Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Bremerton-Silverdale, WA MSA — October 2026
Bremerton cybersecurity pay surges as network engineering softens.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay hit $142,202, 32% above the national median, while Network Engineer pay fell to $123,500 even as national Network Engineer pay climbed to $115,757.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 4.3% — Below WA's 4.8% statewide rate, Aug. 2026
- Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay: $142,202 — vs. $107,327 national median
- Network Engineer advertised pay: $123,500 — Down locally vs. up to $115,757 nationally
- Kitsap federal employment share: 22.9% — Highest of any WA county
Key takeaways
Cybersecurity pay here outpaces the nation by a wide margin.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst median of $142,202 sits roughly 32% above the $107,327 national figure, consistent with federal and defense-adjacent demand tied to Naval Base Kitsap's scale. Retention budgets for security staff likely need a local premium layered on top of national compensation benchmarking.
Network Engineer pay is moving the opposite direction from the nation.
Metro advertised pay for Network Engineer fell to $123,500 even as the national median rose to $115,757, narrowing what had been a wide local premium. This may signal softening local demand for traditional network infrastructure roles as cloud migration reduces dependence on on-prem networking specialists.
Help desk pay erosion widens the generalist-specialist gap further.
Metro Help Desk/IT Support median of $65,568 is down even as it remains well above the $53,129 national figure, suggesting local support roles are still priced at a premium but losing ground. Pairs with national data showing software engineer openings down 56% in Washington — entry-level and generalist IT work appears to be the first target for outsourcing or automation.
Federal workforce concentration insulates — and exposes — this market.
Kitsap County's 22.9% federal employment share, the highest of any Washington county, means IT hiring tied to base operations and contractors may be more resilient to Seattle tech layoffs but more exposed to federal budget or shutdown risk. Workforce planning should model federal appropriations timelines alongside standard tech-sector indicators.
Median advertised pay by role — Bremerton-Silverdale, WA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $114,112 | $129,747 | $153,694 | Significant increase | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $89,386 | $103,480 | $110,957 | Stable | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $102,799 | $123,500 | $126,800 | Moderate decline | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $95,800 | $119,099 | $120,706 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $49,920 | $65,568 | $75,244 | Moderate decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $122,275 | $142,202 | $142,202 | Significant increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager * | $96,911 | $119,600 | $132,214 | Moderate increase | $118,150 |
* 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
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard's 4.3% unemployment rate sits below Washington's 4.8% statewide figure, but Kitsap County's 22.9% federal-government employment share and Naval Base Kitsap's 24,340 civilian workforce leave IT hiring here more insulated from Seattle-area tech contraction than from federal budget cycles. Regional technology advertised pay shows significant divergence: Cybersecurity Analyst median of $142,202 and Data Scientist median of $129,747 run well above national figures, while Network Engineer pay fell to $123,500 even as national Network Engineer pay climbed to $115,757 — a signal of localized demand correction layered onto a metro otherwise shielded from King County's tech layoff wave of 6,912 WARN-covered workers year-to-date.
What it means
Metro IT leaders face a split market: premium pay for Cybersecurity Analyst and Data Scientist roles confirms these functions remain scarce and contested even in a smaller metro, while Network Engineer softening and stable Systems Administrator pay ($103,480) suggest infrastructure generalist roles face less upward pressure and more build-vs-buy flexibility. Proximity to Naval Base Kitsap and federal contracting work means security-cleared or compliance-adjacent technical talent may command a local premium disconnected from Seattle's broader tech pullback, complicating any assumption that regional softening applies uniformly across IT functions. Consider benchmarking cybersecurity and data roles against the metro's own premium, while treating network engineering and help desk roles as candidates for outsourcing or hybrid staffing given downward local pay movement.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Oracle's 359-worker WARN notice covering Seattle facilities and remote Washington staff, with separations beginning November 13, may release cloud and infrastructure talent into the broader Puget Sound candidate pool, including Kitsap commuters.
Emerging pressure point: Washington technology sector WARN filings already total 43 notices and 12,336 workers year-to-date statewide; watch whether any of this volume touches Bremerton-area contractors or federal IT vendors tied to Naval Base Kitsap.
Potential inflection point: Network Engineer advertised pay has moved against the national trend for two consecutive readings; a continued decline would strengthen the case for shifting routine network operations to managed service providers instead of expanding in-house headcount.
Expected: Washington's minimum wage rises to $17.73 on January 1, 2027, a 3.5% increase that will compress pay differentials for entry-level IT support and help desk roles already showing downward pressure locally.
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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