{"schema_version": 1, "id": "des-moines-west-des-moines-ia-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 114, "label": "Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA MSA", "slug": "des-moines-west-des-moines-ia-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:04:25.778612+00:00", "headline": "Des Moines infrastructure pay outruns the national market.", "headline_summary": "Network Engineer pay hit $131,092 locally versus $115,757 nationally, even as Systems Administrator pay fell to $87,866 against a rising $102,503 national median.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Iowa unemployment rate", "value": "3.2%", "context": "Fifth straight month; U.S. rate 4.1-4.2%"}, {"label": "Labor force participation", "value": "66.9%", "context": "Down from 67.8% a year ago (Iowa)"}, {"label": "Metro unemployment trend", "value": "3.7%", "context": "Up from 2.5% in April 2026 (Aug. preliminary)"}, {"label": "Data center labor income", "value": "$828M", "context": "9,139 Iowa jobs supported annually"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Network and security talent now cost more in Des Moines than nationally.", "body": "Network Engineer advertised pay hit $131,092 locally versus $115,757 nationally, and Cybersecurity Analyst pay reached $113,740 versus $107,327 nationally. Local infrastructure and security hiring is pricing above national norms, a signal worth weighing against any plan to centralize these functions in lower-cost markets."}, {"headline": "Systems Administrator pay is falling locally while rising nationally.", "body": "Metro advertised pay for Systems Administrator dropped to $87,866 even as the national median climbed to $102,503. Divergence this sharp may reflect softening local demand for traditional on-prem administration or a shift toward outsourced support, and warrants a closer look before assuming parity with national benchmarking data."}, {"headline": "Labor force shrinkage is tightening the technical talent pipeline.", "body": "Iowa's labor force participation rate fell to 66.9% from 67.8% a year ago amid retirements and workers returning to education, even as unemployment sits at a tight 3.2%. Fewer active job seekers compounds retention pressure in infrastructure and security roles where advertised pay is already climbing."}, {"headline": "Data center buildout is concentrating demand in a narrow talent pool.", "body": "Iowa data center operations already support 9,139 jobs and $828 million in labor income, and national data center postings grew 20% in three months. Local employers competing for the same infrastructure skill set should expect continued upward pressure on Network Engineer and related compensation."}], "local_conditions": "Iowa's unemployment rate held at 3.2% for a fifth straight month while statewide labor force participation fell to 66.9% from 67.8% a year ago, tightening the pool of available technical talent even as the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro shows nonfarm employment easing from April's 2.5% low toward 3.7% by August. Infrastructure and security hiring demand locally tracks national patterns where data center job postings grew 20% in three months, a signal of hiring demand where one ad often covers several openings, a dynamic consistent with Iowa's data center sector supporting 9,139 jobs and $828 million in annual labor income.", "implications": "Advertised pay for Network Engineer ($131,092, up significant) and Cybersecurity Analyst ($113,740, up significant) locally outpacing national movement suggests Des Moines employers are competing hard for infrastructure and security talent against a backdrop of shrinking labor force participation, while Systems Administrator pay falling locally ($87,866, down moderate) against a national increase points to a role where local demand or candidate supply dynamics have diverged from the national pattern. These crosscurrents complicate build-vs-buy decisions: specialized security and network talent commands a premium that may justify in-house investment, while administrative and support functions may be better suited to outsourcing or managed services given softening local pay signals. Consider reviewing whether Systems Administrator compensation reflects market softening or an opportunity to backfill at below-market rates before competitors correct.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Watch whether Wells Fargo's West Des Moines layoffs, which bring the bank's 2026 Iowa total to 460 workers, release IT infrastructure or security talent into the local candidate pool. Released financial-sector tech talent could ease pressure on Network Engineer and Cybersecurity Analyst hiring."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Professional, scientific and technical services lost jobs in September even as the sector added 1,200 since April, suggesting volatile demand for contracted technical services. IT leaders weighing outsourcing arrangements should treat this volatility as a planning input, not a stable baseline."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Metro unemployment has drifted from 2.5% in April toward 3.7% by August, a meaningful shift for a historically tight market. Confirm whether November's BLS release shows this easing continuing, which would ease some hiring urgency for support and administrative roles."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "CompTIA projects Iowa tech employment growth of just 1.5% in 2026, below the 1.9% national rate, while AI-skills job postings numbered 7,649 over the prior twelve months. Gauge whether local AI-adjacent infrastructure roles start commanding the same premium documented nationally for AI/ML engineering talent."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 113481.0, "metro_p50": 143850.8, "metro_p75": 156669.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 145881.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Systems Administrator", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 76730.0, "metro_p50": 87865.8, "metro_p75": 96356.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 102503.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Network Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 88946.25, "metro_p50": 131091.8, "metro_p75": 158978.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 115757.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 112851.0, "metro_p50": 140769.0, "metro_p75": 154784.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 154403.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Help Desk/IT Support Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 40696.25, "metro_p50": 48189.0, "metro_p75": 51433.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 53129.0, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Cybersecurity Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 78857.0, "metro_p50": 113740.0, "metro_p75": 129001.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 107327.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "IT Project Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 106603.5, "metro_p50": 123954.0, "metro_p75": 132277.5, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 118149.8, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [], "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.", "edition_label": "November 2026", "files": {"html": "des-moines-west-des-moines-ia-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "des-moines-west-des-moines-ia-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:21:02.605687+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/des-moines-west-des-moines-ia-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/des-moines-west-des-moines-ia-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}