Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Idaho Falls, ID MSA — October 2026
Idaho Falls IT pay falls behind national trend as positions sit open longer.
Software Engineer advertised pay fell to $123,831 locally against a stable $154,403 national median, even as southeastern Idaho job postings rose 13.8% and time-to-fill stretched to 31 days.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.9% — Southeastern Idaho, Sept. 2026, up from 3.1% in Bonneville Co. in July
- Advertised wage growth: +12.5% YoY — $22.09/hr avg., southeastern Idaho, Sept. 2026
- Time-to-fill: 31 days — Up from prior months despite 13.8% more postings
- National tech layoffs: 133,417 — Through Oct. 21, 2026 — exceeds all of 2025
Key takeaways
Local software engineering pay is falling as national pay holds firm.
Metro Software Engineer advertised pay dropped significantly to $123,831 while the national median held stable near $154,403 — a widening gap that complicates retention for any engineer comparing offers outside the metro. Headcount plans built on current local pay data may understate what it takes to hold mid-level engineering talent.
Network Engineer pay is the metro's one clear upward outlier.
Advertised Network Engineer pay rose significantly to $107,705, outpacing most other local IT roles even as the national figure rose only moderately. Consistent with Idaho's data center and infrastructure buildout narrative, this may reflect employers competing harder for scarce network and infrastructure talent locally than for cloud-native roles.
Cybersecurity pay is sliding locally while national demand tightens.
Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay fell significantly to $104,025 against a national median rising moderately to $107,327. A falling local rate alongside rising national demand is consistent with a market where security roles are harder to source locally, raising the case for remote hiring or managed security services over in-house build.
Extended time-to-fill signals a pricing problem.
Southeastern Idaho job postings (a signal of hiring demand, where one ad often covers several openings) rose 13.8% year-over-year but days-to-fill extended to 31, and median advertised wages softened even as postings grew — a pattern state researchers link to employers posting below what the market will bear. Current conditions suggest reviewing offered pay against live postings before assuming candidates don't exist.
Median advertised pay by role — Idaho Falls, ID MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $119,130 | $141,002 | $141,002 | Moderate increase | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $71,804 | $100,510 | $114,175 | Moderate decline | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $88,679 | $107,705 | $115,070 | Significant increase | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $103,956 | $123,831 | $132,550 | Significant decline | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $34,141 | $37,440 | $42,358 | Significant decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $92,976 | $104,025 | $130,192 | Significant decline | $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
Idaho Falls nonfarm employment edged up just 0.1% in September — the weakest gain among growing Idaho metros — while southeastern Idaho's unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, driven by new labor force entrants joining the market. Advertised hourly wages climbed 12.5% year-over-year to $22.09, and job postings (a signal of hiring demand, where one ad often covers several openings) rose 13.8% while average days-to-fill extended to 31, a combination consistent with employers struggling to clear openings at current offered rates.
What it means
Metro-level wage compression in core IT roles — Software Engineer down significant, Cybersecurity Analyst down significant, Help Desk down significant against national medians that are flat or rising — signals local employers are falling behind national pay movement even as positions sit open longer, a gap that widens retention risk for mid-career technical staff who can benchmark against remote or out-of-state offers. Idaho's own research flags IT Manager IV/V roles running 5-8% below market with elevated turnover, suggesting the shortfall is concentrated in leadership and senior technical tiers, with entry-level support less affected. Consider reviewing whether current pay structures for senior infrastructure and security roles track national trajectory, particularly where those roles anchor build-vs-buy decisions for specialized skills.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Idaho's state government is weighing a 5.5% to 9.5% combined market-based pay increase for IT and engineering staff, which could reset public-sector competition for the same technical talent pool private employers draw from in Idaho Falls.
Emerging pressure point: IT Manager IV/V roles sitting 5-8% below market with elevated turnover may force near-term backfill decisions; watch whether vacated leadership roles get rebuilt internally or outsourced to contract management given extended time-to-fill locally.
Early indicator: Project management specialist postings are up 52% year-over-year statewide, suggesting organizations are formalizing delivery functions around infrastructure and data center projects — a leading signal for where IT headcount growth concentrates next.
Potential inflection point: National tech layoffs have already exceeded all of 2025 (133,417 through October 21), concentrated in large tech hubs; watch whether displaced cloud or security talent begins surfacing in the Idaho Falls candidate pool, potentially easing the local sourcing gap in those roles.
Sources
- Idaho Department of Labor — Southeastern Idaho unemployment rose to 3.9% in September 2026
- Idaho Department of Labor — Advertised hourly wages reached $22.09, up 12.5% year-over-year
- Idaho Department of Labor — IT Manager IV/V positions running 5-8% below market with high turnover
- Idaho Division of Human Resources — State proposing 4%-9.5% combined raises including IT/engineering market adjustment
- Idaho Department of Labor — Project management specialist postings up 52% year-over-year statewide
- Layoffs.fyi — 133,417 tech employees laid off at 325 companies through Oct. 21, 2026
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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