{"schema_version": 1, "id": "napa-ca-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 366, "label": "Napa, CA MSA", "slug": "napa-ca-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:24:51.002543+00:00", "headline": "Napa IT pay tracks Bay Area talent scarcity.", "headline_summary": "Napa unemployment sits at 4.2%, well below California's 5.1%, yet Software Engineer pay at $186,900 outpaces the $154,403 national median \u2014 evidence that Bay Area talent scarcity is setting the local price.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Napa MSA unemployment", "value": "4.2%", "context": "vs 5.1% California statewide"}, {"label": "Software Engineer advertised pay", "value": "$186,900", "context": "vs $154,403 national median"}, {"label": "California tech sector employment", "value": "-4.7% YoY", "context": "Computer Systems Design, through Sept 2026"}, {"label": "Napa WARN filing", "value": "91 workers", "context": "Renteria Vineyard Mgmt, effective Oct 15"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Help Desk pay erosion may ease frontline retention costs.", "body": "Metro Help Desk/IT Support pay fell to $74,973, a moderate decline consistent with national softening, with the gap against the $53,129 national median narrowing. Declining advertised rates for support roles could free budget to redirect toward cybersecurity and systems administration, where demand remains firmer."}, {"headline": "Cybersecurity and sysadmin pay gains point to infrastructure investment.", "body": "Cybersecurity Analyst ($114,553) and Systems Administrator ($105,838) advertised pay both moved up moderately, consistent with the national pattern of data center and infrastructure buildout outpacing tech-hub hiring. Napa employers planning on-prem or hybrid infrastructure expansion should expect to compete on pay for these roles even as broader IT hiring cools."}, {"headline": "Statewide tech layoffs haven't reached Napa's WARN filings.", "body": "California logged 16,000-plus technology job cuts via WARN notices through July, yet Napa's October filings (Renteria Vineyard Management, 91 workers) are agribusiness-driven. Laid-off Bay Area tech talent may be entering the broader regional candidate pool without yet showing up in local filing data \u2014 worth tracking as a sourcing opportunity."}], "local_conditions": "Napa MSA unemployment held at 4.2% in October, running nearly a full point below California's 5.1% statewide rate and reflecting a labor market still tight for a seasonal, agriculture-anchored economy. Renteria Vineyard Management's 91-worker WARN filing and earlier Gallo cuts signal strain concentrated in agribusiness and hospitality, leaving skilled IT hiring conditions largely insulated from local layoff activity.", "implications": "Local labor tightness compounds a statewide squeeze \u2014 Computer Systems Design employment is down 4.7% year-over-year statewide and San Francisco's job posting index sits near the bottom nationally, meaning Napa-based IT teams draw from a Bay Area talent pool that is simultaneously contracting and expensive to access. Software Engineer pay in the metro at $186,900 (well above the $154,403 national median) suggests local employers are paying a proximity premium for Bay Area-adjacent talent. Consider evaluating whether infrastructure and support roles can shift toward secondary-metro or hybrid arrangements while reserving premium local pay for roles \u2014 like software engineering \u2014 where on-site Bay Area access is still a competitive differentiator.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Bay Area tech layoffs (133,417 nationally through October) have not yet shown up in Napa WARN filings. Monitor whether displaced Bay Area engineering and infrastructure talent begins appearing in Napa-area applicant pools over the next 60 days."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "California's computer professional exemption salary threshold rises to $122,573.13 effective January, forcing payroll reviews for any Napa-based IT roles currently classified near that line. IT leaders should confirm exemption status now, ahead of year-end close."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Software Engineer advertised pay shows significant upward movement locally while national figures hold stable \u2014 a divergence worth tracking monthly to see if it persists or reflects a thin, volatile sample in a smaller metro."}, {"category": "Expected", "body": "Seasonal agricultural and government employment typically softens into winter in Napa; watch whether this loosens the broader labor pool enough to ease competition for adjacent support and operations hires."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 122951.0, "metro_p50": 160000.0, "metro_p75": 180969.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 84249.0, "metro_p50": 105838.0, "metro_p75": 118500.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "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": 85280.75, "metro_p50": 125000.0, "metro_p75": 140393.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 115757.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 184462.5, "metro_p50": 186900.0, "metro_p75": 186900.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 154403.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Help Desk/IT Support Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 72322.0, "metro_p50": 74973.0, "metro_p75": 79976.0, "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": 93000.0, "metro_p50": 114553.0, "metro_p75": 130000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 107327.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "IT Project Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 92697.0, "metro_p50": 123555.0, "metro_p75": 135000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 118149.8, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "California EDD", "source_url": null, "statement": "Napa MSA unemployment at 4.2% vs California 5.1%"}, {"source_name": "California WARN Act filings", "source_url": null, "statement": "Renteria Vineyard Management WARN filing for 91 workers"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "California Computer Systems Design employment down 4.7% YoY"}, {"source_name": "Indeed Hiring Lab", "source_url": null, "statement": "San Francisco job posting index among lowest nationally"}, {"source_name": "California Department of Industrial Relations", "source_url": null, "statement": "California computer professional exemption threshold rises to $122,573.13"}, {"source_name": "California WARN Act filings", "source_url": null, "statement": "California WARN notices show 16,000+ tech job cuts through July 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": "napa-ca-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "napa-ca-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:26:48.966429+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/napa-ca-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/napa-ca-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}