Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · September 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Altoona, PA MSA — September 2026
Altoona's tight labor pool exposes a widening network-vs-sysadmin pay gap.
Network Engineer pay rose to a metro median of $106,618 while Systems Administrator pay held flat at $93,831, even as Altoona's labor force stayed essentially static at 57,800.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Altoona unemployment rate: 3.7% — July 2026, down from 3.9% in June
- Network Engineer pay growth: $106,618 — Metro median, up moderately vs $114,400 national
- Systems Administrator pay: $93,831 — Metro stable vs national trending up to $101,168
- Metro nonfarm employment: 62,100 — Down 100 jobs month-over-month, July 2026
Key takeaways
Network Engineer pay is pulling away from the rest of the stack.
Metro median climbed to $106,618, a moderate increase that now trails the national figure of $114,400 by less than 7%, a much tighter gap than typically seen in this metro. That convergence suggests local employers are already competing against national remote-work pay rates for this specific skill set.
Flat Sysadmin pay in a tight labor market is a retention blind spot.
Systems Administrator median sits stable at $93,831 while the national figure trends up moderately toward $101,168. A widening gap with no local movement increases the odds that incumbent admins quietly become remote-work recruiting targets rather than active job seekers.
Help desk roles remain insulated from the squeeze — for now.
Stable pay both locally ($51,885) and nationally ($53,644) reflects AI-driven compression of lower-tier IT operations roles described in national research. Outsourcing or offshoring commodity support functions looks increasingly rational given this role shows no local scarcity premium.
A static labor force means headcount growth has to come from elsewhere.
Altoona's civilian labor force has barely moved and total nonfarm employment actually contracted slightly in July. Expansion plans for infrastructure or security headcount will likely depend on contract talent, relocation incentives, or remote hires rather than organic local supply.
Median advertised pay by role — Altoona, PA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist * | $117,479 | $147,800 | $164,186 | Moderate increase | $148,250 |
| Systems Administrator * | $75,832 | $93,831 | $105,000 | Stable | $101,168 |
| Network Engineer * | $66,759 | $106,618 | $122,990 | Moderate increase | $114,400 |
| Software Engineer * | $111,718 | $148,564 | $162,683 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist * | $41,941 | $51,885 | $57,905 | Stable | $53,644 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst * | $84,520 | $101,546 | $117,314 | Moderate increase | $106,790 |
| IT Project Manager * | $80,562 | $115,000 | $128,649 | Moderate increase | $117,530 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Local market conditions
Altoona's labor market stayed structurally tight in July 2026, with unemployment at 3.7% against a nearly static 57,800-person labor force, meaning hiring gains are coming from a shrinking candidate pool rather than new entrants. Total nonfarm employment actually slipped 100 jobs month-over-month to 62,100, consistent with a metro where manufacturing is flat and healthcare dominates job creation — a demand profile that does little to expand the local technical talent base IT employers draw from.
What it means
Thin local labor supply combined with a Network Engineer median of $106,618 — trending up and outpacing the metro's flat Systems Administrator and Help Desk lines — suggests infrastructure and network roles are where retention risk concentrates first, not entry-level support. Statewide data showing tech postings holding steady but hiring cycles slowing implies Altoona employers will face longer requisition timelines for specialized roles even as commodity support positions remain easy to fill locally or via remote staffing. Consider reviewing whether network and systems engineering compensation bands reflect the national upward trend before a competing offer forces a reactive counter.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Pennsylvania's tech occupation employment is projected to grow 4.5% statewide through 2026 alongside retirement-driven attrition; watch whether any of that statewide demand pressure shows up in Altoona network and security postings over the next two months.
Emerging pressure point: Network Engineer pay has moved up moderately while Systems Administrator pay has stayed flat for several cycles running — a widening spread that could trigger lateral moves among incumbent staff seeking re-leveling.
Early indicator: Statewide WARN activity remains elevated relative to 2025 in logistics and manufacturing; monitor whether any displaced technical or operations talent from these filings enters the Blair County candidate pool.
Potential inflection point: National hiring softness in the information sector (per August BLS data) combined with slower-but-positive job postings growth suggests the next 60 days could reveal whether remote-first employers start competing more aggressively for Altoona-based infrastructure talent.
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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