finance controller salary

$105,869

$50.9 hourly rate

Entry-level finance controller salary
$71,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding Finance Controller Salaries

The average salary for a finance controller is $105,869 per year, translating to approximately $51 per hour. This salary can vary significantly based on factors such as experience, industry, and geographic location. Finance controllers with more years of experience typically command higher salaries. For instance, those in management positions often see salaries exceeding the average.

Salary Variation by State

Finance controller salaries differ across states. States like California and New York often offer higher compensation due to the cost of living and demand for finance professionals. Meanwhile, states with lower living costs may provide competitive salaries but at a lower average rate.

Highest Paying Cities

Major metropolitan areas tend to have the highest salaries for finance controllers. Cities such as San Francisco, New York City, and Boston are known for offering lucrative opportunities. Job seekers should consider these locations when exploring finance controller positions.

Career Advancement Opportunities

As finance controllers gain experience, they can advance to senior management roles, significantly increasing their earning potential. Continuous professional development and networking can enhance career prospects in this field.

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Where can a Finance Controller earn more?

Compare salary by location
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148k
128k
108k
88k
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48k
Columbus, OH$117,864
Tampa, FL$77,677
Compare salary by company
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174k
154k
134k
114k
94k
Sage Memorial Hospital$152,499
ALM$123,843

Finance controller salaries by experience level

Experience levelAvg. salaryHourly rate
Entry-level finance controller$72,800$35.00
Mid-level finance controller$113,000$54.16
Senior-level finance controller$173,000$83.25

Average finance controller salary by state

The highest-paying states for finance controllers are New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The lowest average finance controller salary states are Nebraska, Alabama, and Oklahoma.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for finance controllers

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1New York$117,325$56.41
2Connecticut$111,874$53.79
3New Jersey$112,322$54.00
4California$107,530$51.70
5Michigan$99,589$47.88
6Washington$103,340$49.68
7Massachusetts$102,594$49.32
8Nevada$103,100$49.57
9Ohio$111,498$53.60
10North Dakota$98,484$47.35
11Maryland$109,097$52.45
12Utah$91,522$44.00
13Pennsylvania$95,864$46.09
14Vermont$98,646$47.43
15Arizona$94,237$45.31
16Illinois$92,712$44.57
17District of Columbia$98,565$47.39
18New Hampshire$96,440$46.37
19Rhode Island$95,893$46.10
20Minnesota$92,110$44.28
21Delaware$93,934$45.16
22Wisconsin$90,089$43.31
23Maine$94,773$45.56
24Colorado$92,572$44.51
25Missouri$92,501$44.47
26North Carolina$90,335$43.43
27Iowa$91,388$43.94
28Virginia$92,651$44.54
29Indiana$89,879$43.21
30Texas$88,830$42.71
31New Mexico$91,149$43.82
32Wyoming$83,074$39.94
33Alaska$90,442$43.48
34West Virginia$87,311$41.98
35Georgia$84,367$40.56
36Oregon$86,228$41.46
37Idaho$85,250$40.99
38Hawaii$74,190$35.67
39Tennessee$80,135$38.53
40Louisiana$83,654$40.22
41Kentucky$82,282$39.56
42Kansas$84,053$40.41
43Alabama$78,171$37.58
44Florida$76,439$36.75
45South Dakota$80,005$38.46
46Mississippi$78,316$37.65
47Nebraska$78,294$37.64
48South Carolina$79,420$38.18
49Arkansas$77,702$37.36
50Montana$79,624$38.28
51Oklahoma$77,747$37.38

Highest paying cities for finance controllers

The highest-paying cities for finance controllers are Yonkers, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Clifton, NJ.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Yonkers, NY$117,864$56.67
2San Francisco, CA$113,035$54.34
3Clifton, NJ$112,822$54.24
4Columbus, OH$110,788$53.26
5Ellicott City, MD$109,255$52.53
6Seattle, WA$103,946$49.97
7Boston, MA$102,636$49.34
8Washington, DC$98,590$47.40
9Bethlehem, PA$96,701$46.49
10McLean, VA$94,608$45.48
11Wilmington, DE$94,264$45.32
12Chicago, IL$93,141$44.78
13Denver, CO$92,504$44.47
14Salt Lake City, UT$90,932$43.72
15Austin, TX$89,744$43.15
16Indianapolis, IN$89,690$43.12
17Charlotte, NC$88,791$42.69
18Portland, OR$85,774$41.24
19Atlanta, GA$84,594$40.67
20Tampa, FL$77,677$37.34

