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Tech pay is still rising in some important specialties, but the claim that salaries are increasing for nearly all roles is not a reliable description of the global market in 2026. That wording came from Hired’s 2022 salary report. More recent evidence points to moderate overall growth and stronger gains in selected areas such as AI, data, cybersecurity, cloud and DevOps. Results vary by country, seniority, employer and whether you count base pay or total compensation.
Where the “nearly all roles” claim came from
Hired released its 2022 State of Tech Salaries report on September 13, 2022, describing salary increases across nearly all roles in the markets represented on its recruiting platform. Its data covered hiring activity from 2019 through June 2022 and a survey of more than 2,000 technology professionals. The analysis drew on more than 907,000 interview requests across more than 47,750 active positions, according to SHRM’s report on the findings.
That was a particular period and sample—not a census of technology workers worldwide. Hired’s represented markets were concentrated in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, and the report reflected marketplace salaries and hiring activity during the post-pandemic hiring boom. It did not establish that every worker received a raise or that pay rose after inflation.
Experience mattered: Hired said professionals with more than three years of experience drove much of the increase, while junior local salaries lagged. U.S. product-management salaries were an exception. Remote salaries increased across the roles in the report’s 2022 data. Those findings describe that report’s period, not a current universal remote-work premium. The original report is available from Hired’s 2022 announcement.
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What the latest evidence says about tech pay
Available 2026 figures support a more selective picture. They measure different things and should not be treated as directly comparable:
| Source and scope | What it reports | What the figure means |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Half, U.S. technology salary forecast | Average technology and IT salary growth of 1.6% from 2025 to 2026 | A U.S. salary-guide projection, not a global measure or a record of raises received by the same employees. |
| Harvey Nash, survey of more than 3,600 technologists in 53 countries | 45% said they had received a raise in the previous 12 months; 47% expected a raise in the coming year | Survey responses and expectations, not proof that nearly all workers got raises or that expected raises will occur. |
| Hays, global technology talent analysis | Reports continuing pay pressure where skills are scarce and work is business-critical | A market analysis based on about 10,000 technology professionals and broader market data, using Hays’ definitions and methodology. |
A salary can rise in nominal terms while losing purchasing power after inflation, taxes or higher living costs. These sources do not establish a single global, inflation-adjusted pay trend. They also differ in whether they describe salary forecasts, survey respondents’ experiences or market remuneration patterns.
Which technology roles have the strongest pay momentum?
Robert Half’s U.S. projections show larger increases for selected roles than for the technology average. The dollar amounts below are projected 2026 midpoint salaries in its salary guide; they are not guaranteed offers. The percentage column is its projected 2025–26 increase.
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| Role | Projected U.S. midpoint | Projected increase, 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|
| AI/ML engineer | $170,750 | 4.4% |
| Data scientist | $153,750 | 4.1% |
| Cybersecurity engineer | $144,000 | 4.0% |
| Data analyst | $117,250 | 3.3% |
| ERP developer | $143,500 | 3.2% |
| DevOps engineer | $145,750 | 3.0% |
| Data engineer | $156,250 | Not stated in the cited summary |
| Software engineer | $142,000 | Not stated in the cited summary |
| Network/cloud engineer | $132,000 | Not stated in the cited summary |
| Systems administrator | $98,000 | Not stated in the cited summary |
Figures are from Robert Half’s 2026 technology-role analysis. A missing growth percentage does not mean pay is flat; the cited summary simply does not list one. Nor does a high midpoint mean that role’s pay is growing fastest.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThe broader evidence identifies AI and machine learning, data science and engineering, cybersecurity, cloud, DevOps, platform engineering, site reliability engineering and specialized software work as areas where employers may pay a premium for scarce capabilities. That does not establish a uniform increase for every job title, level or market in those fields.
Why specialized skills can command higher pay
Pay premiums reflect what employers need a worker to deliver, not simply a technology label. AI projects require people who can integrate models into products and operations, assess their performance and manage data and security risks. Cybersecurity work protects systems and helps organizations meet regulatory obligations. Cloud, platform and DevOps expertise can support reliability, deployment speed, modernization and cost control. Data specialists help turn information and AI investment into usable decisions and products.
