Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Longview, TX MSA — October 2026
Longview network engineer pay slides as state tech demand tightens.
Longview's Network Engineer advertised pay sits at $79,637 against a $115,757 national median even as Texas projects 32,238 net new tech jobs this year, putting retention pressure on infrastructure talent with remote options.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Longview unemployment rate: 4.6% — Down from 5.0% in August, still above 4.2% national
- Longview annual job growth: +600 jobs — Over 12 months, against a Sept. monthly drop of 400
- Network Engineer pay gap: $79,637 vs $115,757 — Metro vs national median, metro down significantly
- Texas net new tech jobs (2026 proj.): 32,238 — CompTIA projection, outpacing available labor supply
Key takeaways
Network Engineer pay gap signals a retention exposure.
Metro advertised pay sits $36,000 below the national median, a significant divergence while national network engineering pay trends upward with data center expansion. Treat this as a flight risk indicator for infrastructure staff with remote options.
Systems Administrator and Cybersecurity Analyst pay are both climbing locally.
Both roles show moderate upward movement in Longview, tracking the national pattern where IT systems and security talent command a premium amid 4.7% national wage growth in IT systems and solutions. Expect continued compression against specialized AI/ML roles commanding $25,000 premiums, making sysadmin and security talent comparatively easier to retain.
Flat local job growth favors outsourcing for commodity infrastructure work.
Longview's net 600-job annual gain against a 400-position monthly decline in September points to employer caution on headcount. Combined with statewide labor supply constraints, this is consistent with Texas firms increasingly favoring MSP and outsourced arrangements for routine support and infrastructure roles.
Help Desk pay stability masks a widening national gap.
Metro Help Desk pay is stable at $51,951 while the national median is declining, narrowing what was previously a cost advantage for centralizing support functions locally. Reassess whether Longview support hubs still carry a meaningful cost edge over other secondary markets.
Median advertised pay by role — Longview, TX MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist * | $116,545 | $142,189 | $161,200 | Stable | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator * | $77,370 | $96,874 | $107,640 | Moderate increase | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $74,811 | $79,637 | $82,891 | Significant decline | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer * | $113,625 | $152,500 | $167,458 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist * | $41,883 | $51,951 | $57,397 | Stable | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst * | $85,573 | $102,924 | $118,044 | Moderate increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager * | $89,852 | $115,729 | $127,085 | Stable | $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
Longview MSA unemployment eased to 4.6% in September from 5.0% in August, yet the metro added only 600 jobs over the year and nonfarm employment actually fell 400 positions month-over-month to 124.7 thousand — a labor market loosening on paper but still thin on net hiring momentum. Statewide tech demand continues to outpace supply (CompTIA projects 32,238 net new Texas tech jobs this year), which keeps pressure on secondary markets like Longview to compete for infrastructure and support talent against larger metros and the Austin semiconductor buildout.
What it means
Flat net job growth alongside declining unemployment suggests Longview employers are managing headcount cautiously, consistent with the state's pattern of raising output through productivity gains. Network Engineer advertised pay in the metro has fallen significantly ($79,637 versus a $115,757 national median) even as national demand for network infrastructure roles rises with data center buildout — a divergence that likely reflects either weaker local bargaining power or a market where remote/hybrid postings are pulling talent toward higher-paying metros. Organizations should evaluate whether locally advertised network engineering pay is sufficient to retain mid-career talent before losing them to remote postings tied to national rates.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Whether Network Engineer advertised pay in Longview stabilizes or continues declining will indicate if local employers are ceding ground to remote/national postings. A continued slide could accelerate attrition among infrastructure staff with hybrid or remote options.
Potential inflection point: October's tech layoff total of 133,417 nationally already exceeds all of 2025, raising the question of whether displaced infrastructure or security talent begins surfacing in the Longview candidate pool over the next 60 days.
Emerging pressure point: Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act compliance deadlines apply to any AI tool used in screening or monitoring performance — IT leaders overseeing applicant tracking or workforce monitoring systems should confirm audit readiness before enforcement attention increases.
Early indicator: Dallas Fed's October manufacturing employment index slowed to 11.6 from 15.1, a signal worth tracking given manufacturing's role in Longview's recent job gains; a continued slowdown could soften local IT support demand tied to industrial operations.
Sources
- Texas Workforce Commission — Longview MSA unemployment rate and job growth figures
- CompTIA — CompTIA projection of 32,238 net new Texas tech jobs
- Layoffs tracking aggregator — National tech layoffs exceeding 133,000 through October 2026
- Texas Legislature — Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act requirements
- Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas — Dallas Fed manufacturing employment index decline
- Texas Workforce Commission — Longview nonfarm employment figures for September 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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