Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Syracuse, NY MSA — October 2026
Syracuse engineering pay tops the national rate — security pay lags it.
Syracuse Software Engineer pay ($158,398) now exceeds the national median ($154,403), while Cybersecurity Analyst pay ($82,523) sits 23% below the $107,327 national figure.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Syracuse MSA unemployment: 4.1% — August 2026, steady since July's 4.0%
- Software Engineer pay, metro vs. national: $158,398 vs $154,403 — Local median now exceeds national rate
- Cybersecurity Analyst pay gap: -23% — $82,523 metro vs $107,327 national median
- National tech layoffs, YTD: 133,417 — 325 companies, already exceeds full-year 2025
Key takeaways
Syracuse software engineering pay has outpaced the national rate.
Metro median ($158,398) now runs above the national figure ($154,403) and is rising, a signal that local employers — likely tied to CHIPS-adjacent and infrastructure investment — are bidding up scarce engineering talent on the strength of that demand, even as a secondary-market location.
Security talent is priced for flight risk.
Cybersecurity Analyst pay in Syracuse ($82,523) sits roughly 23% below the national median ($107,327) while national postings for security architects and infrastructure security engineers grew over 150% month-over-month in September, a signal of hiring demand (one ad often covers several openings). Remote-eligible national roles make this gap increasingly visible to local analysts.
Help desk compression may be a leading indicator.
Local Help Desk/IT Support pay fell significantly to $50,170, tracking a national decline but falling faster than the national median ($53,129). Shrinking entry-level absorption statewide suggests leaders should plan support staffing around experienced hires ahead of junior pipelines.
Metro unemployment steadiness masks sector-level churn.
Headline unemployment of 4.1% looks stable, but Information-sector job losses locally and statewide mean the stability reflects growth concentrated in healthcare and government. IT leaders should treat metro-wide labor tightness figures as a weak proxy for technical talent availability.
Median advertised pay by role — Syracuse, NY MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $88,174 | $106,640 | $111,166 | Significant increase | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $66,010 | $81,169 | $85,373 | Stable | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $80,000 | $108,390 | $116,656 | Stable | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $103,960 | $158,398 | $170,087 | Significant increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $44,475 | $50,170 | $54,340 | Significant decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $78,886 | $82,523 | $88,950 | Stable | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $82,326 | $101,887 | $110,557 | 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
Syracuse MSA unemployment held at 4.1% in August and appears to have stayed near that level through October, while nonfarm job growth remains modest at 0.9% year-over-year through March 2026, with Professional & Business Services among the few sectors adding headcount. Local Information-sector employment is contracting alongside statewide trends, even as national data center and infrastructure buildout pulls engineering demand toward secondary markets like Syracuse, where costs run well below coastal tech hubs.
What it means
Advertised pay for Software Engineer in Syracuse ($158,398) now exceeds the national median ($154,403), a reversal that suggests local employers are competing directly for cloud and infrastructure talent on the strength of that demand — a dynamic consistent with national data center buildout favoring secondary metros. Cybersecurity Analyst and Systems Administrator pay sit well below national medians ($82,523 vs. $107,327; $81,169 vs. $102,503), signaling room to lose security and operations talent to remote-eligible national employers. Consider reviewing whether security and infrastructure compensation bands reflect national remote-work competition alongside local comparables.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Syracuse's above-national Software Engineer pay persists into November reporting or reflects a thin sample tied to a handful of infrastructure projects. A sustained premium would justify revisiting engineering bands against national comparables.
Emerging pressure point: National security-role postings are surging while Syracuse Cybersecurity Analyst pay stays flat. If that gap widens further, expect increased attrition risk among analysts eligible for remote national roles.
Worth watching: New York's minimum wage freeze and the state's shrinking entry-level tech pipeline may push more junior IT support demand toward experienced hires locally, tightening competition for mid-level support and systems administration talent.
Potential inflection point: National tech layoffs have already exceeded all of 2025, with 133,417 cuts through October 21. Monitor whether any released talent — particularly infrastructure or security specialists — surfaces in the Syracuse candidate pool over the next two reporting cycles.
Sources
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Syracuse MSA unemployment at 4.1% in August 2026
- NY Department of Labor — Nonfarm job growth of 0.9% year-over-year through March 2026
- NY State labor market research notes — Security/infrastructure job postings grew 150%+ month-over-month in September
- Layoffs.fyi / tech layoff tracker — 133,417 tech employees laid off at 325 companies through Oct 21, 2026
- Advertised pay data — Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay national median of $107,327
- Advertised pay data — Software Engineer metro median of $158,398 exceeds national median
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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