In Robert Half’s survey of more than 430 U.S. technology leaders, 87% said they offer higher pay for specialized capabilities. Skills associated with higher pay included AI, machine learning and data science; cybersecurity; cloud; software development; and data analytics. That finding reflects the surveyed leaders’ responses, not a guarantee that a particular skill or credential will produce a raise.
Who may not be seeing the same gains?
Broad sector averages conceal differences between workers and employers. Junior candidates may face tougher competition and have less leverage than experienced specialists. Generalists without differentiated skills may not benefit from demand for narrow capabilities. Employees whose annual increases are modest can fall behind external offers for new hires, while workers in weaker local markets may see slower pay growth than peers in major technology hubs.
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High demand in a field does not protect every employee from a hiring freeze, restructuring or layoff. In its 2025 workforce study, ISC2 found that 20% of surveyed cybersecurity professionals reported no salary increase in the preceding year, while 57% reported increases of 1% to 9%. The study also described layoffs and anticipated cutbacks in parts of the technology sector. These are survey findings, not a measure of all cybersecurity workers. See the ISC2 2025 Cybersecurity Workforce Study.
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Pay data also depends on what is counted. Base salary is not the same as total compensation, which may include bonuses, stock or benefits. Equity can be volatile or difficult to sell; a nominal raise may not keep pace with inflation or rising household costs. A reported change in average salary can also reflect a different mix of seniority, locations and roles rather than a raise received by the same employees.
AI is changing the value of tasks, not delivering a simple pay outcome
AI can raise demand for workers who build, deploy, evaluate, secure and govern systems, while automation may put pressure on some routine tasks. The likely value shifts toward work requiring system design, data quality, evaluation, security, integration, domain knowledge and sound judgment. Hays describes AI as augmenting human expertise while identifying continued demand for software, data, cloud, cybersecurity, DevOps and platform capabilities in its 2026 findings.
AI exposure is not the same as job elimination, and taking an AI course does not automatically translate into higher pay. The evidence supports changing skill requirements and selective demand, not a certain salary outcome for every worker.
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Geography and remote work change the comparison
Hays identifies the United States, Switzerland, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia among the highest-paying countries by mean permanent-technology salary in its analysis. That is a ranking of pay levels, not salary growth rates. A mean can be pulled upward by high-paid workers, and country comparisons do not by themselves account for currency conversion, taxes, social insurance, benefits or purchasing power.
Hired’s city figures illustrate why dates and methods matter. For local tech salaries in its 2022 data, it reported averages of $174,063 in the San Francisco Bay Area, $168,069 in Seattle, $161,128 in New York City, $158,548 in Boston and $157,612 in Austin. These are historical figures, not 2026 benchmarks; the underlying report is discussed by SHRM.
Remote work can expand access to employers beyond a worker’s immediate market, but it does not guarantee a higher salary. An employer may set pay by the worker’s residence, use country or city bands, base pay on headquarters, or pay the same rate across locations. A remote offer can also trade cash for flexibility. Ask which rule applies before comparing it with a local role.
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How to benchmark an offer or prepare for a raise
- Match the comparison to your job. Compare role, level, location, industry and company size. A staff AI engineer’s pay is not a benchmark for a junior generalist.
- Separate base pay from total compensation. List salary, target bonus, equity value and vesting schedule, benefits, retirement contributions and paid leave. Check whether equity is liquid and whether grants depend on continued employment.
- Use more than one source. Compare current salary ranges in job postings with at least one salary guide or compensation dataset. Check sample size, date, geography and whether the figure is a mean, median, range or projection.
- Ask how location affects the band. For remote jobs, establish whether compensation follows your residence, the employer’s headquarters or a uniform global band.
- Compare an internal raise with the external market. An annual adjustment and a new-hire offer measure different things. Use recent offers and posted ranges for comparable roles to understand the gap.
- Show outcomes, not just credentials. Connect specialized skills to measurable results such as reduced cloud costs, stronger security, improved reliability, faster delivery or revenue impact. A certification can help validate relevant skills, but it does not guarantee a raise.
- Include the full financial trade-off. Consider taxes, health coverage, retirement contributions, currency risk, on-call expectations, required office attendance, visa status and promotion prospects alongside headline salary.
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