Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Racine, WI MSA — October 2026
Racine IT pay splits sharply as broader job market cools.
Racine County unemployment rose to 4.1% even as Cybersecurity Analyst pay climbed to $98,772 and Software Engineer pay to $104,646, while Help Desk pay fell to $44,520.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Racine County unemployment: 4.1% — Up 0.4 pts YoY; 8th-highest of 72 WI counties
- Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay: $98,772 — Up significantly, metro median
- Help Desk/IT Support advertised pay: $44,520 — Down significantly, metro vs $53,129 national
- Wisconsin nonfarm payrolls: -13,700 — Month-over-month decline, September 2026
Key takeaways
Cybersecurity pay is pulling away from the rest of IT.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay rose to $98,772, a significant year-over-year gain that now nearly matches Data Scientist pay in this market. Security headcount plans should assume continued upward pressure even as broader metro employment softens.
Help desk pay is falling as manufacturing employment contracts.
Metro Help Desk/IT Support advertised pay dropped significantly to $44,520, consistent with Racine's -1.5% employment decline among major Wisconsin counties and a shrinking manufacturing base that anchors local IT support demand. Softening demand for entry-level support may create room to shift these functions to shared-service or outsourced models without a retention penalty.
Local unemployment is rising while advertised tech pay climbs.
Racine County unemployment reached 4.1% in August, up 0.4 points year-over-year, yet Software Engineer pay rose significantly to $104,646 locally. Divergence between broad labor slack and specialized technical wage growth suggests talent scarcity is concentrated in specific skill tiers, a signal to segment compensation strategy by skill tier and apply targeted adjustments.
Remote-work scarcity compounds Racine's retention exposure.
Only 2% of Wisconsin tech openings are remote, while 41% of technologists nationally say they would trade salary for flexibility. Metro employers may be paying a premium for in-person technical talent without fully pricing in the retention risk this gap creates versus hybrid-friendly competitors.
Median advertised pay by role — Racine, WI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $91,854 | $98,776 | $99,059 | Stable | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator * | $74,294 | $85,280 | $94,210 | Stable | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $78,607 | $86,225 | $97,500 | Moderate increase | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $50,276 | $104,646 | $125,283 | Significant increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $39,837 | $44,520 | $49,567 | Significant decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst * | $76,826 | $98,772 | $110,363 | Significant increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $74,896 | $91,135 | $99,888 | Significant 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
Racine County's unemployment rate climbed to 4.1% in August, the eighth-highest among Wisconsin's 72 counties, even as the metro's manufacturing base continues shedding positions year-over-year and nonfarm payrolls statewide dropped 13,700 in September. Against that backdrop, Software Engineer and Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay in the metro posted significant year-over-year gains, suggesting employers are concentrating wage pressure on a narrow band of technical roles while leaving pay elsewhere across IT largely flat.
What it means
Rising local unemployment alongside sharp advertised pay growth for Software Engineer ($104,646) and Cybersecurity Analyst ($98,772) roles signals a bifurcated market: generalist and entry-level IT functions face slack labor supply while specialized technical talent remains scarce and expensive to retain. With 98% of Wisconsin tech openings requiring in-person work, infrastructure and security leaders competing against remote-friendly national employers face a structural retention disadvantage that outsourcing or managed-services arrangements may help offset for commoditized functions. Consider reviewing which infrastructure and support roles could shift to hybrid delivery or third-party management, freeing budget to defend pay for the cybersecurity and engineering talent driving this month's wage movement.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Racine County's unemployment rate, now 4.1% and rising, continues tracking above the metro's June reading of 3.9% — a sustained climb would widen the gap between available general IT labor and the specialized talent still commanding premium pay.
Emerging pressure point: Wisconsin manufacturing employment is forecast roughly 1.3% below year-ago levels into October, a sector that anchors much of Racine's on-prem IT support demand. Continued contraction may accelerate the shift toward outsourced infrastructure support already visible in falling Help Desk advertised pay.
Worth watching: Statewide WARN filings remain modest (56 notices, 3,914 workers in 2026), but any uptick in manufacturing or logistics filings near Racine could release IT support and infrastructure talent into the local candidate pool, easing some near-term hiring pressure.
Potential inflection point: National data center and infrastructure hiring is up sharply (job ads, a signal of hiring demand, up 20% in three months) while tech-hub metros pull back. Racine's lower cost base and manufacturing-adjacent infrastructure footprint could position it to capture some of that relocating demand if local employers move quickly on competitive offers.
Sources
- USAfacts/Bureau of Labor Statistics — Racine County unemployment at 4.1% in August, 8th-highest in WI
- BLS/Wisconsin DWD — Wisconsin nonfarm payrolls fell 13,700 month-over-month
- State labor market research aggregation — 98% of Wisconsin tech openings are in-person, 2% remote
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Racine County employment fell 1.5% year-over-year, largest decline among major WI counties
- National IT labor market research — Data center job postings grew 20% in three months nationally
- Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development — Wisconsin WARN filings totaled 56 notices, 3,914 workers in 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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