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Labor Market Pulse
ID NONMETROPOLITAN AREA Edition
Focus: IT
Moscow IT pay splits: security surges, infrastructure roles retreat.
3.6%-3.7%
Idaho unemployment rate
Unchanged Jul-Sep 2026, vs 4.1% national
4.56%
Northern Idaho unemployment
August 2026, above statewide 3.6% rate
6.3:1
Tech openings-to-graduate ratio
16,306 openings vs 2,599 CS grads annually (ITC)
+24%
Cybersecurity Analyst pay gap
Metro $132,839 vs national $106,790
This Month's Takeaways
Cybersecurity pay is pulling away from the rest of the stack.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay at $132,839 now exceeds the national median by roughly 24%, even as Network Engineer and Systems Administrator postings fell sharply locally. Treat security headcount as a retention priority distinct from general infrastructure staffing — the compensation gap is widening, not stabilizing.
Falling local network and sysadmin pay may reflect quiet outsourcing, not weak demand.
Network Engineer advertised pay dropped significantly to $81,923 against a national figure of $114,400 — a 28% gap that is hard to explain through local cost-of-living alone. CompTIA's 2026 data showing traditional infrastructure roles facing demand compression nationally suggests this may be the local expression of a buy-vs-build shift toward managed services.
Idaho's graduate pipeline cannot support the state's tech hiring target.
Idaho Technology Council estimates 16,306 annual tech openings against 2,599 CS graduates statewide, leaving roughly 13,707 positions unfilled each year. For a metro this size, that gap makes upskilling internal staff and regional remote-hire strategies more economically rational than competing purely on advertised pay.
Software Engineer pay rose locally while Data Scientist pay fell — a signal worth tracking.
Metro Software Engineer pay climbed to $140,826, narrowing the gap with the $153,652 national figure, while Data Scientist pay dropped to $130,891 against a rising national median of $148,250. Current conditions suggest build-focused engineering roles are holding local value better than specialized analytics talent, which may be easier to source remotely or via contract.
Local Labor Conditions
Moscow-area labor conditions track a tight statewide market — Idaho unemployment held at 3.6%-3.7% through August and September while northern Idaho registered 4.56%, reflecting a split between urban tech corridors and slower-growing rural labor supply. Local advertised pay for most IT roles moved down even as national pay climbed, suggesting employers here are either underpricing postings relative to candidate expectations or filling roles through internal mobility and contractors rather than open-market hiring.
Leadership & Talent Implications
Divergence between falling local advertised pay (Systems Administrator down to $90,162, Network Engineer down to $81,923) and a 6.3:1 statewide ratio of tech job openings to CS graduates signals a market where employers may be posting below what it takes to actually close candidates, risking longer time-to-fill and quiet attrition to remote national employers paying $101,168-$114,400 for the same roles. Cybersecurity Analyst pay bucked the trend, rising to $132,839 locally against a national $106,790 — a signal that security headcount is being actively defended while infrastructure and support roles absorb budget pressure. Consider reviewing whether network engineering and sysadmin postings are calibrated to a local labor pool that can increasingly work remotely for out-of-state employers.
