Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Lynchburg, VA MSA — October 2026
Lynchburg IT pay climbs as overall job growth stalls.
Lynchburg has averaged a 25-job monthly loss in 2026, yet Network Engineer pay reached $131,389 locally — above the $115,757 national median.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Lynchburg nonfarm employment: 105,300 — Up 200 jobs in Sept., but 2026 avg. -25/month
- Network Engineer advertised pay, metro: $131,389 — vs $115,757 national median
- Virginia tech WARN filings, 2026: 10 notices / 796 workers — 2nd-highest sector after manufacturing
- Virginia unemployment rate: 3.6% — vs 4.1% national rate, Sept. 2026
Key takeaways
Network Engineer pay has pulled ahead of the national rate.
Metro median of $131,389 now exceeds the national median of $115,757, a reversal from typical secondary-metro discounting. This likely reflects data center and infrastructure buildout competition reaching Lynchburg's labor pool, and retention of incumbent network staff may now carry more value than external recruitment.
Metro job growth is flat while IT pay climbs regardless.
Lynchburg has averaged a 25-job monthly loss across 2026, yet Systems Administrator and Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay both moved up. Wage pressure in specialized IT roles appears decoupled from the metro's broader hiring slowdown, suggesting leaders should benchmark infrastructure and security pay primarily against national trend lines, with local employment conditions as a secondary factor.
Technology layoffs are a growing share of Virginia's WARN activity.
Ten technology WARN notices affecting 796 workers rank second among Virginia industries this year, trailing only manufacturing. Displaced technology talent entering regional candidate pools could ease Help Desk and Systems Administrator sourcing pressure in coming months, worth monitoring for hiring plans currently stalled by scarce supply.
Software Engineer pay sits well below national scale here.
Metro median of $107,500 trails the national figure of $154,403 by nearly $47,000, a wider gap than seen in Network Engineer or Cybersecurity Analyst roles. Build-vs-buy decisions for software development work may favor remote or outsourced arrangements where Lynchburg's discount does not apply to specialized cloud-native skills.
Median advertised pay by role — Lynchburg, VA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $84,015 | $102,300 | $111,000 | Significant increase | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator * | $80,090 | $102,415 | $110,590 | Moderate increase | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $68,877 | $131,389 | $150,950 | Significant increase | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $57,679 | $107,500 | $120,850 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $39,520 | $44,720 | $45,000 | Stable | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst * | $87,654 | $106,943 | $125,140 | Moderate increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager * | $84,896 | $117,272 | $126,020 | 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
Lynchburg MSA nonfarm employment reached 105,300 in September, a modest gain of 200 jobs, but the metro has averaged a monthly loss of 25 jobs across 2026 — a trend distinct from Virginia's statewide 3.6% unemployment rate and 7,800-job September gain. Technology ranks as the second-leading sector for Virginia WARN filings in 2026 (10 notices, 796 workers), a signal that statewide IT contraction pressure may be filtering into secondary markets like Lynchburg even as EDS-and-MEDS employers (Centra Health, Liberty University) continue to anchor local hiring demand.
What it means
Local advertised pay for Network Engineer ($131,389) and Systems Administrator ($102,415) roles now exceeds or matches national medians, which is consistent with a metro competing for scarce infrastructure talent against the national data center hiring boom, a dynamic driven more by that national demand than by the metro's own historically soft job-growth trend. For IT leaders, this disconnect between a cooling local labor market and rising infrastructure-role pay argues for weighting build-vs-buy decisions toward retention of existing network and sysadmin staff over new recruitment, since replacement costs in these roles now track national premiums despite local market slack. Consider reviewing infrastructure and security compensation against national data center-driven pay movements, giving that benchmark more weight than the metro's broader soft employment trend.
Looking ahead
Expected release: October metro-level employment and unemployment data publish November 20. Watch whether the 2026 pattern of monthly job losses persists or reverses, which will shape whether IT headcount planning should assume continued local labor slack.
Emerging pressure point: Technology WARN filings have made Virginia's second-highest-impacted sector in 2026. Track whether any Lynchburg-area or nearby Richmond-corridor technology employers file notices that could shift local candidate supply for infrastructure and security roles.
Worth watching: Network Engineer and Systems Administrator pay in Lynchburg has moved up significantly, converging with or exceeding national levels. Confirm whether this reflects a lasting shift from data center-adjacent demand or a temporary spike tied to a small number of postings.
Potential inflection point: Virginia's 21.1% of job postings open over 60 days signals extended time-to-fill. If this persists locally, it may strengthen the case for outsourcing routine infrastructure or support functions as an alternative to competing for scarce on-prem talent.
Sources
- Virginia Works — Lynchburg MSA added 200 jobs in September, reaching 105,300 total
- Virginia Works / local labor market research — Lynchburg MSA averaged 25 monthly job losses across 2026
- Virginia WARN Act tracker — Technology ranks second among Virginia WARN filing sectors in 2026
- Virginia Works / Bureau of Labor Statistics — Virginia unemployment rate at 3.6% vs 4.1% national rate
- Virginia JOLTS / state labor market data — 21.1% of Virginia job postings open over 60 days
- Indeed Hiring Lab / national labor market research — Data center job postings surged, intensifying competition for infrastructure talent
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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