Labor Market Pulse

Casper, WY Metro Edition

Focus: IT

Casper IT pay splits sharply: security up, engineering down.

2.6%

Natrona County unemployment

June 2026, vs 4.1% national rate

$28.93

Casper avg. hourly wage

vs $33.54 national average

-800 jobs

Natrona County payroll trend

5 straight months of decline through Jan 2026

2.1%

Wyoming quits rate

Decade low, signals trapped workforce

This Month's Takeaways

01

Network Engineer pay is rising fastest — and that's telling.

Metro median advertised pay of $118,169 now exceeds the national figure of $114,400, a significant local gain that likely reflects scarcity rather than broad-based wage inflation. Treat this as a signal to benchmark infrastructure roles against local scarcity, not national norms.

02

Software Engineer pay is collapsing relative to the rest of the country.

Metro median of $77,953 sits roughly half the national $153,652 figure and is trending down significantly locally. Generalist development work looks increasingly exportable — a build-vs-buy case for remote or outsourced engineering capacity rather than local hires.

03

Help Desk pay jumped sharply even though it's the lowest-paid IT role.

Metro Help Desk median climbed to $51,601, a significant local increase, in a market where the quits rate sits at a decade-low 2.1%. Rising pay for entry-tier support in a low-turnover market may suggest employers are bidding up wages just to keep frontline coverage staffed, not expanding headcount.

04

Cybersecurity hiring looks structural, not discretionary.

Local Cybersecurity Analyst pay rose significantly to $104,280, tracking the national pattern where senior security talent commands up to $400K. Compression in Wyoming's overall IT wage base makes retaining even mid-level security staff a genuine competitive exposure, not a routine budget line.

Local Labor Conditions

Natrona County's unemployment rate held at a tight 2.6% through June 2026, even as nonfarm payrolls logged five straight months of decline through early 2026, a combination that points to a shrinking labor pool rather than slack demand. Local pay levels remain structurally compressed — Casper's average hourly wage of $28.93 trails the national $33.54 figure by roughly 14% — meaning employers here are competing for the same specialized IT talent as national employers while offering a materially thinner paycheck.

Leadership & Talent Implications

Significant local advertised pay gains in Network Engineer (+significant) and Cybersecurity Analyst (+significant) roles, against a backdrop of flat-to-declining Software Engineer pay, suggest Casper employers are prioritizing infrastructure resilience and security coverage over general development capacity — a allocation shift, not a uniform market rise. With Wyoming's broader IT wages sitting near $45,322 annually against national tech benchmarks well above six figures, in-house buildout of specialized cloud or senior security roles risks chronic vacancy and turnover exposure. Consider reviewing which infrastructure and security functions genuinely require permanent local headcount versus which could be served through managed security or remote contract arrangements that sidestep the regional wage ceiling.

Advertised Pay Indicators

Role	P25	Median	P75	Local Trend	National	Nat. Trend
Data Scientist	$107,378	$141,166	$153,151	→ Stable	$148,250	↑ Moderate increase
Systems Administrator	$73,101	$93,502	$100,000	↑ Moderate increase	$101,168	↑ Moderate increase
Network Engineer	$78,378	$118,169	$155,935	↑ Significant increase	$114,400	↑ Moderate increase
Software Engineer	$59,706	$77,953	$111,185	↓ Significant decline	$153,652	→ Stable
Help Desk/IT Support Specialist	$43,221	$51,601	$51,601	↑ Significant increase	$53,644	→ Stable
Cybersecurity Analyst	$75,000	$104,280	$107,172	↑ Significant increase	$106,790	↑ Moderate increase
IT Project Manager	—	—	—	— No data	$117,530	↑ Moderate increase

Some roles reflect state-level data where local metro sample size was insufficient.

Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days

Worth watching

Natrona County payrolls have fallen for five consecutive months even as unemployment stays low — watch whether November's BLS release confirms a stabilizing floor or continued erosion, which would affect confidence in local permanent hiring.

Emerging pressure point

Wyoming's quits rate at a decade-low 2.1% suggests a trapped rather than loyal workforce. Watch whether Casper IT staff begin moving once remote opportunities at national pay levels become more visible, particularly in software engineering roles already priced well below national median.

Potential inflection point

TerraPower's nuclear reactor development near Kemmerer could pull specialized engineering and technical talent from across Wyoming's limited labor pool, including IT infrastructure staff. Monitor whether Casper employers begin reporting recruiting friction tied to this project.

Early indicator

National information-sector job losses in August and a cooling Indeed postings pattern for mid-tier tech roles may filter into Wyoming's already-thin IT postings count. Track whether Casper's advertised pay gains in security and networking persist once national hiring softens further.

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