Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · September 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Peoria, IL MSA — September 2026
Peoria IT pay climbs even as the metro keeps shedding jobs.
Peoria County posted the state's largest weekly wage gain at 6.9% even as the metro's unemployment rate sits at 4.5% and local IT roles like Cybersecurity Analyst ($115,589) now out-earn their national counterparts.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Peoria MSA unemployment rate: 4.5% — Down from 4.7% in July 2026
- Peoria County weekly wage growth: +6.9% — Largest gain among large IL counties, Q1 2026
- Peoria MSA job growth ranking: 7th-worst since 2006 — Avg. -100 jobs/month in 2026
- Illinois WARN notices YTD: 91 notices / 16,782 workers — Includes Information-sector employers
Key takeaways
Peoria's wage growth outpaces its job growth — a warning sign, not a strength.
A 6.9% weekly wage gain alongside a seventh-worst-in-state job growth ranking since 2006 suggests employers are paying more for a shrinking pool, not expanding teams. Budget for retention costs in core IT functions even without net headcount growth.
Network Engineer pay is falling locally while rising nationally.
Metro advertised pay for Network Engineers sits at $81,006, down moderately, against a national median of $114,400 that continues to climb. This divergence is consistent with local employers de-prioritizing traditional network infrastructure roles in favor of cloud and security investment — a signal to reassess role scope before backfilling.
Cybersecurity pay in Peoria has pulled ahead of the national figure.
Local Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay of $115,589 now exceeds the national median of $106,790, an unusual inversion for this metro. Combined with statewide reports of 10-15% mid-level cybersecurity salary increases, this points to acute local scarcity rather than a one-month anomaly.
IT Project Manager pay jumped significantly — watch for a project backlog signal.
Peoria's IT Project Manager advertised pay rose significantly this month, a sharper move than the broader IT role set. This may suggest organizations are competing to staff delayed modernization or cloud migration initiatives, rather than simply tracking national wage trends.
Median advertised pay by role — Peoria, IL MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $99,378 | $128,005 | $147,925 | Moderate increase | $148,250 |
| Systems Administrator | $80,999 | $86,922 | $86,949 | Moderate increase | $101,168 |
| Network Engineer | $50,537 | $81,006 | $91,569 | Moderate decline | $114,400 |
| Software Engineer | $68,232 | $115,000 | $128,098 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $42,902 | $50,256 | $66,763 | Moderate increase | $53,644 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $84,294 | $115,589 | $131,966 | Moderate increase | $106,790 |
| IT Project Manager | $83,649 | $95,050 | $103,500 | Significant increase | $117,530 |
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
Peoria MSA unemployment improved to 4.5% in August, down from 4.7% in July, even as the metro continues a structural pattern of monthly job losses averaging 100 positions through 2026 — a divergence that points to labor supply tightening faster than labor demand is recovering. Peoria County's 6.9% weekly wage gain, the largest among large Illinois counties, suggests employers are bidding up pay for a shrinking available workforce rather than responding to broad job growth.
What it means
Thin local labor supply combined with outsized wage growth in Peoria means IT leaders are competing for a smaller pool of candidates while Chicago-based and national employers advertise cybersecurity and AI-adjacent roles at a growing premium — Network Engineer advertised pay in Peoria has actually declined (-moderate), even as national demand for the same skill rises, hinting at a local supply-demand mismatch rather than true market softening. Illinois' new salary range disclosure requirement further narrows negotiation room on offers, raising the cost of retaining specialized infrastructure and security talent relative to filling commodity support roles through contract or outsourced arrangements. Consider reviewing which infrastructure and network roles could shift to managed services or global sourcing arrangements, reserving permanent headcount growth for cybersecurity and cloud roles where Peoria's advertised pay is already accelerating.
Looking ahead
Expected: September 2026 BLS data for Peoria releases in late October; watch whether the unemployment improvement to 4.5% holds or reverses, since the metro has shown volatility between 4.5% and 5.1% within the same year.
Emerging pressure point: Illinois WARN filings (91 notices, 16,782 workers year-to-date) include Information-sector employers like T-Mobile and GoHealth; track whether any displaced Chicago-area technical talent enters the Peoria candidate pool given regional commuting and remote-work patterns.
Worth watching: Illinois' salary range disclosure law is now in its first full budgeting cycle for many employers; monitor whether Peoria postings for cybersecurity and cloud roles show compressed ranges as employers calibrate to compliance and competitive pressure simultaneously.
Potential inflection point: National Indeed Job Postings Index turned positive year-over-year for the first time in nearly four years; if that national momentum reaches central Illinois, it could tighten an already thin Peoria IT labor pool further, raising retention stakes for infrastructure and support staff.
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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