Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Medford, OR MSA — October 2026
Medford IT pay splits sharply between infrastructure and analytics roles.
Medford Systems Administrator pay climbed to $96,004 while Data Scientist pay fell to $81,869, even as Jackson County unemployment holds near 5.1% against a 4.1% national rate.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Jackson County unemployment: 5.1% — vs. 4.1% national rate (Sept/Oct 2026)
- Jackson County job vacancies: 3,149 — Fall 2025, against 270 net payroll job losses
- Oregon IT posting growth YoY: -10.4% — vs. national IT posting trends broadly positive
- Oregon median IT salary growth: 3.8% YoY — vs. 6.1% national growth (Q2 2026)
Key takeaways
Systems Administrator pay is outrunning the national trend locally.
Medford's advertised median of $96,004 moved up significantly this month, closing much of the gap with the $102,503 national figure. Infrastructure and support talent appears to be commanding a premium locally even as Oregon's overall IT posting volume contracts, consistent with Amazon's Hermiston-Pendleton data center buildout pulling regional infrastructure talent toward competitive pay.
Data Scientist pay collapse signals a stalled build case.
Metro advertised pay for Data Scientist fell to $81,869, well below the $145,881 national median and a significant decline locally. Combined with Oregon's reported 26.9% drop in software developer postings, this suggests Medford employers are deferring advanced analytics hiring to maintain infrastructure and support capacity.
Cybersecurity and project management roles hold pricing power.
Cybersecurity Analyst ($110,510) and IT Project Manager ($121,149) both posted moderate local gains, outpacing or matching national figures. These roles appear insulated from the broader Oregon posting slowdown, reflecting continued employer willingness to pay for risk management and delivery oversight even during headcount caution.
Jackson County's vacancy-unemployment mismatch complicates sourcing.
County unemployment near 5.1% alongside roughly 3,149 reported vacancies points to a skills mismatch, distinct from a labor shortage in the traditional sense. IT leaders competing for scarce technical talent locally may need to weigh remote or hybrid sourcing against the cost and time of building skills internally.
Median advertised pay by role — Medford, OR MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $81,869 | $81,869 | $81,869 | Significant decline | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $92,060 | $96,004 | $96,356 | Significant increase | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $91,575 | $93,600 | $97,509 | Stable | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $87,116 | $122,720 | $155,377 | Significant increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $45,760 | $50,842 | $59,200 | Stable | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst * | $88,118 | $110,510 | $130,083 | Moderate increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager * | $103,140 | $121,149 | $130,000 | 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
Medford's labor market remains soft relative to national conditions, with Jackson County unemployment holding near 5.1% against a national rate of 4.1%, while the county's civilian labor force has expanded faster than job creation, leaving 3,149 reported vacancies alongside a net loss of 270 payroll jobs over the past year. Oregon's statewide IT posting volume is down 10.4% year-over-year and median IT salaries trail the nation badly, a dynamic that appears to be compressing local technology hiring even as infrastructure-adjacent roles show pockets of strength.
What it means
Local pay data shows Systems Administrator and Software Engineer advertised rates climbing sharply in Medford even as Data Scientist pay has fallen significantly, suggesting employers are concentrating compensation dollars on roles tied to infrastructure stability and core engineering, with less spread into raises across other IT functions. This divergence, layered onto Oregon's weak statewide posting activity and a national tech layoff count already exceeding all of 2025, points toward a market where retention dollars are being triaged for specific roles instead of distributed evenly across the IT org chart. Consider reviewing compensation allocation across IT sub-functions now, since broad-based raise budgets may be less effective than targeted increases for the roles showing clear local wage pressure.
Looking ahead
Expected: October MSA-level unemployment data from BLS is due in the coming weeks; watch whether Jackson County's rate moves off the 5.0-5.3% band that has held for over a year, which would signal a meaningful shift in conditions rather than noise.
Emerging pressure point: PacificSource's fourth layoff round since September 2025 (134 workers across Oregon, effective Dec. 31) may add healthcare-adjacent IT and support talent to the regional candidate pool, worth monitoring for Medford-based healthcare IT hiring.
Worth watching: National tech layoffs have already surpassed 133,000 workers for 2026, concentrated in large tech hubs. Displaced remote-capable talent may increasingly look toward lower-cost metros like Medford, a potential sourcing opportunity for infrastructure and security roles.
Potential inflection point: Oregon's median IT salary growth of 3.8% YoY continues to trail the national 6.1% pace; if that gap widens further, expect increased attrition risk for Medford employers whose comp structures track state benchmarks over national ones.
Sources
- KOBI-TV NBC5 — Jackson County unemployment and vacancy figures
- Oregon Business & Industry — Oregon IT posting volume down 10.4% year-over-year
- Oregon Employment Department / ZipRecruiter — Oregon median IT salary growth of 3.8% vs 6.1% national
- Oregon WARN Act filings — PacificSource layoff of 134 workers effective Dec. 31
- Layoffs.fyi — Tech layoffs exceeding 133,000 workers through October 2026
- Oregon Employment Department — Jackson County unemployment at 5.1% with 3,149 vacancies
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.
Free to read and cite with attribution to WageScape. Terms of use.