Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · September 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: ID NONMETROPOLITAN AREA — September 2026
Moscow IT pay splits: security surges, infrastructure roles retreat.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay rose to $132,839 — 24% above the national median — while Network Engineer pay fell to $81,923, a 28% gap versus the $114,400 national figure.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Idaho unemployment rate: 3.6%-3.7% — Unchanged Jul-Sep 2026, vs 4.1% national
- Northern Idaho unemployment: 4.56% — August 2026, above statewide 3.6% rate
- Tech openings-to-graduate ratio: 6.3:1 — 16,306 openings vs 2,599 CS grads annually (ITC)
- Cybersecurity Analyst pay gap: +24% — Metro $132,839 vs national $106,790
Key takeaways
Cybersecurity pay is pulling away from the rest of the stack.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay at $132,839 now exceeds the national median by roughly 24%, even as Network Engineer and Systems Administrator postings fell sharply locally. Treat security headcount as a retention priority distinct from general infrastructure staffing — the compensation gap is widening, not stabilizing.
Falling local network and sysadmin pay may reflect quiet outsourcing, not weak demand.
Network Engineer advertised pay dropped significantly to $81,923 against a national figure of $114,400 — a 28% gap that is hard to explain through local cost-of-living alone. CompTIA's 2026 data showing traditional infrastructure roles facing demand compression nationally suggests this may be the local expression of a buy-vs-build shift toward managed services.
Idaho's graduate pipeline cannot support the state's tech hiring target.
Idaho Technology Council estimates 16,306 annual tech openings against 2,599 CS graduates statewide, leaving roughly 13,707 positions unfilled each year. For a metro this size, that gap makes upskilling internal staff and regional remote-hire strategies more economically rational than competing purely on advertised pay.
Software Engineer pay rose locally while Data Scientist pay fell — a signal worth tracking.
Metro Software Engineer pay climbed to $140,826, narrowing the gap with the $153,652 national figure, while Data Scientist pay dropped to $130,891 against a rising national median of $148,250. Current conditions suggest build-focused engineering roles are holding local value better than specialized analytics talent, which may be easier to source remotely or via contract.
Median advertised pay by role — ID NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $84,687 | $130,891 | $150,210 | Significant decline | $148,250 |
| Systems Administrator | $72,403 | $90,162 | $97,350 | Moderate decline | $101,168 |
| Network Engineer | $62,835 | $81,923 | $89,761 | Significant decline | $114,400 |
| Software Engineer | $99,663 | $140,826 | $149,561 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $37,280 | $48,880 | $57,498 | Significant decline | $53,644 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $101,761 | $132,839 | $134,378 | Significant increase | $106,790 |
| IT Project Manager | $107,176 | $132,563 | $132,564 | Stable | $117,530 |
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
Moscow-area labor conditions track a tight statewide market — Idaho unemployment held at 3.6%-3.7% through August and September while northern Idaho registered 4.56%, reflecting a split between urban tech corridors and slower-growing rural labor supply. Local advertised pay for most IT roles moved down even as national pay climbed, suggesting employers here are either underpricing postings relative to candidate expectations or filling roles through internal mobility and contractors rather than open-market hiring.
What it means
Divergence between falling local advertised pay (Systems Administrator down to $90,162, Network Engineer down to $81,923) and a 6.3:1 statewide ratio of tech job openings to CS graduates signals a market where employers may be posting below what it takes to actually close candidates, risking longer time-to-fill and quiet attrition to remote national employers paying $101,168-$114,400 for the same roles. Cybersecurity Analyst pay bucked the trend, rising to $132,839 locally against a national $106,790 — a signal that security headcount is being actively defended while infrastructure and support roles absorb budget pressure. Consider reviewing whether network engineering and sysadmin postings are calibrated to a local labor pool that can increasingly work remotely for out-of-state employers.
Looking ahead
Emerging pressure point: Statewide IT Department of Human Resources data shows state infrastructure and database roles running 11-21% below market; watch whether this public-sector lag pushes experienced engineers into the private local market over the next quarter, temporarily easing supply pressure.
Worth watching: Micron's $10B semiconductor research facility, breaking ground in 2027, is already a long-horizon signal for regional systems engineer and cloud architect demand. Early hiring signals or subcontractor announcements over the next 60 days could foreshadow a competitive spike well before groundbreaking.
Expected: September and October state employment data release October 20 will offer the first real post-summer read on northern Idaho's labor market; a continued gap between northern Idaho's 4.56% unemployment and the statewide 3.6-3.7% rate would reinforce a two-speed regional labor market relevant to remote-hire strategy.
Early indicator: National WARN filings from Amazon, Meta, Oracle and Verizon have not yet shown meaningful local spillover, but Idaho's own WARN activity has slowed to just 3 notices in the last 90 days. Monitor whether released tech talent from national layoffs begins appearing in the regional candidate pool, which could temporarily soften Network Engineer and Systems Administrator sourcing pressure.
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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