Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: San Antonio, TX MSA — October 2026
San Antonio IT pay climbs as labor force shrinks.
San Antonio unemployment fell to 4.3% even as the labor force shed 2,282 workers year-over-year, while advertised pay for Systems Administrator ($100,916) and Network Engineer ($116,091) roles rose significantly against a tightening local talent pool.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 4.3% — Down from 4.5% in August, up from 4.2% a year ago
- Metro labor force change (YoY): -2,282 workers — Despite +1,049 monthly gain, signals shrinking talent pool
- Metro job growth (YoY): 0.4% — vs 1.1% Texas, 0.3% national annual growth
- Texas tech job gap: 32,238 net new jobs projected — CompTIA estimate outpaces available labor supply
Key takeaways
Systems Administrator pay is outrunning the national trend.
Metro advertised pay for Systems Administrator roles rose significantly to $100,916, nearly matching the national median of $102,503 that itself moved up only moderately. Convergence with national rates on a traditionally lower-cost role may signal the regional labor force contraction is compressing the metro's historical cost advantage.
Network Engineer demand reflects infrastructure buildout pressure.
Advertised pay climbed significantly to $116,091 locally, now exceeding the national median of $115,757. This tracks with regional data center and semiconductor-adjacent hiring pulling network and infrastructure talent out of enterprise pipelines, a dynamic worth weighing against outsourcing network operations.
Cybersecurity pay plateau doesn't mean the role is cooling.
Metro and national Cybersecurity Analyst pay both held stable this month ($110,299 and $107,327 respectively), but Texas's new AI governance law requiring audits of hiring and monitoring systems adds compliance scope to security and IT governance roles. Flat pay alongside expanding responsibility may understate the role's near-term market value.
Help Desk pay erosion signals continued support-function outsourcing.
Metro advertised pay for Help Desk/IT Support fell moderately to $48,867, below the national median of $53,129, consistent with the broader Texas trend of firms growing output without adding headcount amid constrained labor supply. Commodity support roles look increasingly exposed to MSP or offshore substitution.
Median advertised pay by role — San Antonio, TX MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $101,727 | $127,864 | $145,800 | Moderate decline | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $77,246 | $100,916 | $108,383 | Significant increase | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $85,033 | $116,091 | $126,750 | Significant increase | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $106,678 | $137,276 | $153,000 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $41,627 | $48,867 | $55,000 | Moderate decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $89,883 | $110,299 | $124,845 | Stable | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $85,529 | $111,748 | $126,097 | 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
San Antonio-New Braunfels unemployment eased to 4.3% in September from 4.5% in August, even as the civilian labor force contracted by 2,282 workers year-over-year — a sign of tightening supply. Metro job growth remains thin at 0.4% annually, with losses concentrated in leisure/hospitality (-2,800) and professional/business services (-1,400), while infrastructure-adjacent sectors tied to Austin's semiconductor buildout continue pulling technical talent out of the regional labor pool.
What it means
Shrinking labor force alongside stable advertised pay for mid-tier infrastructure roles (Systems Administrator, Network Engineer both up significantly) suggests employers are competing harder for a smaller technical talent pool. Semiconductor and data center buildout activity in the broader Texas corridor is likely drawing infrastructure and operations staff away from enterprise IT shops, raising the cost and difficulty of in-house hiring for on-prem and hybrid roles. Consider reviewing whether commodity infrastructure and support functions are better suited to managed services or regional staffing partners given constrained local supply.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Labor force contraction of 2,282 workers year-over-year in the metro bears monitoring — if this trend continues into Q4, competition for infrastructure and security talent will intensify further, pushing advertised pay higher across Systems Administrator and Network Engineer roles.
Emerging pressure point: Austin's semiconductor fab expansion continues competing for the same infrastructure and operations talent pool that feeds San Antonio enterprise IT. Watch whether advertised pay for Network Engineer and Systems Administrator roles accelerates further as the buildout scales through early 2026.
Potential inflection point: Texas's Responsible AI Governance Act, effective since January 2026, requires audits of any AI tool used in hiring, candidate ranking, or performance monitoring. IT and security leaders should expect compliance-driven demand for governance and audit capacity to surface in coming job ad volume, a signal of hiring demand where one ad often covers several openings.
Expected: Texas Enterprise Fund reforms lowering job thresholds for tech/AI firms to 40 jobs or $5M in payroll may extend state incentives to smaller San Antonio employers, potentially supporting retention-focused hiring over layoffs during cloud transitions.
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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