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Job outlook for regional controllers in the United States
Regional controller job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected regional controller job growth rate is 17% from 2018-2028.
About 123,100 new jobs for regional controllers are projected over the next decade.
Regional controller salaries have increased 10% for regional controllers in the last 5 years.
There are over 109,855 regional controllers currently employed in the United States.
There are 57,984 active regional controller job openings in the US.
The average regional controller salary is $102,904.
Are regional controller jobs in demand?
Regional controller job and salary trends over time
Regional controller jobs over time
Regional controller job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 109,855 | 0.03% |
| 2020 | 105,340 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | 105,616 | 0.03% |
| 2018 | 98,088 | 0.03% |
| 2017 | 91,839 | 0.03% |
Average regional controller salary over time
Regional controller salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $102,904 | $49.47 | +3.3% |
| 2025 | $99,614 | $47.89 | +1.5% |
| 2024 | $98,157 | $47.19 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $95,925 | $46.12 | +2.7% |
| 2022 | $93,371 | $44.89 | +3.2% |
Regional controller jobs by state
Most common states for regional controllers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 319 | 46% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 994 | 14% |
| 3 | Delaware | 961,939 | 128 | 13% |
| 4 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 793 | 11% |
| 5 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 462 | 11% |
| 6 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,289 | 10% |
| 7 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 560 | 10% |
| 8 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 723 | 9% |
| 9 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 516 | 9% |
| 10 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 320 | 9% |
| 11 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 293 | 9% |
| 12 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 120 | 9% |
| 13 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 99 | 9% |
| 14 | California | 39,536,653 | 3,326 | 8% |
| 15 | New York | 19,849,399 | 1,503 | 8% |
| 16 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 777 | 8% |
| 17 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 697 | 8% |
| 18 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 504 | 8% |
| 19 | Vermont | 623,657 | 49 | 8% |
| 20 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 47 | 8% |
Most common cities for regional controllers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winter Garden | 2 | 5% | $93,066 |
| 2 | Madison Heights | 1 | 3% | $101,708 |
| 3 | El Cajon | 2 | 2% | $122,172 |
| 4 | Carol Stream | 1 | 2% | $103,166 |
| 5 | Grand Rapids | 1 | 1% | $99,738 |
| 6 | Hayward | 1 | 1% | $138,640 |
| 7 | Baltimore | 1 | 0% | $100,354 |
| 8 | Detroit | 1 | 0% | $101,679 |
| 9 | Los Angeles | 1 | 0% | $126,127 |
| 10 | Saint Paul | 1 | 0% | $97,421 |
Regional Controller job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of regional controller experts
University of Arkansas
The University of Scranton
DePaul University
South College
University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown
University of Wisconsin
Baruch College, City University New York
Red Rocks Community College
Kris Allee Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Doyle Z. Williams Chair in Professional AccountingUniversity of Arkansas
Accounting Department
What soft skills should all Regional Controllers possess?
Kris Allee Ph.D.: Given an accounting manager assumes a leadership position at the firm, the ability to lead effectively, communicate well, and organize and manage projects would be the most important soft skills necessary.
Dr. Douglas Boyle
Chair & Professor, Director, Doctorate in Business Administration Program , Director, Nonprofit Leadership ProgramThe University of Scranton
Accounting Department
What soft skills should all Regional Controllers possess?
Dr. Douglas Boyle: Our research shows that achieving a high level of emotional intelligence is viewed as most important by senior accounting professionals. Emotional intelligence is made up of self-awareness that includes emotional awareness and self-confidence. Self-management includes self-control, trustworthiness, conscientiousness, adaptability, and innovation. Social awareness includes empathy and organizational awareness. Relationship management includes influence, conflict management, teamwork, leadership, and communication. While it is important to work on all these skills, the three that are deemed most critical for accounting professionals are trustworthiness, conscientiousness, teamwork, and communication.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Regional Controllers?
Dr. Douglas Boyle: While it is important to be technically competent in all areas of accounting, you add the most value by being an expert in a few areas. That is why you may consider pursuing additional credentials (as shown above) in areas of interest to you. This enables you to master the technical skills and demonstrate such skills on your resume.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Regional Controllers?
Delvin Grant: Yes. I strongly believe coronavirus will have a lasting impact on new graduates. A increasing paradigm shift is taking place as we speak, as some IT-related jobs can be done remotely. I expect the shift to continue until a steady state condition is achieved, when companies feel they have the right mix of remote and face-to-face employment. Some companies may resist the trend, valuing face-to-face over remote working. Face-to-face satisfies a human need to socialize and, in some cultures, much business is done by face-to-face. There is evidence of a paradigm shift as many IT employees work remotely, due to the pandemic. Some companies have realized the shift is here to stay and others take a wait and see attitude. It is hard not to recognize the shift as there are cost saving from office rent, office space, heating, cooling, computing cost, travel costs, etc. The impact will vary by profession. IT and other professions are a natural fit for remote working while others are not. For example, a chemist working in a lab environment cannot work from home as his lab is the only place to mix and experiment with chemicals and chemistry.
