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Controller salary: median $160,000 a year

Controller listings that state pay run from $132,500 to $185,000 for the middle half, based on 69 current job listings. 331 controller roles are open now.

Controller pay range

From 69 open listings that state pay. Annual, in US dollars.

Lower quarter
$132,500
Median
$160,000
Upper quarter
$185,000

Do AI skills change controller pay?

For Finance roles in general, as of November 9, 2026. This is the function’s figure, not one for controller alone: one title rarely has enough listings on both sides.

Among Finance listings, those that ask for an AI skill advertise +13.9% (about $20k) compared with similar listings that do not, matched on level and industry.

Listings that ask for an AI skill
$169,000
median, from 625 paid listings
Listings that never mention AI
$115,500
median, from 1,268 paid listings

Advertised pay only: the midpoint of the range an employer posted, on live U.S. postings read from the full text. “Asks for an AI skill” means the posting names a specific AI skill; “no AI” means it never mentions AI. A difference in what is advertised is not a promise of what you would be paid, and it does not show that learning a skill causes a raise.

See the AI-skill pay table for every function · Check your own pay against these listings

More pay data: Finance pay by level, skills that pay more and pay by employer size.

Open controller jobs

Verified against the employer’s own career site within the last week.

Showing the newest 15 of about 331 verified open jobs here. Search all jobs

All 331 controller jobs

Finance jobs in the rankings

Rankings about finance jobs

Finance jobs · Top Finance employers · All rankings

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Related salaries

Controller salary questions

How much does a controller make?
Among 69 open controller listings that state pay, the median is $160,000 a year, and half of listings fall between $132,500 and $185,000.
Where does this controller pay data come from?
From current job listings on employers’ own career sites that state a pay range. Hourly pay is converted at 2,080 hours a year, and a listing’s midpoint is used. Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
Which state pays controllers the most?
Of the states with enough listings, California has the highest median listed pay at $155,000.

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