Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · September 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR MSA — September 2026
Little Rock IT pay splits: operations surge, security stalls.
Systems Administrator pay climbed to a metro median of $85,619 while Cybersecurity Analyst pay held flat at $88,658, trailing the national median of $106,790 by a widening margin.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Pulaski County unemployment: 4.3% — vs 3.9% Arkansas, 4.1% U.S. (Aug 2026)
- Systems Administrator pay growth: $85,619 metro median — Significant increase; national median $101,168
- Cybersecurity Analyst pay gap: $88,658 vs $106,790 — Metro flat while national climbs, ~$18K gap
- Metro labor force: 400,000+ — Record high, July 2026
Key takeaways
Systems Administrator pay is repricing faster than the role's strategic value.
Metro median pay jumped to $85,619, a significant increase, even as national commentary treats traditional IT operations as a compressing category. This likely reflects acute local scarcity rather than rising strategic importance — a signal to benchmark this role against local supply, not national skill-demand narratives.
Cybersecurity pay is stalling locally while the national market accelerates.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay sits flat at $88,658 against a national median of $106,790 that continues climbing alongside senior security roles reportedly reaching $400K nationally. A widening $18,000+ gap raises real retention exposure for any analyst with remote-work mobility.
Software Engineer pay now outpaces the national figure — a rare local premium.
Metro median of $154,753 exceeds the national median of $153,652, an unusual inversion given Arkansas's broader wage trends. This may reflect intense local competition for a thin advanced-manufacturing and tech-adjacent talent pool rather than a durable structural premium.
Thin engineering pipelines are quietly forcing outsourcing decisions.
Arkansas produced only 1,313 engineering bachelor's degrees in 2024-25, and Northwest Arkansas firms are reportedly hiring offshore rather than locally due to skill gaps. IT leaders planning headcount in infrastructure or security should treat local build options as supply-constrained, not just cost-constrained.
Median advertised pay by role — Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $111,385 | $133,173 | $147,037 | Moderate decline | $148,250 |
| Systems Administrator | $69,561 | $85,619 | $89,711 | Significant increase | $101,168 |
| Network Engineer | $65,000 | $96,415 | $111,784 | Stable | $114,400 |
| Software Engineer | $118,653 | $154,753 | $170,568 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $38,575 | $45,482 | $52,784 | Moderate decline | $53,644 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $74,535 | $88,658 | $107,116 | Stable | $106,790 |
| IT Project Manager | $103,929 | $125,203 | $129,853 | Moderate increase | $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
Little Rock metro employment reached historic highs in mid-2026 with civilian employment surpassing 385,000 and labor force topping 400,000 for the first time, yet Pulaski County unemployment still ticked up to 4.3% as labor force growth outpaced job creation. Growth is concentrating in manufacturing, logistics and tech-adjacent trade roles rather than core technology occupations, while statewide engineering degree production (just 1,313 bachelor's awarded in 2024-25) continues to constrain the local pipeline for infrastructure and security talent.
What it means
Systems Administrator pay rising sharply locally (up to $85,619 median) while Cybersecurity Analyst and Network Engineer pay sit flat suggests employers are bidding aggressively for scarce operational talent even as specialized security roles lag national trend lines by $18,000 or more. Thin local engineering pipelines mean build-vs-buy decisions for cybersecurity and advanced infrastructure functions increasingly favor managed services or regional/remote hires over local permanent headcount. Consider reviewing whether current Cybersecurity Analyst compensation reflects genuine local scarcity or simply lags the national repricing of security talent documented this quarter.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Pulaski County unemployment rose to 4.3% even as metro labor force hit record highs — watch whether this reflects new entrants still job-searching or early softening in local tech-adjacent hiring.
Emerging pressure point: The widening gap between flat local Cybersecurity Analyst pay and rising national rates may accelerate remote-work attrition; monitor whether competing offers from out-of-state employers start appearing in exit interviews.
Early indicator: Northwest Arkansas's shift toward offshore hiring for AI and tech roles, driven by local skill shortages, may foreshadow similar build-vs-buy pressure reaching Little Rock's infrastructure and security functions.
Potential inflection point: Arkansas's new consolidated WIOA workforce board structure, approved September 3, redirects funding toward training — watch for early signals of state-subsidized upskilling programs targeting IT or engineering pipelines.
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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