Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA — October 2026
Security pay climbs locally while data science and PM roles soften.
Inland Empire Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay jumped to $125,364 against a national median of $107,327, even as local Data Scientist pay fell to $106,150 versus $145,881 nationally.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Inland Empire unemployment: 5.7% — Down from 5.9% in August 2026
- Cybersecurity Analyst pay (metro): $125,364 — vs $107,327 national median
- Data Scientist pay (metro): $106,150 — vs $145,881 national median, stable
- CA Computer Systems Design employment: -4.7% — Year-over-year through September 2026
Key takeaways
Security pay is pulling away from the rest of IT.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay rose significantly to $125,364, well above the national median of $107,327, while Data Scientist and IT Project Manager pay fell locally. Compensation strategy should treat security as a distinct, fast-moving benchmarking category and review it separately from general IT pay reviews.
Data Scientist pay softened sharply while demand held nationally.
Metro Data Scientist advertised pay dropped to $106,150 against a stable national median of $145,881 — a gap suggesting local employers are either downleveling roles or facing weaker demand than the broader market. Organizations should evaluate whether this reflects local oversupply or a signal to widen remote sourcing for analytics talent.
Systems Administrator pay is rising even as core tech hiring contracts.
Metro Systems Administrator advertised pay climbed moderately to $104,349, above the national median of $102,503, despite California's 4.7% year-over-year decline in Computer Systems Design employment. Current conditions suggest infrastructure and on-prem support roles are tightening locally even as cloud-native and project-management hiring cools.
IT Project Manager pay decline may reflect frozen discretionary projects.
Metro IT Project Manager advertised pay fell moderately to $101,561, trailing the national median of $118,150 by a wide margin. This pattern is consistent with California's broader hiring freeze in computer systems design, and may signal organizations deferring new initiatives while holding headcount steady.
Median advertised pay by role — Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $97,826 | $106,150 | $122,500 | Significant decline | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $83,048 | $104,349 | $112,958 | Moderate increase | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $78,776 | $105,364 | $119,927 | Stable | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $113,128 | $144,633 | $162,824 | Moderate decline | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $46,388 | $55,070 | $65,000 | Moderate decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $89,666 | $125,364 | $135,200 | Significant increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $83,745 | $101,561 | $114,064 | Moderate decline | $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
Inland Empire unemployment eased to 5.7% in September, down from 5.9% in August, as public-sector education hiring and transportation/warehousing gains offset a 4.7% year-over-year decline in Computer Systems Design employment across California. Metro IT hiring is splitting sharply by function — Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay climbed to $125,364 (up significantly) while Data Scientist and IT Project Manager postings fell, consistent with California's broader hiring freeze in core tech roles even as statewide IT systems wages rose 4.7% year-over-year.
What it means
Metro-level pay divergence — Cybersecurity Analyst advertised rates up significantly against falling Data Scientist and IT Project Manager pay — signals employers are concentrating scarce compensation dollars on security and infrastructure roles while deprioritizing data science and project management hires amid the broader California tech hiring pullback. With Sacramento and San Diego salaries running 35-40% below Bay Area rates and 41% of technologists willing to trade salary for remote flexibility, headcount planning favors shifting routine infrastructure and support roles to lower-cost secondary markets while reserving premium compensation for security and AI-adjacent talent retention locally. Consider reviewing whether current Cybersecurity Analyst and Systems Administrator pay levels reflect the metro's upward trend before Q1 budget cycles lock in rates that lag the market.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Riverside County's unemployment rate improved to 5.9% in September from 6.2% in August — watch whether this translates into tighter competition for infrastructure and support talent or reflects seasonal public-sector hiring that reverses in winter.
Emerging pressure point: California's computer professional exemption threshold rises to $122,573.13 annually effective January 2026, a 3.3% increase that will force cost reviews on IT staff near that line, particularly Systems Administrators and IT Project Managers currently below the new floor.
Early indicator: Statewide WARN filings have already produced 16,000-plus technology job cuts in 2026; watch whether displaced Computer Systems Design talent from Bay Area layoffs begins surfacing in Inland Empire applicant pools, which could ease Cybersecurity Analyst and Systems Administrator sourcing pressure.
Potential inflection point: National AI-related job postings now represent 7.3% of all postings, surpassing the 2022 peak. Monitor whether this national pull reshapes local Data Scientist demand and reverses this month's local pay softness.
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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