IT Salary Guide

2027 Information Technology Salary Guide

What should you pay, or earn, in IT in 2027?

Minneapolis · Upper Midwest · National

Technology remains essential to nearly every business, but the energy around IT hiring is shifting. Employers are hiring with more caution than they have in years, holding headcount flat while raising the bar on what each hire needs to deliver. The people earning attention now aren't just strong coders. They're builders who can solve problems, use AI as a tool, and connect their work to business results.

SkyWater's 2027 Information Technology Salary Guide gives you real-world salary ranges for 41 roles, from associate software engineers to CIOs, in the Greater Minneapolis market. Each range is broken out by company size and paired with the context you need to hire, negotiate, and plan with confidence.

Hear What's Shaping IT Pay in 2027

Zac Kallas, Senior Group Director of SkyWater's Information Technology practice, shares what the team is seeing in the market and what it means for employers and candidates heading into 2027.

What's Inside the 2027 Guide

• Salary ranges for 41 roles across leadership, management, and individual contributor levels, including CIO, CTO, CISO, software engineering, cybersecurity, cloud, DevOps, data, product, and infrastructure roles.
• Ranges by company size for small ($0 to $50M), medium ($51M to $500M), and large ($501M+) organizations.
• Five indicators for every role: Minneapolis vs. national pay, compensation direction, hiring demand, and AI impact over the next three to five years, alongside the salary range.
• Trends to watch in 2027, including the shift from growth hiring to replacement hiring, the rising value of a builder's mindset over stack depth, and how AI-generated applications are making it harder to find real, qualified candidates.
• Practical advice for employers and candidates on benchmarking teams and standing out in an AI-saturated hiring process.

Key Findings for 2027

• Pay is rising across the board. Every one of the 41 roles in the guide shows upward compensation pressure heading into 2027.
• Minneapolis tech executives trail national pay. CIO, CTO, CISO, and VP of Software Engineering base salaries in Minneapolis run below the national average.
• Cybersecurity commands a premium. The median wage for information security analysts climbed to $129,180 in 2025, with employment projected to grow 21% over the next decade. Cybersecurity roles in the guide pair high demand with low AI impact.
• Employers are hiring to elevate, not just to fill. Many companies are hiring one or two levels ahead of their current team, and some are paying significantly more for one person who can do the work of three.
• AI is reshaping entry-level and repeatable work. QA engineers, associate software engineers, web developers, database developers, and data and business analysts carry high AI impact ratings, while leadership and security roles rate low.

Who This Guide Is For

CIOs, CTOs, IT leaders, and HR teams who want to build competitive offers, benchmark their teams, and make every senior technical hire count.

IT professionals who want to understand their market value, prepare for salary conversations, and position themselves in a market that rewards problem solvers.

Sources

This guide draws on SkyWater's own placement and recruiting data, firsthand market observations from our practice leaders, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), Salary.com, and Indeed. We cross-referenced this data against publicly available compensation research from other national search and staffing firms. Conditions vary by company, industry, and candidate, so treat these ranges as a starting point for a conversation, not a final answer.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What IT roles are included in the 2027 salary guide?
The guide covers 41 roles across leadership, management, and individual contributor levels, including software engineering, cybersecurity, cloud, DevOps, data, product management, infrastructure, QA, and UX.

How much does a software engineer make in Minneapolis?
Software engineer base salaries in the guide range from $94,000 at smaller companies to $132,000 at larger ones, with senior, lead, and principal software engineers ranging up to $199,000.

How does Minneapolis tech pay compare to the national market?
Most IT roles pay in line with national averages, while top technology executives, including CIOs, CTOs, and CISOs, trail national base pay.

How is AI affecting IT jobs?
AI is taking on more repeatable work, so roles like QA engineer and associate software engineer rate high for AI impact. Leadership, cybersecurity, and strategic roles rate low. Employers increasingly value people who use AI as a tool to solve problems.

Do the salary ranges include bonuses?
No. Ranges reflect typical base salary in the Greater Minneapolis market. Bonuses and other incentive pay are not included.