What general advice would you give to a Regional Controller?
D. Pace Porter: The accounting profession is made up of several disciplines and is inherent in all businesses from small and medium size to large, publicly traded global companies. You should have a solid idea of where you want to begin. Private industry accounting, which industry, general accounting or tax; or public accounting with a CPA firm and audit, tax or advisory services within that type organization? These are some of the questions that you must answer for yourself, as well as for the potential interviewer. You should have the information necessary to help you answer those after completing your degree and taking all of the required accounting courses. I would also advise you to focus on general skills such as written and oral communication, technology (Excel and beyond), attention to detail, time management and above all, professional integrity.
What type of skills will young Regional Controllers need?
Cristina DeDiana: As we have already seen, technology is taking over our lives. Graduates are already expected to know Excel and to use data analytics. In the future, it is likely they will need to be well-versed in using Artificial Intelligence to support business decisions. Above and beyond the technical skills, though, graduates should be able to communicate with their employers and clients. All that technical knowledge is useless unless it can be effectively communicated to decision makers. Writing and speaking skills are never going to disappear, and with remote working becoming more ubiquitous, the ability to communicate effectively becomes more imperative. Also, as we have seen during the pandemic, we also need to be flexible to adapt to ever-changing conditions. While (I hope) we won't have to deal with a global pandemic again, the world and life will continue to change, and we need to change with it, embracing the technology.
What skills stand out on Regional Controller resumes?
Dr. William Miller: While a student can get an accounting degree with one hundred twenty credits, virtually all employers want their new hires to graduate with the requisite one hundred fifty credits to make them eligible to sit for the CPA exam (whether they intend to sit for it or not). Ninety-nine percent of our students graduate with one hundred fifty credits, most often with a double major. Historically that second major has been finance, however, that has changed. The gold standard of double majors is now accounting and information systems. It is not just me saying that, but the employers as well.
The entire world is data driven, every college of business needs to add course work that teaches students how to analyze and interpret data. Not just accounting, but every college of business degree. A resume highlighting either a second major in information systems or completing course work in data helps to set students above the fray. We have added a data analytics course to our accounting program as well as having incorporated integrated data analytics into several other courses, as well.
Highlighting expertise in the use of Microsoft Excel on a resume (perhaps gained through both course work and internship experience) also will stand out.
The above examples are all required, pandemic or not, but with the pandemic, essential skills, like the ability to work independently, communicate effectively, solve unstructured problems, and think critically, have taken on much more importance. Luckily, these are all attributes that we help our students develop throughout our program.
While I am a full time professor, I do a fair amount of consulting and just completed a two and a half year stint as the Chief Financial Officer of a struggling business. The last two years of that work were done entirely remotely. The technologies we have available today to stay connected, share data, communicate, and collaborate all exist and are phenomenal. Microsoft 365 including Teams (I prefer this over Zoom, Skype, etc.) has been a gamechanger for both industry and academia. I can't imagine how any of us would have gotten through the last eighteen months without these products. Our students are well versed in all these products and have been experiencing their use in most of their classes in some form or another in the last year. So, they will start their careers already experienced in how to use them.
Dr. Lilac Nachum Ph.D.
Professor, International BusinessBaruch College, City University New York
Allen G. Aaronson Department of Marketing & International Business
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Regional Controllers?
Dr. Lilac Nachum Ph.D.: The impact of the pandemic on graduates' employment opportunities is already notable, apparent in terms of the demand for graduates and the nature of employment. With millions of people out of jobs, the pandemic diminished the employment prospects and made it more difficult to enter into the job market. But whereas this effect is likely to be short-lived, and may disappear as the economy recovers, the more enduring one would be the change in the nature of employment. As the economy goes through structural change, the nature of the demand for jobs would change too. The crisis triggered accelerated transformation to "all things digital", much of it is likely to continue beyond the pandemics. This would boost demand for employment in the digital economy.
Janet Tarase
Lead Accounting Faculty / Accounting Department ChairRed Rocks Community College
Accounting Department
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Regional Controller job market given the pandemic?
Janet Tarase: Even though over 7 million people are currently unemployed, employers still need individuals to maintain their operations. Human Resource departments are recruiting individuals through social media platforms. My daughter works in HR recruiting and they only use LinkedIn. Companies are using video or phone interviews to select candidates. Which means that potential candidates have to communicate effectively and make a good first impression quickly.
Employers will be looking for individuals that have proven communication, organizational and time management skills that are able to work independently since telecommuting will be continuing in the future. Applicants will also need to have technological and critical thinking skills to manage the challenges presented while working from home. Because of the pandemic and so many of us having to work from home, companies may broaden their recruiting geography to find the best candidates out of state or in different time zones. Finally, employees need to be flexible and resilient - you never know what the next job requirement will demand.