Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI MSA — October 2026
Twin Cities IT pay splits sharply along infrastructure lines.
Network Engineer pay rose to a $114,400 metro median while Data Scientist pay fell to $132,685, as statewide unemployment climbed to 4.5% against a 4.1% national rate.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment vs. national: 4.5% — Minnesota Sept. vs. 4.1% U.S. rate
- Metro employment change: -4,730 jobs — Sept. month-over-month, no growth since June
- Minnesota real wage growth: 0.0% — Flat vs. 3.7% CPI inflation statewide
- Minnesota WARN notices YTD: 140 notices — 1,473 workers, down 69% from 2025
Key takeaways
Network and security talent are pulling away from the rest of IT.
Network Engineer pay rose significantly to a $114,400 metro median and Cybersecurity Analyst pay held firm at $120,000, both outperforming Data Scientist and IT Project Manager figures that declined this month. Budget conversations should separate infrastructure/security compensation from general IT pay planning rather than treating IT as one labor pool.
Help desk compression signals a shrinking entry-level ladder.
Metro Help Desk/IT Support pay fell to $55,000 against a national figure moving in the same direction, consistent with Minnesota's broader 3.9% decline in office/administrative support roles and 27.5% drop in data-entry positions as automation absorbs routine work. Organizations planning internal IT career pipelines should reassess whether entry-level support roles remain a viable training ground or a shrinking function.
Data Scientist pay softening locally diverges from a stable national market.
Metro median fell to $132,685 while the national figure held at $145,881, a gap that may suggest local employers are pulling back from premium analytics hiring amid the metro's broader Professional & Business Services contraction. Build-vs-buy decisions for data science capacity may tilt toward contract or vendor arrangements until local demand signals firm up.
Statewide wage stagnation raises the cost of standing still on IT pay.
Minnesota wages were flat year-over-year against 3.7% inflation, even as IT-specific roles like Network Engineer and Cybersecurity Analyst moved up. Holding IT compensation flat while inflation erodes real pay elsewhere in the organization may increase the visibility of IT's relative pay advantage internally and externally, raising retention risk if not communicated deliberately.
Median advertised pay by role — Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $108,450 | $132,685 | $148,700 | Moderate decline | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $79,638 | $100,690 | $108,761 | Stable | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $76,564 | $114,400 | $130,488 | Significant increase | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $113,630 | $140,700 | $156,602 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $45,240 | $55,000 | $61,750 | Moderate decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $91,780 | $120,000 | $132,000 | Stable | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $101,943 | $119,340 | $130,000 | Moderate decline | $118,150 |
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
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington shed 4,730 jobs in September on a not-seasonally-adjusted basis, with no positive monthly growth since June, as Professional & Business Services contracts while Education & Health Services expands 3.7% annually — a mix that leaves high-wage corporate IT functions exposed while public-sector and healthcare IT demand holds steadier. Minnesota's unemployment rate climbed to 4.5% in September, above the national 4.1%, even as real wages stayed flat against 3.7% inflation, compressing the purchasing power employers can offer without raising advertised pay.
What it means
Metro conditions are bifurcated by function: Network Engineer and Cybersecurity Analyst pay is rising locally (up significantly and holding at $120,000, respectively) while Data Scientist and IT Project Manager advertised pay is softening, suggesting infrastructure and security hiring remains competitive even as adjacent analytics and PM roles see less urgency. Flat real wages statewide combined with a 4.5% unemployment rate widen the gap between what employers can hold onto through inertia and what they must pay to actively recruit scarce network and security talent. Consider reviewing retention premiums for infrastructure and security staff specifically, rather than applying a flat market adjustment across the IT organization.
Looking ahead
Emerging pressure point: 3M's October 19 WARN filing adds to a year where Minnesota WARN notices are down 69% in affected workers versus 2025, but manufacturing remains the leading sector for notices. Watch whether released technical and engineering talent from manufacturing-adjacent IT functions enters the Twin Cities candidate pool.
Potential inflection point: Metro employment hasn't posted positive monthly growth since June, and Professional & Business Services keeps contracting locally even as national information-sector hiring also slows. A fourth consecutive soft month would sharpen the case for delaying discretionary IT headcount additions outside infrastructure and security.
Worth watching: National AI-related job postings now exceed 7% of all postings, well past the 2022 peak, while local Software Engineer pay rose moderately to $140,700. Track whether Twin Cities employers begin advertising AI-specific premiums similar to the $25,000 national floor premium reported for AI/ML engineering roles.
Early indicator: Minnesota's Black unemployment rate reached 10.5% in August versus 4.2% for white workers, a gap compliance and total rewards teams should monitor alongside any IT hiring or layoff activity. Widening demographic unemployment gaps increase scrutiny on workforce reduction decisions within IT organizations.
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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