Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Coeur d'Alene, ID MSA — October 2026
Coeur d'Alene IT pay splits: security up, infrastructure falling behind.
Systems Administrator pay dropped to a $90,000 metro median against a rising $102,503 national figure, even as Cybersecurity Analyst and IT Project Manager pay climbed locally.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Systems Admin pay gap: -$12,503 — Metro $90K vs national $102,503, gap widening
- Kootenai County wage growth: 5.2% — vs 4.1% US average hourly earnings growth
- Statewide IT postings growth: +32% YoY — Software developer ads, Idaho, Sept 2026
- IT Manager IV/V pay gap: 5-8% below market — Statewide, despite elevated turnover
Key takeaways
Systems Administrator pay is falling while the national rate climbs.
Metro median dropped to $90,000 against a national figure rising to $102,503 — a gap approaching $12,500. Treating this as a signal of local demand softness is the safer read given statewide reports that IT roles are going unfilled at advertised wages.
Security and project management roles are the metro's wage winners.
Cybersecurity Analyst ($106,943) and IT Project Manager ($132,563) both posted gains locally, with Project Manager pay now exceeding the national median by over $14,000. Budget reallocation toward these functions suggests organizations are prioritizing risk management and delivery oversight over general technical headcount.
Statewide leadership pay lag threatens retention at the top.
IT Managers IV and V remain 5-8% below market despite significant turnover in those roles statewide, a gap that likely extends to Coeur d'Alene given the metro's reliance on both regional and local hiring pools. Underpaying leadership while frontline wages climb risks losing the people who manage build-vs-buy and vendor decisions.
Help desk wages are rising against a national decline.
Local Help Desk/IT Support median climbed to $54,814 while the national figure slipped to $53,129, flipping the usual relationship between this metro and the broader market. Tight local labor supply for entry-level technical talent may be forcing employers to pay up even as national demand for these roles softens.
Median advertised pay by role — Coeur d'Alene, ID MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist * | $84,894 | $141,002 | $162,317 | Significant decline | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $76,128 | $90,000 | $103,534 | Moderate decline | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer * | $73,012 | $96,230 | $114,056 | Moderate increase | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $97,027 | $125,347 | $132,500 | Moderate decline | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $44,044 | $54,814 | $56,895 | Moderate increase | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst * | $78,523 | $106,943 | $128,222 | Moderate increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager * | $106,680 | $132,563 | $134,266 | 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
Kootenai County's labor force remains tight at 88,984 with wages climbing 5.2% year-over-year — outpacing the 4.1% national average — as the metro's shift toward healthcare, construction and professional services absorbs available talent from tourism. Statewide IT Manager IV/V roles sit 5-8% below market despite elevated turnover, suggesting Coeur d'Alene employers compete against better-funded Boise and out-of-state employers for the same scarce technical leadership pool.
What it means
Metro Systems Administrator pay has fallen to $90,000 against a rising national median of $102,503 — a widening gap that complicates retention for infrastructure roles even as Network Engineer and Cybersecurity Analyst pay climbed locally, signaling employers are reallocating budget toward security and connectivity ahead of general systems administration. This divergence forces a build-vs-buy decision on commoditized infrastructure work: routine systems administration may be a stronger candidate for managed services or offshore support, while local pay for security and network engineering is already moving to defend headcount. Consider reviewing systems administration staffing models against regional managed-service alternatives before the next compensation cycle locks in a below-market offer.
Looking ahead
Emerging pressure point: Systems Administrator pay has diverged sharply from national trend; watch whether Q4 postings show employers raising offers to compete or shifting the role toward managed-service contracts.
Worth watching: Idaho's state budget includes a proposed 4.5% market-based increase for IT roles alongside 5.5% general IT/engineering raises — a public-sector benchmark that could pressure private employers in Kootenai County to match for scarce technical leadership.
Early indicator: Software developer postings, a signal of hiring demand (one ad often covers several openings), are up 32% year-over-year statewide and project management postings up 52%, both classic shortage signals; monitor whether Coeur d'Alene's smaller employer base can absorb that demand without further wage escalation.
Potential inflection point: National tech layoffs have already exceeded 133,000 for the year through October, concentrated in large tech hubs; watch whether any of that displaced talent begins surfacing in North Idaho's candidate pool, particularly for remote-eligible cloud and security roles.
Sources
- Idaho Department of Labor — Kootenai County labor force size and wage growth figures
- Idaho Department of Labor — IT Manager IV/V pay 5-8% below market despite turnover
- Idaho state budget reporting — Idaho proposed 4.5% market-based IT raise alongside 5.5% general increase
- Idaho Department of Labor — Software developer postings up 32% YoY, project management up 52%
- Layoffs.fyi / tech layoff tracker — 133,417 tech employees laid off at 325 companies through Oct 21, 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — National average hourly earnings rose 4.1% year-on-year
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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