Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Logan, UT-ID MSA — October 2026
Cache Valley IT pay splits: security up, infrastructure down.
Logan-area Cybersecurity Analyst pay has climbed to $120,000, above the $107,327 national median, while local Systems Administrator pay trends down against a rising national figure of $102,503.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Logan MSA unemployment: 3.1% — vs 3.5% Utah, 4.1% national (July 2026)
- Utah information-sector jobs: -2,300 — 12-month loss through Aug 2026, every month negative
- Cybersecurity Analyst pay, metro vs national: $120,000 vs $107,327 — Metro trending up significantly
- Systems Administrator pay, metro vs national: $93,808 vs $102,503 — Metro down, national up
Key takeaways
Cache Valley's low unemployment masks an IT pay gap.
3.1% metro unemployment suggests a tight labor market overall, but Systems Administrator and Software Engineer advertised pay are both trending down locally while national pay for the same roles holds flat or climbs. Low local joblessness does not guarantee competitive technical compensation — remote-capable roles are exposed to out-of-market bidding.
Cybersecurity pay premium signals a defensive hiring posture.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay at $120,000 runs above the $107,327 national median and shows significant upward movement, consistent with national data showing 87% of tech leaders paying premiums for specialized skills. Organizations that haven't repriced security roles this year are likely bidding behind the market.
Statewide information-sector job losses complicate build-vs-buy math.
Utah's information sector has posted year-over-year job losses in every 2026 report even as overall state employment grew 1.4%, narrowing the local talent pipeline IT leaders can hire from. Thinner local supply, paired with DevOps and cloud roles commanding $115K-$200K statewide, strengthens the case for selectively outsourcing routine infrastructure work instead of competing for scarce specialists.
Help Desk pay climbing locally bucks the national trend.
Metro Help Desk/IT Support pay sits at $63,997 and trending up, well above the national median of $53,129, which is trending down. That divergence may reflect Logan-area employers using frontline support compensation to compete for entry-level talent in a market with fewer IT workers overall, worth watching for budget planning on support-tier headcount.
Median advertised pay by role — Logan, UT-ID MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist * | $112,543 | $145,258 | $163,903 | Stable | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $68,488 | $93,808 | $100,636 | Moderate decline | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer * | $78,857 | $109,853 | $129,506 | Moderate increase | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $49,970 | $102,437 | $127,352 | Moderate decline | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $46,139 | $63,997 | $68,270 | Moderate increase | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst * | $90,192 | $120,000 | $134,982 | Significant increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager * | $86,905 | $115,230 | $125,030 | 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
Cache Valley's IT labor market runs tighter than both state and national benchmarks, with Logan MSA unemployment at 3.1% in July 2026 against Utah's 3.5% and the nation's 4.1%, even as Utah's information sector shed 2,300 jobs over the trailing twelve months through August. Local employers compete for a shrinking statewide IT pipeline while Northrop Grumman and the broader Wasatch Front data-center buildout pull specialized infrastructure and security talent toward Salt Lake, leaving Logan-area organizations to source scarcer candidates against a backdrop of advertised pay that is falling for some core IT roles even as demand holds.
What it means
Divergent local pay signals — Systems Administrator advertised pay down against a rising national trend, Software Engineer pay down locally while national pay holds flat near $154,403 — suggest Logan employers may be underpricing roles relative to the talent they're competing for against Salt Lake and remote national employers, risking quiet attrition even where vacancies remain unopened. Cybersecurity Analyst pay up significantly locally to $120,000, above the national median of $107,327, signals employers are already paying a premium to secure scarce security talent in a market where the statewide information-sector pipeline keeps shrinking. Consider reviewing Systems Administrator and Software Engineer compensation against national trendlines before assuming low local unemployment reflects adequate pay competitiveness for technical roles that can be filled remotely from tighter-paying markets.
Looking ahead
Expected: BLS will release November MSA-level unemployment data for Logan in the coming weeks, filling a gap in current metro figures. Watch whether the 3.1% July reading holds or drifts upward alongside the statewide trend from 3.3% to 3.5%.
Emerging pressure point: Utah's information-sector job losses have now persisted through every 2026 monthly report. If that trend deepens, Logan-area IT leaders may find fewer qualified local candidates for infrastructure and support roles, raising the relative cost of remote or out-of-state hiring.
Worth watching: Salt Lake's data-center buildout, projected at 700% growth by 2030, continues pulling hybrid and on-prem infrastructure talent north from Cache Valley. Expect continued upward pressure on Network Engineer and Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay as Logan employers compete with that demand.
Potential inflection point: Systems Administrator and Software Engineer advertised pay are both trending down locally against rising or stable national figures. A continued widening of that gap may signal growing reliance on remote hires or outsourced arrangements for these roles, with local recruitment playing a smaller role.
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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