How much do controllers make in 2026?
Controllers are counted in the BLS financial managers series, where OEWS May 2025 gives a national median of $166,570 a year ($80.08 an hour), with a 10th percentile near $94,310 and a 90th percentile of $323,270. The series pools 841,710 people from accounting managers through chief financial officers, so a controller typically sits around and above the midpoint rather than at any precise point on it — the 75th percentile of $219,980 is the realistic anchor for larger and more complex organisations. The role owns financial reporting and the control environment: the close and consolidation, the financial statements and their technical accounting positions, the internal control framework, the audit relationship, statutory and regulatory reporting, accounting policy, and the accounting organisation itself. Pay follows three things. Entity and transaction complexity — multi-entity, multi-currency, acquisitive or revenue-complex businesses pay well above simple ones. Public company reporting, which adds requirements, deadlines and personal exposure that private reporting does not. And team size. A controller in a public multinational and one in a single-entity private business hold the same title and different jobs. Employment is projected to grow 14.8% through 2034 with roughly 74,600 openings a year. → Full controller career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $166,570 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Controllers earn a national median $166,570/yr ($80.08/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-3031); the P10 to P90 range is $94,310 to $323,270.
- The $166,570 median comes from a pooled series spanning accounting managers to chief financial officers; controllers sit around and above it, with $219,980 at the 75th percentile the realistic anchor for larger organisations.
- Entity and transaction complexity, public company reporting requirements and team size are the three variables that set controller pay.
- A controller in a public multinational and one in a single-entity private business share a title and hold very different jobs, which the pooled wage row cannot distinguish.
US Controller Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do controllers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 11-3031; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-3031, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a controller earn at each career stage?
Controller pay follows reporting complexity, public status and organisational scale. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 11-3031, which spans the whole finance management ladder.
By State
Which states pay controllers the most in 2026?
State figures are modeled estimates — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations, and they inherit the pooling caveat. Organisational complexity and public status explain far more controller pay variation than geography does.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($191,560), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay controllers the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Metro premiums track where headquarters and public company reporting functions sit.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a controller’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does controller pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Controllers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify controller wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a controller actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Controller Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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