Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Missoula, MT MSA — October 2026
Missoula IT pay splits sharply between infrastructure and software roles.
Network Engineer pay jumped to $107,681 in Missoula while Software Engineer pay fell to $121,936, as a 2.3% metro unemployment rate masks a widening compensation gap between scarce infrastructure talent and a cooling software labor pool.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Missoula County unemployment: 2.3% — vs 4.2% statewide, 4.1% national
- Network Engineer advertised pay: $107,681 — Up significantly, nearing $115,757 national
- Software Engineer advertised pay: $121,936 — Down significantly vs $154,403 national
- National tech layoffs, YTD: 133,417 — Already exceeds all of 2025 (325 companies)
Key takeaways
Network Engineer pay is pulling away from the rest of the IT stack.
Metro advertised pay for Network Engineers hit $107,681, up significantly and now closing in on the national median of $115,757. Infrastructure buildout tied to Montana's technology hub designation appears to be concentrating employer spend on this role specifically.
Software Engineer and Data Scientist pay softened sharply this month.
Metro Software Engineer pay fell to $121,936 and Data Scientist pay dropped to $79,323, both significant declines and well below national medians of $154,403 and $145,881. This gap is consistent with national tech layoff volume (133,417 through October) easing competitive pressure on generalist software and analytics roles while specialist infrastructure and security talent stays scarce.
Help desk compensation keeps eroding, locally and nationally.
Metro Help Desk/IT Support pay fell significantly to $43,204, tracking a national decline to $53,129. Entry-level support roles look increasingly exposed to automation and AI-assisted ticketing, a signal for workforce planning around junior IT headcount.
IT Project Manager pay is bucking the local downturn.
Metro IT Project Manager pay rose to $120,012, moderately ahead of the $118,150 national median — one of the few roles where local pay now exceeds the national figure. This may reflect demand for coordination talent managing hybrid infrastructure and vendor relationships over hands-on technical delivery.
Median advertised pay by role — Missoula, MT MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $77,465 | $79,323 | $115,113 | Significant decline | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $67,082 | $86,488 | $94,536 | Stable | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $82,500 | $107,681 | $112,491 | Significant increase | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $105,528 | $121,936 | $140,000 | Significant decline | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $35,396 | $43,204 | $55,000 | Significant decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst * | $85,040 | $105,000 | $126,000 | Moderate increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $96,085 | $120,012 | $136,558 | 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
Missoula County's unemployment rate held at 2.3% in September, a full 1.9 points below the statewide 4.2% rate, reflecting a metro-level tightness that contrasts with cooling conditions elsewhere in Montana. Hospitality losses (roughly 440 positions since mid-2024) are being offset by continued momentum in healthcare, professional services and technology, while a broader statewide pattern described as 'no-hire, no-fire' suggests employers are retaining IT staff and holding off on expanding payrolls.
What it means
Metro conditions point toward a retention-first posture for IT leaders: local Network Engineer pay rose sharply this month and Cybersecurity Analyst pay climbed moderately even as Software Engineer and Data Scientist advertised pay fell, signaling employers are concentrating scarce compensation dollars on infrastructure and security roles over broader, uniform increases. With Montana tech wages already closing the historic gap to national peers and remote work normalized (53% part-time remote, 30% fully remote statewide), build-vs-buy decisions increasingly favor retaining local infrastructure/security talent while sourcing software development and data work through remote or outsourced channels. Consider reviewing whether current compensation allocation matches this bifurcation, instead of applying uniform raises across all IT functions.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Montana's October Labor Market Information report releases November 20 and will show whether Missoula's 2.3% unemployment rate held or tightened further. A continued gap against the statewide 4.2% rate would reinforce that metro-level IT hiring competition remains unusually intense relative to the rest of the state.
Emerging pressure point: Computer and math occupations remain among Montana's hardest-to-fill categories even as overall state employment stays flat. IT leaders planning headcount additions in security or infrastructure should expect extended time-to-fill and may need to widen remote candidate searches to supplement local pipelines.
Potential inflection point: National tech layoffs already exceed all of 2025, and information-sector hiring rates have fallen to 1.6% nationally. Watch whether laid-off software and data talent from larger tech hubs begins surfacing in the Missoula candidate pool, which could help explain this month's local pay softness in those roles.
Early indicator: Montana's minimum wage rises to $11.20 effective January 1, 2027. While this directly affects frontline and hospitality wages and does not apply to IT roles, compressed entry-level pay elsewhere in the local labor market could influence expectations for junior IT support compensation heading into 2027 budget cycles.
Sources
- Montana Department of Labor & Industry — Missoula County unemployment at 2.3% in September 2026, vs 4.2% statewide
- NBC Montana — Hospitality sector lost ~440 positions in Missoula County, June 2024-June 2025
- Montana labor market research — Montana tech wages reached $146K average, closing historic gap to US peers
- Layoffs tracking aggregator — 133,417 tech employees laid off at 325 companies through Oct 21, 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — US information-sector hire rate fell to 1.6% of employment by August 2026
- Montana Department of Labor & Industry — Montana minimum wage rises to $11.20 effective January 1, 2027
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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