How much does a full-time CFO cost?

BLS does not publish a CFO wage on its own. It counts CFOs among chief executives, whose median annual wage was $213,990 in May 2025, with the lowest 10 percent under $75,700 and the highest 10 percent above $507,730. In healthcare and social assistance the median was $197,090, below the all-industry figure. One level down, financial managers, who BLS says may advance to become CFOs, earned a median $166,570, with the top decile above $323,270. These are wages only: BLS says its wage figures exclude nonproduction bonuses and employer benefit costs. Benefits are the next layer. In BLS's June 2026 employer-cost survey, private employers of management, business and financial staff paid $15.42 per hour worked in insurance, retirement and legally required benefits against $68.32 in wages and paid leave. Sorso estimate: that is about 23 percent on top of salary, so the $197,090 healthcare median costs roughly $242,000 a year. Recruiting is a one-time cost on top. Executive search firm SPMB says retained fees run 25% to 35% of first-year guaranteed cash compensation, and typically one third for a CFO search; on the healthcare median salary alone that is about $65,700. Sorso estimate for year one: $197,090 in salary, about $44,500 in benefits and about $65,700 in search fees, roughly $307,000 before any bonus or equity. Whether that is worth paying depends on how much finance work the practice has; the part-time alternative is fractional engagements, which at Sorso start at $4,000 a month.