Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: San Angelo, TX MSA — October 2026
San Angelo's tight labor market pushes IT security pay toward national parity.
San Angelo's 3.5% unemployment rate, among the lowest in Texas, is coinciding with a significant jump in advertised Cybersecurity Analyst pay to $101,584 — nearly closing the gap with the $107,327 national median.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- San Angelo unemployment rate: 3.5% — vs 4.4% Texas, 4.2% U.S. national
- Cybersecurity Analyst pay movement: $101,584 — Up significantly, closing in on $107,327 national
- San Angelo nonfarm employment: 54,100 — Series-high, +600 jobs (1.1%) year-over-year
- Texas tech job supply gap: 32,238 jobs — CompTIA-projected net new TX tech jobs this year
Key takeaways
Cybersecurity pay is closing the gap with national rates.
San Angelo's Cybersecurity Analyst advertised median climbed significantly to $101,584, narrowing the gap against the $107,327 national figure. That convergence suggests local employers can no longer rely on a secondary-market discount to secure security talent, and budget planning should reflect national-level competition for this role.
Help desk pay is rising locally while falling nationally.
San Angelo's Help Desk/IT Support median moved up moderately to $45,760 even as the national figure declined moderately to $53,129. Diverging direction suggests San Angelo's tight 3.5% labor market is forcing wage pressure in entry-level IT roles that national oversupply is currently masking elsewhere.
Systems administrator demand and pay are both firming.
Systems Administrator advertised pay rose moderately both locally ($100,292) and nationally ($102,503), a parallel movement that is consistent with the national data center buildout pulling infrastructure talent out of general enterprise IT roles. Headcount plans for on-prem or hybrid environments should assume this role costs more to fill than it did earlier in the year.
Stable software engineer pay masks a tightening underneath.
Software Engineer advertised pay held stable at $152,500 locally and $154,403 nationally, but national data shows AI/ML specialists commanding a $25,000 premium floor over standard engineers. Flat headline pay for the broad role category may understate what it now costs to hire anyone with in-demand AI or cloud specialization.
Median advertised pay by role — San Angelo, TX MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist * | $116,545 | $142,189 | $161,200 | Stable | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $83,968 | $100,292 | $103,416 | Moderate increase | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer * | $78,768 | $113,205 | $129,771 | Stable | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer * | $113,625 | $152,500 | $167,458 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $39,077 | $45,760 | $45,760 | Moderate increase | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $78,276 | $101,584 | $102,720 | Significant increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager * | $89,852 | $115,729 | $127,085 | Stable | $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
San Angelo's unemployment rate held at 3.5% in September, among the lowest in Texas against the state's 4.4% and holding well below the national 4.2%, as healthcare, construction, and government continue to anchor a labor market tighter than both state and national conditions. Total non-farm employment reached a series-high 54,100, with 200 jobs added in September and 600 over the year (1.1% growth), suggesting employers are expanding payrolls steadily despite national information-sector contraction.
What it means
Metro-level labor tightness compounds the national IT talent paradox: tech layoffs have topped 133,000 nationally through October even as data center and infrastructure hiring accelerates, meaning San Angelo employers competing for cybersecurity and systems administration talent face a shallow local bench with few displaced workers likely to backfill it. Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay rose significantly locally to $101,584, converging on the national median of $107,327 — a signal that local employers are bidding more aggressively for scarce security talent, with relative cost-of-living advantage no longer sufficient to secure it. Consider evaluating whether routine infrastructure and support functions are better served through regional MSP or outsourcing arrangements, reserving direct hires for roles — like security and specialized cloud skills — where local market tightness makes buy-side competition unavoidable.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Texas information-sector employment added 1,400 jobs in September even as CompTIA projects a 32,238 net new tech job gap statewide this year. Watch whether San Angelo employers respond to that supply shortfall by expanding MSP and offshore staffing arrangements for commodity infrastructure and support work.
Emerging pressure point: Austin's semiconductor buildout is drawing infrastructure and operations talent into fab operations, a pull that could extend into secondary Texas metros as compensation gaps widen. San Angelo IT leaders should monitor whether local systems administration and network engineering candidates begin commanting Austin-adjacent pay expectations.
Policy to track: Texas' Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act, in effect since January, applies to any AI tool used to screen, rank, or monitor candidates. IT and HR leaders using automated applicant tracking for technical hiring should confirm compliance before year-end audits.
Early indicator: Texas WARN filings are down 35% year-over-year statewide, limiting the odds of a meaningful influx of displaced IT talent into the San Angelo candidate pool. Absent a surprise local layoff event, expect the tight labor supply dynamic to persist into the first quarter.
Sources
- Texas Workforce Commission — San Angelo unemployment rate at 3.5% in September 2026
- Texas Workforce Commission — San Angelo nonfarm employment reached series-high 54,100
- Layoffs tracking aggregator — 133,417 tech employees laid off nationally through October 21, 2026
- CompTIA — CompTIA projects 32,238 net new Texas tech jobs this year
- Texas Legislature — Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act took effect January 1, 2026
- Texas Workforce Commission — Texas WARN notices down 35% year-over-year through October
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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