Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: OK NONMETROPOLITAN AREA — October 2026
Ada's thin IT talent pool is pushing pay decisions toward retention.
Oklahoma hiring churn has slowed to historic lows per the Kansas City Fed, and with metro Help Desk pay down significantly to $46,300 against a $53,129 national median, Ada-area IT leaders face a market where holding talent matters more than chasing it.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Oklahoma unemployment rate: 4.2% — Up from 3.6% a year earlier (BLS, Sept. 2026)
- Rural job growth share: 12% — vs. 40% of state population in rural counties
- Oklahoma tech employment growth, 2020-2025: 2.3% — vs. 10.1% nationally; ranks 47th
- National tech layoffs, 2026 YTD: 133,417 workers — 325 companies, already exceeds all of 2025
Key takeaways
Local hiring churn has slowed to a near-standstill.
Kansas City Fed research describes Oklahoma hiring activity at historic lows even as employment holds steady, which in a market like Ada means fewer active candidates are testing the outside market. Retention strategy is the more defensible lever right now.
Support and infrastructure pay gaps look structurally wide.
Metro Help Desk/IT Support pay sits at $46,300, down significantly, while Systems Administrator pay rose to $76,036 — both trail national medians by wide margins ($53,129 and $102,503 respectively). Gaps this large make outsourcing or managed-services options for routine support work increasingly worth comparing against the cost of competing on pay.
Cybersecurity pay is flat locally while national demand accelerates.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay holds stable at $80,386 against a national median of $107,327 that is moving up. A gap this size, paired with a thin rural talent pool, raises the risk that security hires are recruited away by remote-first employers paying national rates.
Rural talent scarcity is pushing build-vs-buy decisions toward buy.
Only 12% of Oklahoma's net new jobs over the past year landed outside the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metros, underscoring how little infrastructure and security talent is being added in markets like Ada. Current conditions suggest organizations should weigh distributed or offshore staffing for specialized roles given the limits on local hiring pace.
Median advertised pay by role — OK NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $103,348 | $125,780 | $134,679 | Moderate increase | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $63,980 | $76,036 | $83,042 | Moderate increase | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $86,965 | $102,444 | $103,349 | Stable | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $100,496 | $137,327 | $150,520 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $38,967 | $46,300 | $50,129 | Significant decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $73,667 | $80,386 | $88,767 | Stable | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $81,983 | $97,541 | $121,277 | Stable | $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
Ada-area employment conditions track the broader Oklahoma nonmetro pattern: rural counties captured only 12% of statewide job growth over the past year while holding nearly 40% of the population, leaving local IT and business leaders to draw from a thin, slow-growing talent pool. Statewide unemployment climbed to 4.2% in September, up from 3.6% a year earlier, and Kansas City Fed reporting shows Oklahoma hiring has slowed to historic lows — a signal that local employers are focused on retaining staff.
What it means
Thin rural labor supply combined with historically low hiring churn means IT leaders in Ada face longer fill times and fewer qualified local candidates for infrastructure, security and support roles, reinforcing the case for remote or hybrid sourcing beyond the immediate metro. Oklahoma's broader tech sector grew only 2.3% from 2020-2025 against 10.1% nationally, and with 47.2% of in-state STEM graduates staying put versus 17% moving to Texas, retention economics are the priority in this market. Consider reviewing whether current infrastructure and support compensation is competitive enough to hold existing staff, since replacing them from a shallow local bench carries real cost and delay.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Oklahoma's statewide unemployment rate has risen nearly a full point year-over-year to 4.2%; watch whether that softening reaches Ada's labor pool and eases the current scarcity in infrastructure and support hiring.
Emerging pressure point: National tech layoffs have already exceeded 133,000 workers through late October 2026, concentrated in major tech hubs. Watch whether any of that displaced talent, particularly in cloud or security specialties, becomes reachable for remote Ada-based roles at more competitive rates.
Early indicator: AI-skilled roles are drawing premium pay statewide, with Oklahoma AI positions averaging $127,400 against a $87,700 median across tech occupations. Monitor whether this wage pressure spreads into adjacent infrastructure and systems administration postings over the next two months.
Potential inflection point: Surveys show 87% of Oklahoma employees cite a lack of leadership support for technology adoption and 66% report tool or system gaps. Expect this to keep favoring managed-service and outsourcing arrangements over internal modernization efforts through year-end.
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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