{"schema_version": 1, "id": "st-joseph-mo-ks-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 487, "label": "St. Joseph, MO-KS MSA", "slug": "st-joseph-mo-ks-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:33:58.496196+00:00", "headline": "St. Joseph pays up for network and security talent, cuts elsewhere.", "headline_summary": "Network Engineer pay climbed to $119,600, above the $115,757 national figure, while Software Engineer pay fell significantly to $121,408 and Help Desk pay dropped to $46,405.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Metro unemployment rate", "value": "3.7%", "context": "vs 4.1% national rate, May 2026"}, {"label": "Network Engineer advertised pay", "value": "$119,600", "context": "Above $115,757 national median"}, {"label": "Software Engineer advertised pay", "value": "$121,408", "context": "Down significantly vs $154,403 national"}, {"label": "Missouri IT wage gap", "value": "$44,227", "context": "6.2% below $47,150 national average"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Network Engineer pay in St. Joseph now beats the national rate.", "body": "Advertised pay of $119,600 locally exceeds the $115,757 national median, an unusual inversion for a secondary metro and consistent with national data center and infrastructure buildout reaching smaller markets. Retention budgets for network talent may need local premiums, since metro discounts may no longer apply."}, {"headline": "Cybersecurity pay is climbing even as other IT roles soften.", "body": "Local Cybersecurity Analyst pay rose significantly to $80,039 while Software Engineer, IT Project Manager and Help Desk advertised rates all declined. Current conditions suggest security hiring is being protected even where broader IT budgets are tightening."}, {"headline": "Software Engineer and PM pay drops point to build-vs-buy pressure.", "body": "Metro Software Engineer pay fell significantly to $121,408 and IT Project Manager pay dropped to $90,000, both moving against stable national trends. Declining local demand signals for these roles may reflect growing reliance on outsourced development or contract PM capacity over in-house staffing."}, {"headline": "Statewide IT wage gap complicates retention in a tight labor pool.", "body": "Missouri IT roles average $44,227 against a $47,150 national figure even as the state's unemployment rate sits well below the national rate. Employers competing for scarce talent without matching national pay will likely depend more heavily on flexibility and career development than compensation alone."}], "local_conditions": "St. Joseph's labor market held at 3.7% unemployment through May 2026, well below the national 4.1% rate, in a metro economy anchored by a concentrated base of just 2,713 establishments and employers like National Beef and regional healthcare systems. Tight local supply, combined with Missouri's broader 'low hire, low fire' posture and statewide IT wages running 6.2% below national averages, is pushing St. Joseph employers toward non-salary retention levers over aggressive pay escalation.", "implications": "Local advertised pay movements diverge sharply by role \u2014 Network Engineer pay is up significantly to $119,600 (ahead of the $115,757 national figure) and Cybersecurity Analyst pay rose to $80,039, while Software Engineer ($121,408) and IT Project Manager ($90,000) advertised rates fell significantly and Help Desk pay dropped to $46,405. This split suggests St. Joseph employers are concentrating scarce compensation dollars on infrastructure and security roles tied to data center and network buildout, while treating generalist software and PM functions as more replaceable or outsourceable. Consider reviewing whether current headcount plans overweight legacy software and PM roles relative to the security and network talent now commanding premium advertised pay in this metro.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Help Desk/IT Support pay fell significantly to $46,405 against a national decline to $53,129. Watch whether this signals consolidation of support functions into shared services or early-stage automation of tier-1 ticketing."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "National data center job postings, a signal of hiring demand (one ad often covers several openings), grew 20% in three months while tech hub hiring pulled back, a pattern that could extend to secondary markets like St. Joseph given its manufacturing and logistics base. Infrastructure and network headcount plans should account for this shift reaching regional employers."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Missouri's 'low hire, low fire' environment and Buchanan County's concentrated employer base (2,713 establishments) mean a single large layoff could meaningfully loosen the local IT labor pool. Monitor WARN filings for any Buchanan County or adjacent-county tech-adjacent notices."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National AI-related job postings now exceed 7% of all postings, well past the 2022 peak, while mid-level AI engineer pay grew 9.2%. If this premium reaches St. Joseph's advertised rates, it would mark the first clear signal that specialized AI compensation has moved beyond major tech hubs."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 111835.0, "metro_p50": 118965.0, "metro_p75": 126729.5, "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": 66498.0, "metro_p50": 75349.2, "metro_p75": 94866.0, "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": 84488.0, "metro_p50": 119600.0, "metro_p75": 119600.0, "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": 91571.0, "metro_p50": 121408.0, "metro_p75": 134049.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "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": 39037.0, "metro_p50": 46405.2, "metro_p75": 54948.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 53129.0, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Cybersecurity Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 72235.25, "metro_p50": 80039.0, "metro_p75": 80067.75, "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": "metro", "metro_p25": 75646.5, "metro_p50": 90000.0, "metro_p75": 92093.25, "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": "Federal Reserve/Trading Economics", "source_url": null, "statement": "St. Joseph MSA unemployment rate at 3.7% in May 2026"}, {"source_name": "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Buchanan County has 2,713 establishments employing 46,328 people"}, {"source_name": "Missouri Department of Labor", "source_url": null, "statement": "Missouri IT roles average $44,227 vs $47,150 national average"}, {"source_name": "Indeed Hiring Lab", "source_url": null, "statement": "Data center job postings grew 20% in three months nationally"}, {"source_name": "Indeed Hiring Lab", "source_url": null, "statement": "AI-related postings reached 7.3% of all postings, past 2022 peak"}, {"source_name": "Robert Half 2026 Salary Guide", "source_url": null, "statement": "Mid-level AI engineer salary growth of 9.2% nationally"}], "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": "st-joseph-mo-ks-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "st-joseph-mo-ks-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:31:00.143863+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/st-joseph-mo-ks-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/st-joseph-mo-ks-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}