Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Lewiston, ID-WA MSA — October 2026
Lewiston's IT pay splits: engineers rise, support talent falls behind.
Software Engineer advertised pay climbed to $153,081 in Lewiston while Systems Administrator pay fell to $88,185, even as nonfarm employment contracted 0.7% year-over-year.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Nez Perce County unemployment: 3.3% — Up from 3.2% in July; vs 3.6% statewide
- Lewiston nonfarm employment: -0.7% — Year-over-year and month-over-month decline
- Weekly UI claims, north central Idaho: 13/week — Down from 36/week in July 2025
- Idaho IT technician hourly wage: $23.96/hr — 7% below national average
Key takeaways
Lewiston's tech pay market is splitting into two tiers.
Software Engineer and IT Project Manager advertised pay both outpaced national medians this month, while Systems Administrator and Help Desk roles fell significantly behind. This gap suggests local employers are prioritizing delivery and leadership talent over infrastructure support, a pattern worth testing against actual headcount strategy, since market movement is uneven across roles.
Support role pay compression may be a build-vs-buy signal.
Systems Administrator pay dropped moderately in Lewiston even as national rates rose, and statewide data shows Idaho technical support already running 11% below national averages. Widening local-national gaps in support compensation make outsourced or remote-staffed infrastructure support increasingly competitive on cost versus retaining in-house talent at below-market rates.
Softer job counts haven't loosened the talent market.
Nonfarm payrolls fell 0.7% year-over-year in Lewiston, yet initial unemployment claims remain unusually low, indicating little displaced talent is entering the local candidate pool. IT leaders counting on a softening labor market to ease hiring pressure should treat that assumption cautiously for specialized and technical roles.
Cybersecurity and networking roles are quietly tightening.
Network Engineer ($96,230) and Cybersecurity Analyst ($106,943) advertised pay both moved up moderately in Lewiston, tracking national trends and moving in line with them. Consistent upward movement across both metro and national data is a stronger signal of durable demand than an isolated local spike, and suggests these roles warrant proactive budget planning ahead of reactive counteroffers.
Median advertised pay by role — Lewiston, ID-WA 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 * | $68,406 | $88,185 | $100,510 | Moderate decline | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer * | $73,012 | $96,230 | $114,056 | Moderate increase | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer * | $116,624 | $153,081 | $171,515 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist * | $39,463 | $47,999 | $52,829 | Significant decline | $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
Lewiston's nonfarm employment contracted 0.7% both month-over-month and year-over-year in September even as Nez Perce County unemployment ticked up to 3.3%, a mild but notable divergence from Idaho's statewide 3.6% rate and structurally tight labor narrative. Weekly initial unemployment claims running at roughly a third of last year's pace (13 vs. 36) signal employers are holding onto workers despite softer job counts, consistent with a metro absorbing headcount adjustments without triggering broad-based layoffs.
What it means
Metro-level pay data shows a split market: Software Engineer ($153,081) and IT Project Manager ($132,563) advertised rates are climbing and now exceed national medians, while Systems Administrator ($88,185) and Help Desk/IT Support ($47,999) have moved down significantly against rising national benchmarks. That divergence suggests Lewiston employers are competing hardest for roles tied to delivery and modernization while infrastructure and support positions face local wage compression that could accelerate attrition or push those functions toward outsourcing. Current conditions suggest reviewing whether support and sysadmin compensation has fallen far enough behind national movement to create retention exposure before headcount planning for 2027 locks in budgets built on outdated pay assumptions.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Nez Perce County unemployment has risen two consecutive months (3.2% to 3.3%) while statewide Idaho holds steady at 3.6%. A continued local uptick alongside falling nonfarm employment would mark a metro-specific slowdown distinct from the state's tighter narrative.
Emerging pressure point: Systems Administrator and Help Desk advertised pay both moved down locally against rising national figures this month. Track whether this gap widens further, which would strengthen the case for shifting routine infrastructure support to outsourced or regional shared-service models.
Potential inflection point: St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center's acquisition by Lifepoint Health closed earlier in 2026, and as one of north central Idaho's top employers, any resulting IT system consolidation or vendor transition could shift local demand for healthcare-adjacent IT and security talent.
Early indicator: Statewide, IT Manager IV and V roles remain 5-8% below market despite elevated turnover, a gap not yet visible in Lewiston's role-specific data. Watch whether metro leadership-tier pay follows the statewide pattern, which would complicate succession planning for IT management roles locally.
Sources
- Idaho Department of Labor — Lewiston nonfarm employment fell 0.7% month-over-month and year-over-year in September 2026
- Federal Reserve Economic Data / BLS — Nez Perce County unemployment at 3.3% in August 2026, up from 3.2% in July
- Idaho Department of Labor — Weekly initial unemployment claims averaged 13 in July 2026 vs 36 in July 2025
- Idaho Department of Labor LMI — Idaho technical support roles average 11% below national pay; IT technicians 7% below national
- Idaho Department of Labor LMI — IT Manager IV and V positions remain 5-8% below market rates statewide
- Idaho Department of Labor LMI — Lifepoint Health acquisition of St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center expected to close before July 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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