Finance controller salary details

A finance controller's salary ranges from $71,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $156,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average finance controller salary graph
Average finance controller salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a finance controller's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$156,000$13,000$75
75th Percentile$130,000$10,833$63
Average$105,869$8,822$51
25th Percentile$86,000$7,167$41
10th Percentile$71,000$5,917$34

Highest paying finance controller jobs

The highest paying types of finance controllers are controller, vice president, corporate controller, and chief finance officer.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Accounting Director$132,126$11,011$63.5256,323
Accounting Manager$84,451$7,038$40.6092,089
Controller, Vice President$161,965$13,497$77.8767,401
Manager/Finance Accounting$91,315$7,610$43.90132,824
Chief Finance Officer$143,947$11,996$69.21145,184
Finance Supervisor$76,387$6,366$36.7280,296

How would you rate the starting salaries for finance controllers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Dr. William Wood Ph.D.

Academic Unit Head, Economics; Director, Center for Economic Education, James Madison University

Starting salaries in economics are good -- better than for most college degrees -- and they get better as economics majors advance in their careers. Economics prepares people for leadership, and people with good leadership skills are often drawn to economics. Both effects operate to give us this observation that economics majors do well in their careers.

Top companies hiring finance controllers now:

  1. Cisco jobs (24)
  2. Citi jobs (36)
  3. BNY Mellon jobs (11)
  4. Microsoft jobs (221)
  5. Xerox jobs (11)

Which companies pay finance controllers the most?

Finance controller salaries at Sage Memorial Hospital and Bloomberg are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average finance controller salary at companies like Amazon and Cisco are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Sage Memorial Hospital$152,499$73.32
2Bloomberg$150,236$72.23
3Amazon$139,326$66.98
4Cisco$138,927$66.79
5Westpac$138,898$66.78
6J.P. Morgan$133,324$64.10
7Citi$132,149$63.53
8Calypso Technology$131,943$63.43
9FIA$131,722$63.33
10Getac$130,976$62.97
11AbbVie$130,753$62.86
12Florida Power and Light $128,056$61.57
13KLA$127,740$61.41
14Goldman Sachs$126,730$60.93
15Global Financial Mortgage$126,692$60.91
16Agilent Technologies$124,347$59.78
17Hisense USA$124,288$59.75
18SAS Institute$124,172$59.70
19Microsoft$124,096$59.66
20ALM$123,843$59.54

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$111,000$108,800$106,600$104,400$102,200$100,000
MaleFemale

Finance Controller salary by industry

The average finance controller salary varies across industries:

  • The average finance controller salary in the technology industry is $119,209, the highest of any industry.
  • The average finance controller salary in the finance industry is $112,724.
  • Finance controllers in the hospitality industry earn an average salary of $97,957, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for finance controllers

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Technology$119,209$57.31
2Finance$112,724$54.19
3Manufacturing$110,452$53.10
4Health Care$109,740$52.76
5Construction$108,543$52.18
6Professional$107,142$51.51
7Hospitality$97,957$47.09

High paying finance controller jobs

Finance controller salary trends

The average finance controller salary has risen by $21,319 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average finance controller earned $84,550 annually, but today, they earn $105,869 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for finance controllers over the last decade.

Compare finance controller salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average finance controller salary over time

Compare finance controller salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Finance controller salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$106,000$50.90+3.2%
2024$102,000$49.27+1.5%
2023$101,000$48.55+2.3%
2022$98,700$47.45+2.7%
2021$96,100$46.18+3.1%

Recently added finance controller salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
180 Degrees Inc.Financial ControllerSaint Paul, MN06/29/2025$90,000
Custom Ingredients, Inc.Financial ControllerSan Clemente, CA06/29/2025$150,000
ExodigoFinance ControllerSan Francisco, CA06/29/2025$80,000
ExodigoFinance ControllerAustin, TX06/29/2025$80,000
BarrowsFinancial ControllerFine, NY06/28/2025$110,000
Insight GlobalFinancial ControllerSan Jose, CA06/28/2025$90,000
Alarm.comFinance Operations Controller-EnergyhubNew York, NY06/27/2025$185,000
The Bonadio GroupController, Outsource Accounting and FinanceBuffalo, NY06/27/2025$75,000
Compass Group, North AmericaFinancial Controller (U.S Remote)Chicago, IL06/27/2025$95,000
Compass Group, North AmericaFinancial Controller (Hybrid)Washington, DC06/27/2025$110,000

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