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Rhode Island / Chief Financial Officer

Role across Rhode Island

Chief Financial Officer

Maintain financial records, prepare budgets and reports, and ensure compliance with fiscal rules.

20 people hold the Chief Financial Officer role across 12 departments in Rhode Island, with a median total compensation of $38,057. Among 8 jurisdictions where this role is reported, Rhode Island ranks #7 by median pay.

Employees
20
Median pay
$38,057
Departments
12
Cross-jurisdiction
#7 of 8

Compared with the local labor market

Chief Financial Officer pay vs. Rhode Island

Across all employers in Rhode Island, the median wage for Chief Executivesabout 460 people is $235,360. Rhode Island pays a median base salary of $39,267 for this role, 83% below that figurebelow the 10th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Rhode Island sits in the local pay range

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$113,970
$181,270
$235,360
$414,180
$561,080
Rhode Island median · $39,267

The bar is the range of annual wages for Chief Executives across every employer in Rhode Island, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Rhode Island’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Chief Executivesabout 204,350 people is $213,990. Rhode Island’s median base salary is 82% below that national figure, below the 10th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
Rhode Island median · $39,267

Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Rhode Island range relative to the national one.

Computed over the 19 of 20 people in this role paid at least $25,000 in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.

Median total compensation for this role at Rhode Island is $38,057, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.

Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.

Compare jurisdictions

Chief Financial Officer pay in other jurisdictions

Where Chief Financial Officers are paid most

California
$231,443 · 8
Georgia
$195,149 · 8
Vermont
$137,176 · 7
Metro Nashville
$68,514 · 9

Median total compensation for comparable Chief Financial Officer roles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.

Within Rhode Island

Departments with this role

Largest Rhode Island departments for this role

Corrections
2 · $101,949
Administration
2 · $84,535
Public Safety
1 · $40,786
Dlt
1 · $40,750
Transportation
1 · $39,841
Housing
1 · $33,666
Military Staff
1 · $30,876

Departments in Rhode Island employing the most people in this role. Each bar links to that department’s page for the role.