Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Ogden-Clearfield, UT MSA — October 2026
Ogden's cybersecurity pay premium breaks from the national pattern.
Ogden-Clearfield cybersecurity analyst pay hit $128,111 against a $107,327 national median, even as Utah's information sector kept shedding jobs through every 2026 report.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.5% — vs 4.1% national rate, Oct 2026
- Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay: $128,111 — vs $107,327 national median
- Utah information-sector job change: -2,300 jobs — 12 months through August 2026, every month negative
- Network Engineer advertised pay movement: Up, significant — $109,017 metro vs $115,757 national
Key takeaways
Network engineer pay is outrunning the national trend.
Metro advertised pay of $109,017 is up significantly this month versus moderate national movement, consistent with data-center and hybrid infrastructure buildout drawing scarce local talent. Budgeting against stale national figures risks underpricing these roles in Ogden specifically.
Cybersecurity pay has flipped the usual metro-national relationship.
Ogden's $128,111 median now sits roughly $21,000 above the $107,327 national figure, an unusual premium for a secondary market. This may reflect defense, aerospace and financial-services employers in the region competing hard for compliance-grade security talent.
A shrinking information sector still shows strong IT demand.
Utah's information-sector job losses have run through every 2026 report even as construction, healthcare and data-center-adjacent roles expand statewide. IT leaders should separate sector-classification data from actual function-level hiring need when reading state labor reports.
National tech layoffs offer a sourcing opportunity alongside the risk signal.
With over 133,000 tech layoffs nationally through October, displaced specialists in AI, security and cloud infrastructure may be more open to secondary metros like Ogden, especially with 41% of technologists willing to trade salary for remote flexibility.
Median advertised pay by role — Ogden-Clearfield, UT MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $95,801 | $136,973 | $152,590 | Stable | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $74,919 | $99,743 | $105,920 | Stable | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $78,961 | $109,017 | $127,664 | Significant increase | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $115,300 | $149,179 | $164,523 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $40,257 | $50,960 | $54,737 | Stable | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $88,886 | $128,111 | $138,846 | Moderate increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $95,000 | $118,625 | $125,842 | Moderate increase | $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
Ogden-Clearfield's 3.5% unemployment rate continues to run roughly 70 basis points below the national average, but Utah's information sector has shed jobs in every monthly report of 2026, a contraction that cuts against the metro's broader 1,000-jobs-added pace in July and August. Statewide data-center expansion plans — projected at 700% growth in the Salt Lake region by 2030 — are pulling infrastructure demand toward hybrid and on-prem roles even as cloud-native talent concentrates in costlier coastal markets experiencing hiring pullbacks.
What it means
Shrinking information-sector headcount alongside tight overall labor supply means IT leaders in Ogden are competing for a smaller local talent pool while advertised pay for cybersecurity analysts ($128,111, up moderately) and network engineers ($109,017, up significantly) climbs faster locally than nationally. Data-center buildout nearby favors organizations that can offer hybrid infrastructure career paths, particularly as national tech layoffs exceeding 133,000 workers create a pool of specialized candidates open to secondary markets; this matters most for employers unable to compete purely on cloud-native comp. Consider evaluating whether infrastructure and security headcount plans account for this local wage premium before assuming parity with national benchmarking figures.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Utah's information-sector job losses stabilize or deepen in November reporting — a continued slide would tighten the local technical labor pool further even as overall metro employment grows.
Emerging pressure point: Data-center construction announcements in the Salt Lake corridor are likely to intensify competition for network engineering and infrastructure talent in Ogden over the next two quarters, given the metro's already-significant upward pay movement in that role.
Worth watching: National tech WARN activity, including Intel's 1,509-worker filing, may push displaced infrastructure and security talent toward Utah's lower-cost labor market — track whether local applicant volume for cybersecurity and network roles shifts in coming weeks.
Potential inflection point: Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay has now diverged meaningfully from the national median; sustained divergence over another reporting cycle would confirm a structural regional premium worth building into multi-year compensation planning.
Sources
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Ogden-Clearfield unemployment rate at 3.5%
- Utah Department of Workforce Services — Utah information sector lost 2,300 jobs over 12 months
- Gardner Policy Institute — Salt Lake region data-center growth projection of 700% by 2030
- Layoffs.fyi — Tech layoffs exceeded 133,000 workers through October 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — National unemployment rate at 4.1% in October 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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