{"schema_version": 1, "id": "dubuque-ia-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 122, "label": "Dubuque, IA MSA", "slug": "dubuque-ia-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:05:54.745772+00:00", "headline": "Dubuque's tight labor market is pricing security and network talent like a tech hub.", "headline_summary": "Dubuque's Network Engineer pay ($118,798) now exceeds the national median while county unemployment holds at 2.4%, well below the 4.2% U.S. rate.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Dubuque County unemployment", "value": "2.4%", "context": "vs 3.2% Iowa, 4.2% U.S. (April 2026)"}, {"label": "MSA non-farm employment", "value": "62,200", "context": "Record high, +1,200 jobs year-over-year (June 2026)"}, {"label": "Iowa labor force participation", "value": "66.9%", "context": "Down from 67.8% a year earlier (September 2026)"}, {"label": "National tech layoffs YTD", "value": "133,417", "context": "Already exceeds all of 2025, 325 companies"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Network Engineer pay is outrunning the national market.", "body": "Metro median advertised pay of $118,798 now exceeds the national figure of $115,757, with significant upward movement locally versus moderate growth nationally. Infrastructure and data center buildout appear to be pulling this role into scarcity even in a secondary market, a signal worth weighing against any plan to centralize network operations elsewhere."}, {"headline": "Cybersecurity Analyst compensation is converging with national rates.", "body": "Metro median pay of $108,169 sits close to the national median of $107,327, both moving up significantly \u2014 a sign that Dubuque employers can no longer rely on a geographic discount to fill security roles. Regional policy attention on cybersecurity from the Technology Association of Iowa reinforces that this pressure is structural and likely to persist across hiring cycles."}, {"headline": "Systems Administrator pay softening locally diverges from national gains.", "body": "Metro median pay fell to $95,295 even as the national median rose to $102,503, a split that may reflect either automation of routine administration tasks or employers shifting that work toward managed services. Worth testing against actual requisition data before assuming the role is simply less valued."}, {"headline": "Help Desk pay declines mirror a national support-tier contraction.", "body": "Metro median pay of $48,280 and national median of $53,129 both moved down moderately, consistent with national information-sector hiring pulling back and support functions consolidating. This aligns with build-vs-buy conversations already underway around offshore or outsourced tier-1 support."}], "local_conditions": "Dubuque County unemployment sat at 2.4% in April and the MSA posted a record 62,200 non-farm jobs in June, a labor market tighter than both Iowa (3.2%) and the national rate (4.2%), leaving IT employers competing for a shrinking local candidate pool.\" Healthcare and advanced manufacturing continue absorbing workforce growth, while Iowa's labor force participation rate fell to 66.9% in September from 67.8% a year earlier, compounding scarcity for infrastructure, security and support talent across the metro.", "implications": "Tight local supply alongside a national tech layoff wave exceeding 133,000 workers through October creates an unusual dynamic: Dubuque IT leaders can selectively recruit displaced talent from larger markets willing to trade salary for remote flexibility, even as local competition for Network Engineers and Cybersecurity Analysts intensifies advertised pay well above national medians. Build-vs-buy calculus shifts toward hybrid models \u2014 retaining core infrastructure and security staff locally while sourcing routine support or overflow capacity from the national remote talent pool now circulating after large-scale layoffs. Consider reviewing whether current recruiting channels are positioned to capture out-of-market remote candidates before competitors headquartered in higher-cost metros do.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Iowa's tech employment is projected to grow just 1.5% in 2026 against 1.9% nationally, while AI-skill job postings reached 7,649 statewide over the trailing year. Watch whether Dubuque employers begin paying the AI premium seen nationally (AI/ML engineers averaging $170,750) or continue relying on generalist hires."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Wells Fargo's Iowa layoffs have reached 460 workers this year, concentrated in West Des Moines, with minimal impact in Dubuque, but statewide WARN activity dropped 57% year-over-year overall. Limited local displacement means IT leaders should not expect layoff-driven talent relief to reach Dubuque's pool the way it might in larger metros."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Iowa's Q2 2026 QCEW county-level wage data released October 30 will give the first granular read on Dubuque sector pay since June. Compare incoming figures against the advertised-pay movements in Network Engineer and Cybersecurity Analyst roles to confirm whether the trend is accelerating or plateauing."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Professional, scientific and technical services job losses accounted for half of Iowa's September sector declines, even as the category gained 1,200 jobs since April. Volatility in this sector is a leading indicator for IT consulting and contract-staffing availability regionally."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 92696.75, "metro_p50": 124442.0, "metro_p75": 145092.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 145881.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Systems Administrator", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 69788.0, "metro_p50": 95295.0, "metro_p75": 95295.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 82017.0, "metro_p50": 118797.6, "metro_p75": 149486.0, "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": 90000.0, "metro_p50": 112092.0, "metro_p75": 122464.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 154403.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Help Desk/IT Support Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 44796.0, "metro_p50": 48279.6, "metro_p75": 49369.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 78777.5, "metro_p50": 108169.0, "metro_p75": 124593.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 77900.25, "metro_p50": 116839.4, "metro_p75": 129108.5, "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": "dubuque-ia-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "dubuque-ia-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:21:12.036625+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/dubuque-ia-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/dubuque-ia-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}