Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · September 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, WA MSA — September 2026
Kennewick IT pay splits: infrastructure falls, security holds firm.
Systems administrator advertised pay dropped to $86,135 against a rising $101,168 national median, while cybersecurity analyst pay held flat at $100,456 — signaling a local pivot toward specialized retention over general infrastructure staffing.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 4.2% — Kennewick-Richland-Pasco MSA, September 2026
- Systems admin pay shift: $86,135 — Down significantly vs $101,168 national, up moderately
- WA software/cyber postings growth: +14.2% YoY — vs overall WA postings down 2.7%
- WA computer-pro OT threshold: $59.96/hr — 3.5x state minimum wage, effective 2026
Key takeaways
Systems administrator pay is falling while security roles hold steady.
Metro systems administrator advertised pay dropped significantly to $86,135, well below the rising national median of $101,168, while cybersecurity analyst pay stayed flat locally at $100,456. Divergence this sharp suggests Kennewick employers are deprioritizing general infrastructure staffing in favor of specialized security hires.
Software engineer compensation decline outpaces the national trend.
Local software engineer advertised pay fell significantly to $145,754 against a stable national median of $153,652, a wider gap than most other tracked roles. Softening demand in this role may reflect regional information-sector contraction rather than a broad local tech slowdown, given IT project manager and network engineer pay held up over the same period.
IT project manager demand is the metro's quiet bright spot.
Project manager advertised pay rose moderately to $119,225, now outpacing the national median of $117,530 — a reversal from most other tracked roles. Rising coordination-role pay amid falling technical-staff pay is consistent with organizations managing more outsourced or contract technical work rather than expanding in-house teams.
Statewide WARN activity in tech hasn't yet reached the Tri-Cities.
September WARN filings included Qualtrics (117) and Uber Technologies (93) elsewhere in Washington, but no comparable tech-sector notices have surfaced in Benton-Franklin County this month. Local IT leaders should watch whether displaced Seattle-area tech talent begins appearing in the regional candidate pool, which could ease recruiting costs for specialized roles.
Median advertised pay by role — Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, WA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $142,100 | $177,000 | $177,000 | Moderate decline | $148,250 |
| Systems Administrator | $78,563 | $86,135 | $93,916 | Significant decline | $101,168 |
| Network Engineer * | $78,799 | $118,404 | $135,200 | Stable | $114,400 |
| Software Engineer | $125,749 | $145,754 | $159,082 | Significant decline | $153,652 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $48,880 | $57,200 | $59,280 | Moderate decline | $53,644 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $94,469 | $100,456 | $127,384 | Stable | $106,790 |
| IT Project Manager * | $92,828 | $119,225 | $131,313 | 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
Benton-Franklin area unemployment held at a seasonally steady 4.2% through September, even as nonfarm payrolls showed manufacturing and professional/business services contraction offsetting continued health care and leisure expansion. Regional IT demand is diverging sharply from the broader Washington market — statewide software and cybersecurity postings climbed 14.2% year-over-year even as overall state postings fell, but Kennewick's own advertised pay data shows systems administrator and software engineer compensation pulling back significantly, suggesting local employers are not yet competing on the same terms as Seattle-side tech hubs.
What it means
Falling advertised pay for systems administrators (down significantly to $86,135) alongside stable-to-rising cybersecurity and project management compensation indicates local employers are reallocating budget toward specialized, harder-to-replace functions rather than general infrastructure staffing — a pattern that mirrors the statewide shift toward security and cloud specialization documented by CompTIA and Motion Recruitment. With Washington's rising computer-professional overtime threshold ($59.96/hour) and non-compete floor ($126,858.83) tightening compliance costs for hourly technical staff, outsourcing or contracting commodity infrastructure and support roles looks increasingly rational relative to maintaining full permanent headcount. Consider evaluating which infrastructure and support functions could shift to contract or managed-service arrangements while reserving permanent headcount budget for security and cloud specialists where local pay has held firm.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Benton-Franklin unemployment has held near 4.2% through a seasonal uptick; watch whether October brings the same stability or whether manufacturing and professional-services softness deepens into IT-adjacent functions.
Emerging pressure point: Washington's $59.96/hour overtime exemption threshold for computer professionals raises the cost of misclassifying hourly technical staff; organizations using contract systems administrators or support staff should confirm classification ahead of year-end payroll reviews.
Potential inflection point: Statewide software/cybersecurity postings are up 14.2% year-over-year even as broader postings fall — if that divergence reaches Kennewick, local cybersecurity and cloud pay (currently flat) could begin moving upward.
Early indicator: Nearly three-quarters of Q2 Washington information-sector layoffs occurred in King County; a steady trickle of relocating tech talent into the Tri-Cities over the next two months would be the clearest sign of easing local recruiting pressure for specialized roles.
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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