{"schema_version": 1, "id": "lafayette-la-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 234, "label": "Lafayette, LA MSA", "slug": "lafayette-la-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:20:09.988551+00:00", "headline": "Lafayette's infrastructure pay climbs while security pay falls behind.", "headline_summary": "Network Engineer pay rose to $100,659 in Lafayette even as Cybersecurity Analyst pay fell to $76,990, a divergence from national trend that widens the local security pay gap to over $30,000.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Metro unemployment rate", "value": "3.3%", "context": "Aug 2026, 17th-lowest of 115 mid-sized metros"}, {"label": "Cybersecurity pay gap vs. national", "value": "$30,337", "context": "Metro $76,990 vs. national $107,327"}, {"label": "Louisiana quits vs. layoffs", "value": "43,000 vs. 22,000", "context": "Statewide churn nearly 2x layoff volume"}, {"label": "Projected Lafayette job growth", "value": "5,600 jobs", "context": "By end of 2028, led by SpaceX spaceport, drone firms"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Network Engineer pay is outrunning the rest of the local stack.", "body": "Metro Network Engineer advertised pay rose to $100,659, a significant increase, likely tracking infrastructure demand tied to Coastal Machine's aerospace expansion and SpaceX-adjacent build-out. Organizations competing for this skill set locally should expect compression toward national levels ($115,757) sooner than other IT roles."}, {"headline": "Cybersecurity pay is falling locally while climbing nationally.", "body": "Lafayette Cybersecurity Analyst pay dropped to $76,990 even as the national median rose to $107,327 \u2014 a $30,000-plus gap that did not exist to this degree last cycle. This divergence may signal under-investment in security roles relative to infrastructure growth, a risk worth flagging as defense-adjacent contracts typically carry compliance and security staffing requirements."}, {"headline": "IT support outsourcing math looks increasingly favorable.", "body": "Louisiana's IT Technician salary average of $41,044 sits far below the general IT role average of $93,813, and 95% of support roles remain in-person locally, limiting remote-scaling options. Combined with statewide quit rates running roughly double layoff rates, building a deep internal support bench locally carries retention risk that outsourced or hybrid support models may reduce.\n      "}, {"headline": "Software Engineer pay softening locally bucks the national pattern.", "body": "Metro Software Engineer advertised pay is down moderately to $123,757 while the national median holds stable near $154,403, widening an already large gap. Current conditions suggest build-vs-buy decisions favoring contract or remote national talent for software work may pencil out better than local hires this quarter."}], "local_conditions": "Lafayette's 3.3% unemployment rate \u2014 down half a point year-over-year and among the lowest of 115 mid-sized U.S. metros \u2014 coexists with a metro economy that shed jobs on net through most of 2026, a divergence explained by SpaceX's proposed spaceport, Coastal Machine & Supply's $25.5 million aerospace/defense expansion, and two drone manufacturers' combined 1,100-job build-out signaling future demand ahead of current absorption. Statewide IT-specific churn remains elevated, with Louisiana logging 43,000 quits against 22,000 layoffs in a recent month, consistent with active poaching in a market where overall labor supply is tight but IT-specific postings remain thin outside these aerospace/defense anchor projects.", "implications": "Metro IT pay movements point toward consolidation: Network Engineer pay is up significantly (to $100,659) while Cybersecurity Analyst ($76,990) and IT Project Manager ($95,838) advertised rates are down, suggesting local employers are concentrating investment in infrastructure build-out tied to aerospace/defense and spaceport activity while deprioritizing security and project-management hiring relative to national trend. That divergence \u2014 infrastructure roles gaining ground locally while cybersecurity and PM pay compress against a national market moving the opposite direction \u2014 creates exposure if security staffing is being treated as discretionary during a construction-driven growth phase. Consider reviewing whether current cybersecurity and IT PM compensation keeps pace with national movement before SpaceX-adjacent projects scale and competition for that talent intensifies.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "SpaceX's proposed spaceport and the roughly 3,000 jobs attached to it remain pre-construction; watch for site approval or permitting milestones in the next 60 days that would convert projected demand into actual infrastructure and security hiring."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Cybersecurity Analyst pay compression locally, against a national uptick, may leave Lafayette employers exposed if aerospace/defense contracts bring federal security clearance or compliance staffing requirements sooner than anticipated."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Coastal Machine & Supply's 129 direct jobs and the drone manufacturers' 1,100-job build-out at the former Reptile Tannery site will begin drawing from the same regional talent pool as any IT infrastructure hiring \u2014 watch for wage spillover into adjacent technical roles."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "National tech layoffs already exceeding 133,000 through late October may begin feeding remote-capable candidates into secondary markets like Lafayette; track whether local applicant volume for infrastructure and cloud roles rises without a corresponding increase in advertised pay."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 119451.0, "metro_p50": 151577.0, "metro_p75": 164187.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 145881.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Systems Administrator", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 72899.0, "metro_p50": 78893.0, "metro_p75": 86813.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 102503.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Network Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 76398.5, "metro_p50": 100659.0, "metro_p75": 108583.25, "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": 90818.5, "metro_p50": 123757.4, "metro_p75": 145531.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "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": 42641.5, "metro_p50": 53603.0, "metro_p75": 55592.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 53129.0, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Cybersecurity Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 75625.0, "metro_p50": 76990.0, "metro_p75": 88508.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 107327.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "IT Project Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 73422.0, "metro_p50": 95837.6, "metro_p75": 111269.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 118149.8, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "USA Facts / Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Lafayette unemployment at 3.3% in August 2026, 17th-lowest among mid-sized metros"}, {"source_name": "KEDM / Louisiana Economic Development", "source_url": null, "statement": "Coastal Machine & Supply $25.5 million expansion creating 129 direct jobs"}, {"source_name": "Acadiana News First", "source_url": null, "statement": "SpaceX spaceport and drone companies projected to add 5,600 jobs by 2028"}, {"source_name": "Louisiana Workforce Commission", "source_url": null, "statement": "Louisiana recorded 43,000 quits vs. 22,000 layoffs in recent month"}, {"source_name": "ZipRecruiter", "source_url": null, "statement": "Louisiana IT Technician average salary $41,044 vs. general IT role average $93,813"}, {"source_name": "Layoffs.fyi", "source_url": null, "statement": "133,417 tech employees laid off at 325 companies through October 21, 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": "lafayette-la-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "lafayette-la-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:24:36.246488+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/lafayette-la-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/lafayette-la-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}