Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, WA MSA — October 2026
Tri-Cities IT pay falls even as local job market tightens.
Kennewick metro unemployment dropped to 3.5% in September, yet advertised pay fell for five of seven IT roles tracked, including a significant decline in Systems Administrator pay to $84,476 against a national rise to $102,503.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.5% — Sept. 2026, lowest in years, vs WA 4.8%
- Systems Admin pay divergence: $84,476 vs $102,503 — Metro down significantly vs national up moderately
- Network Engineer pay: $111,370 — Up significantly, outpacing national $115,757 gain
- WA tech WARN filings YTD: 12,336 workers — 43 notices statewide, concentrated in King County
Key takeaways
Local IT pay is falling while national IT pay climbs.
Systems Administrator, Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Analyst, and Help Desk pay all declined locally this month while three of those four rose nationally. Gap suggests Tri-Cities employers face less competitive pressure for generalist IT talent than the national market implies, an opening for selective pay restraint on commoditized roles.
Network Engineer is the metro's standout outlier.
Advertised pay rose with significant magnitude to $111,370, outpacing even the national median gain. Likely reflects regional infrastructure buildout tied to manufacturing and healthcare capital projects — a role worth tracking closely for retention risk as competing projects bid up scarce talent.
Cybersecurity pay softening locally cuts against a national premium story.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay fell to $95,009, moderate decline, while national pay rose to $107,327 — a 12% gap. Local employers may be under-pricing a skill set that national data shows commands sustained premiums, risking turnover to remote or out-of-market opportunities.
Tight local labor supply doesn't guarantee IT retention leverage.
3.5% metro unemployment signals a tight overall labor market, but falling advertised pay for five of seven IT roles suggests employers aren't translating that tightness into IT wage pressure. Current conditions suggest decoupling workforce planning for IT from general labor market tightness indicators in this metro.
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 | $176,870 | $177,000 | Stable | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $78,563 | $84,476 | $116,886 | Significant decline | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $92,097 | $111,370 | $114,400 | Significant increase | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $109,000 | $145,897 | $149,903 | Moderate decline | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $48,880 | $57,200 | $59,280 | Moderate decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $92,446 | $95,009 | $100,456 | Moderate decline | $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
Tri-Cities unemployment fell to 3.5% in September, the lowest level in years, even as Washington state shed 15,400 jobs and its own rate held at 4.8% — a divergence that marks Kennewick-Richland-Pasco as a comparative bright spot driven by healthcare and manufacturing expansion. Local IT advertised pay tells a different story: five of seven benchmarked roles are down this month, suggesting a metro labor market where overall demand is tight but IT hiring specifically is cooling relative to national trends.
What it means
Systems Administrator advertised pay fell with significant magnitude locally while climbing nationally, and Cybersecurity Analyst pay dropped against a national increase — a divergence that may reflect local employers pulling back on infrastructure and security hiring even as national competition for that talent intensifies. This creates risk: organizations anchoring compensation to local advertised rates may find themselves undercut when competing for specialized skills against remote-eligible national employers offering 8-10% premiums. Consider reviewing whether security and infrastructure roles should be benchmarked against national advertised pay instead of metro advertised pay, particularly for positions with remote flexibility.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Washington's technology sector WARN filings have reached 12,336 workers year-to-date statewide, concentrated in King County. Watch whether any displaced Seattle-area IT talent migrates toward Tri-Cities infrastructure and manufacturing-linked roles, potentially easing the Network Engineer premium.
Emerging pressure point: Regional construction and trades shortages, particularly electricians, are intensifying alongside healthcare and manufacturing capital projects. IT infrastructure hiring tied to these same projects may face compounding competition for technical labor across adjacent trades.
Potential inflection point: Metro Cybersecurity Analyst and Systems Administrator pay softening against national gains may reverse if local employers find themselves losing candidates to remote national postings. Monitor whether advertised pay for these two roles begins tracking upward within the next reporting cycle.
Early indicator: Washington's minimum wage rises to $17.73 in January 2027, a 3.5% increase. Watch whether this compresses pay differentials for entry-level Help Desk and IT Support roles, where metro pay already sits above national median but trending down.
Sources
- Tri-Cities Business News — Tri-Cities unemployment fell to 3.5% in September 2026
- Washington Employment Security Department — Washington state shed 15,400 jobs in September while rate held 4.8%
- Washington WARN Act Tracker — WA technology sector WARN filings total 12,336 workers year-to-date
- Advertised pay data — National Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay rose moderately to $107,327
- WA Department of Labor & Industries — Washington minimum wage rising to $17.73/hour January 2027
- Tri-Cities Business News — Regional construction and trades labor shortage, especially electricians
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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