Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Wenatchee, WA MSA — October 2026
Wenatchee IT pay climbs as national hiring pulls back.
Metro Software Engineer pay hit $162,151 and IT Project Manager pay rose to $122,342, even as national software engineer openings fell 56% and Help Desk pay slid to $59,303.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Chelan County unemployment: 3.0% — Down from 3.6% in June 2026
- Software Engineer advertised pay: $162,151 — Metro, up vs. $154,403 national median
- National software engineer openings: -56% — YoY decline amid AI-role hiring shift
- WA tech share of layoffs: ~2/3 — Of King County 2026 WARN filings YTD
Key takeaways
Software Engineer pay climbs locally against a national pullback.
Metro median advertised pay for Software Engineer reached $162,151, up and above the $154,403 national median, even as national software engineer openings fell 56% and AI-specific roles absorb hiring budgets. Rising local pay in a contracting national market suggests Wenatchee employers face a thinner bench of qualified candidates and continued competition for them.
Help Desk compensation is sliding faster than the market.
Metro Help Desk/IT Support median pay of $59,303 is down and moderate in magnitude, tracking a national decline that reflects AI-assisted ticket deflection and entry-level hiring freezes. Organizations should evaluate whether tier-1 support volume still justifies dedicated local headcount versus outsourced or automated alternatives.
Cybersecurity pay is flat locally while national demand accelerates.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst median ($106,942) sits just below the rising national median ($107,327, up moderate), a gap that may widen if Washington's documented premium for specialized security and infrastructure skills continues. Flat local pay against rising national demand risks losing security talent to remote-eligible national employers.
Seasonal unemployment swings mask a tighter specialist labor pool.
Chelan County's unemployment rate fell to 3.0% in July from 3.6% in June, driven primarily by agriculture and tourism seasonality. Headcount planning for infrastructure and security roles should treat local unemployment figures as a weak proxy for IT talent availability.
Median advertised pay by role — Wenatchee, WA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $121,065 | $152,178 | $165,000 | Stable | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $85,344 | $102,639 | $114,847 | Stable | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $82,275 | $118,065 | $133,232 | Stable | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $123,408 | $162,151 | $179,184 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $45,950 | $59,303 | $69,974 | Moderate decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $90,524 | $106,942 | $125,460 | Stable | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $94,652 | $122,342 | $133,135 | Moderate increase | $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
Chelan County's unemployment rate tightened sharply to 3.0% in July, down from 3.6% in June, even as the broader Wenatchee metro posted the highest unemployment rate among small metros nationally just two months earlier — a seasonal swing that reflects the area's agriculture and tourism dependence more than underlying IT demand. Statewide tech layoff pressure, with technology accounting for two-thirds of King County's 2026 WARN filings, has not materially reached Wenatchee employers but keeps displaced Puget Sound talent circulating as a potential remote and relocation candidate pool for metro employers.
What it means
Advertised pay for Software Engineer and IT Project Manager roles in Wenatchee is climbing even as national software engineer openings have dropped sharply and Seattle's hiring pace sits near the bottom of major metros — suggesting metro employers are competing for a shrinking pool of specialized talent willing to work outside the I-5 corridor, facing stiffer competition for that talent even as the overall market cools. Help Desk/IT Support pay is softening locally and nationally, consistent with a national freeze on entry-level and generalist hiring, which strengthens the case for shifting routine support and tier-1 functions to outsourced or offshore models while reserving in-house headcount for infrastructure, security and cloud-native roles that still command premiums. Consider evaluating whether Puget Sound tech layoffs create a near-term opening to recruit displaced Seattle-based infrastructure or security talent into Wenatchee roles at a smaller premium than typical metro-to-metro differentials would require.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Washington's technology layoffs, including Oracle's 359-worker WARN filing across Seattle and remote staff, continue adding displaced talent to the state pool. Watch whether any of that talent surfaces in Wenatchee applicant tracking data over the next two months.
Emerging pressure point: IT Project Manager pay is rising locally ($122,342, up moderate) against a stable national median, suggesting employers are paying up to secure delivery leadership amid thin specialist supply. Expect this premium to persist if infrastructure and system modernization projects continue competing for the same limited talent pool.
Early indicator: National IT systems & solutions wages grew 4.7% year-over-year while AI-adjacent roles saw 9.2% growth, a gap that may pull specialized local talent toward AI-labeled positions even within the same compensation band. Track whether job titles and requisitions shift toward AI/ML framing as a retention lever.
Potential inflection point: Confluence Health's continued recruitment of clinical and technical staff at $67-$82/hour signals sustained competition for skilled labor across sectors in Chelan County, which could tighten the broader technical wage floor. IT leaders recruiting infrastructure or support staff with overlapping skill sets should monitor whether healthcare wage pressure spills into adjacent technical roles.
Sources
- Washington Employment Security Department — Chelan County unemployment fell from 3.6% to 3.0%, June to July 2026
- Indeed Hiring Lab / Washington state labor research — National software engineer openings dropped 56%
- Washington State WARN Act filings — Oracle WARN notice covering 359 workers in Seattle and remote WA staff
- Robert Half 2026 Salary Guide — IT systems & solutions wages grew 4.7% YoY; AI engineer roles grew 9.2%
- Glassdoor/ZipRecruiter — Confluence Health recruiting clinical/technical staff at $67-$82/hour
- Washington State WARN Act filings — King County technology layoffs represent two-thirds of 2026 WARN filings
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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