Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Wichita, KS MSA — October 2026
Wichita infrastructure pay climbs as data centers absorb local talent.
Network Engineer advertised pay rose to $90,000 and Cybersecurity Analyst pay to $99,133 in metro Wichita, even as Systems Administrator pay held flat at $73,000 against a $102,503 national median.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Sedgwick County unemployment: 4.7% — Up from 4.5% in July 2026
- Kansas data center postings index: 247 — vs. 2024 baseline of 100
- KC-area tech turnover rate: 18% — vs. 15% national average
- Kansas statewide avg weekly wage: $1,286 — +3.1% YoY, ranked 41st nationally
Key takeaways
Systems Administrator pay is stalling while the national market moves.
Metro advertised pay sits at $73,000 against a national median of $102,503, a gap wide enough to push remote-capable administrators toward out-of-state employers. Flat local movement against a rising national trend is a retention signal that points to a market under pressure.
Network Engineer pay is accelerating for a reason worth tracing.
Metro advertised pay rose significantly to $90,000, tracking the Kansas data center buildout that is pulling infrastructure talent away from traditional on-prem roles. Budgeting for infrastructure headcount now likely means budgeting against data center employers as well as local IT peers.
Cybersecurity pay gains locally mirror a national premium story.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay rose significantly to $99,133, consistent with national data showing 87% of tech leaders paying premiums for specialized skills. Security headcount plans built on last year's pay assumptions likely understate current market cost.
Help Desk compensation erosion creates room to reallocate budget.
Metro advertised pay for Help Desk/IT Support fell sharply to $42,716, well below the already-declining national median of $53,129. Softening entry-level demand may free budget capacity to compete harder for infrastructure and security roles where the market is tightening.
Median advertised pay by role — Wichita, KS MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $105,695 | $128,111 | $147,002 | Moderate increase | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $66,494 | $73,000 | $84,449 | Stable | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $72,576 | $90,000 | $97,726 | Significant increase | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $104,918 | $147,729 | $164,432 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $35,000 | $42,716 | $46,450 | Significant decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $82,194 | $99,133 | $110,800 | Significant increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $92,997 | $120,888 | $137,094 | 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
Sedgwick County unemployment has drifted up through 2026 even as Wichita's manufacturing-heavy economy — nearly double the national concentration — continues absorbing skilled labor that competes directly with IT infrastructure roles for the same technically-trained workforce. Kansas City Fed data describing the regional labor market as "low hire, low fire" is consistent with a Wichita IT labor pool where candidates are reluctant to move, tightening supply even as advertised demand for network and security talent accelerates.
What it means
Metro Network Engineer pay climbing to $90,000 while national Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay posts significant gains signals that Wichita employers compete for the same scarce infrastructure and security skill sets drawing premiums in larger markets, even as local Systems Administrator pay sits flat at $73,000 against a national median above $102,000 — a gap that invites attrition toward remote roles paying coastal or national rates. Help Desk pay falling sharply locally suggests entry-level support is becoming a buyer's market, creating room to shift budget toward retention of scarcer infrastructure and security talent. Consider reviewing whether current compensation bands for Systems Administrator and Network Engineer roles reflect the growing gap between flat local advertised pay and rising national rates, particularly where hybrid or remote arrangements put Wichita talent in direct competition with national employers.
Looking ahead
Emerging pressure point: Data center postings in Kansas have more than doubled versus the 2024 baseline, and this buildout is already absorbing skilled infrastructure labor. Watch whether Wichita-area Systems Administrator and Network Engineer pay continues to diverge, forcing a faster build-vs-buy decision on cloud migration.
Worth watching: KDOL releases October Kansas Labor Report on November 20, the first full post-summer read on whether Sedgwick County's rising unemployment trend is stabilizing. A continued uptick could ease some local talent competition for support and infrastructure roles.
Potential inflection point: Tech sector layoffs have already exceeded 2025's full-year total nationally, concentrated outside Kansas. Watch whether any of that displaced talent, particularly AI and cloud-native engineers, begins surfacing in the Wichita candidate pool through remote postings.
Early indicator: KC-area tech turnover running at 18% against a 15% national rate points to a regional retention problem that likely extends to Wichita's shared labor pool. Monitor whether local turnover data trends similarly as retention becomes a primary lever alongside external hiring in a low-hire, low-fire market.
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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