{"schema_version": 1, "id": "janesville-wi-msa/life-sciences/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 294, "label": "Janesville, WI MSA", "slug": "janesville-wi-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "life_sciences", "slug": "life-sciences", "label": "Life Sciences"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T04:12:57.093677+00:00", "headline": "Janesville life sci pay diverges sharply by role this month.", "headline_summary": "Clinical Data Manager pay in Janesville hit $142,249 against a national $123,653, while Biostatistician pay fell to $91,787 versus a stable $131,958 nationally.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Rock County unemployment", "value": "3.7%", "context": "Up from 3.1% in May 2026"}, {"label": "Wisconsin biohealth employment growth", "value": "12.9%", "context": "2021-2025, vs 6.9% national rate"}, {"label": "Clinical Data Manager advertised pay", "value": "$142,249", "context": "vs $123,653 national median"}, {"label": "Biostatistician advertised pay", "value": "$91,787", "context": "vs $131,958 national median, down significant"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Clinical Data Manager pay signals a sustained quality-function premium.", "body": "Metro advertised pay of $142,249 sits roughly 15% above the national median of $123,653, pointing to intense local competition for data integrity and compliance expertise tied to clinical trial oversight. Benchmark this role against current demand rather than prior-year figures when planning clinical operations headcount."}, {"headline": "Biostatistician pay is falling locally while holding steady nationally.", "body": "Metro advertised pay dropped significantly to $91,787 against a stable national median of $131,958, a gap wide enough to suggest either a thinner local applicant pool commanding lower offers or a shift toward more junior postings. Either explanation warrants scrutiny before assuming the metro offers a cost advantage for statistical talent."}, {"headline": "Regulatory Affairs pay is diverging from the national trend.", "body": "Metro advertised pay rose moderately to $108,813 even as the national median slipped to $103,780, consistent with acute regulatory talent shortages flagged nationally amid EUDAMED and EU AI Act compliance demands. Retention strategies for regulatory staff may need metro-specific adjustment, since national survey norms do not capture this local divergence."}, {"headline": "Validation Engineer demand reflects manufacturing investment.", "body": "Advertised pay rose significantly to $109,517, outpacing the national median, as CDMO capacity expansion statewide \u2014 including Catalent's $45 million Madison build-out \u2014 pulls on the same pool of bioprocess and automation talent. Headcount plans in manufacturing and quality functions should account for this pay movement when forecasting 2027 budgets."}], "local_conditions": "Rock County unemployment climbed to 3.7% in August 2026 from 3.1% in May, even as Wisconsin's statewide biohealth sector grew employment 12.9% since 2021 \u2014 nearly double the national pace \u2014 signaling labor tightness concentrated in specialized scientific and regulatory roles even as the broader metro holds steady. Education and health services led Rock County job growth while trade and manufacturing softened, consistent with national biopharma hiring that remains candidate-driven despite a 1.9% national quit rate keeping experienced talent largely in place.", "implications": "Clinical Data Manager and Validation Engineer advertised pay in Janesville now exceeds national medians by wide margins ($142,249 vs. $123,653, and $109,517 vs. $106,478), suggesting local employers are bidding aggressively for scarce quality and biomanufacturing talent in a market offering no cost-of-labor discount. That dynamic complicates build-vs-outsource math against CDMOs like Catalent's expanding Madison footprint, since local premium pay may now rival or exceed CDMO-adjacent labor costs in parts of the state. Consider reviewing whether current CRO/CDMO partnership terms still reflect a Wisconsin cost advantage, or whether in-house hiring for quality and validation functions has become the more defensible path given advertised pay trends.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Rock County unemployment has risen three straight months from its May low of 3.1%. Watch whether this reflects labor force growth or actual job losses in manufacturing-adjacent sectors that could loosen the broader candidate pool feeding life sciences support roles."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Catalent's $45 million Madison biologics expansion and broader statewide CDMO investment may intensify competition for validation and bioprocess engineers across the Janesville-Madison corridor. Track whether advertised pay for these roles continues climbing through year-end hiring cycles."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Wisconsin's average biotech salary of $79,796 remains well below regional hub levels, even as Janesville-specific advertised pay for roles like Clinical Data Manager and Validation Engineer runs above national medians. This divergence may complicate entry-level PhD and early-career scientist recruitment relative to specialized mid-career hiring."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "National biopharma quit rates sit at 1.9% with 64% of organizations actively recruiting, meaning most movement will come from net-new roles, with little displaced talent entering the market. Monitor whether statewide biohealth job growth of 12.9% since 2021 continues translating into Rock County postings or concentrates in Madison and Milwaukee."}], "roles": [{"role": "Research Scientist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 89753.0, "metro_p50": 117106.8, "metro_p75": 119062.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 130339.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Clinical Research Associate", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 55000.0, "metro_p50": 88590.0, "metro_p75": 119191.5, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 90065.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Lab Technician", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 39534.0, "metro_p50": 47840.0, "metro_p75": 52000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 47840.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Regulatory Affairs Specialist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 86107.0, "metro_p50": 108813.0, "metro_p75": 108814.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 103779.6, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Clinical Data Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 99430.0, "metro_p50": 142248.6, "metro_p75": 154539.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 123653.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Biostatistician", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 77671.0, "metro_p50": 91787.0, "metro_p75": 124765.25, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 131958.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Validation Engineer", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 91500.0, "metro_p50": 109517.2, "metro_p75": 130000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 106478.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development / BLS", "source_url": null, "statement": "Rock County unemployment rose to 3.7% in August 2026 from 3.1% in May"}, {"source_name": "Wisconsin biohealth industry report", "source_url": null, "statement": "Wisconsin biohealth employment grew 12.9% from 2021-2025 vs 6.9% national"}, {"source_name": "Catalent corporate announcement", "source_url": null, "statement": "Catalent $45 million Madison biologics manufacturing expansion"}, {"source_name": "Biopharma industry workforce survey", "source_url": null, "statement": "Biopharma national quit rate at 1.9% amid active recruiting"}, {"source_name": "Life sciences talent market research", "source_url": null, "statement": "Regulatory and CMC roles among hardest to fill in 2026"}, {"source_name": "Wisconsin biotech compensation tracking", "source_url": null, "statement": "Average Wisconsin biotech salary of $79,796 as of September 2026"}], "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": "janesville-wi-msa/life-sciences/2026-10.html", "pdf": "janesville-wi-msa/life-sciences/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:23:50.814261+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/janesville-wi-msa/life-sciences/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/janesville-wi-msa/life-sciences/2026-10.pdf"}