IT Hourly Rates 2026: What Government Contracts Pay for Help Desk, Network, Security, and Cloud Work
IT hourly rates are hard to benchmark because commercial providers rarely publish them. Federal contracts are the exception. The General Services Administration publishes the ceiling hourly rate for every labor category on its Multiple Award Schedule, and we analyzed 23,033 of them across ten roles that MSPs and MSSPs staff. Help desk work has a median of $76 an hour; cloud architects, $185.
The rate card: median hourly rate by role
Each card shows the median rate, the middle half of rates, and the median at each experience level required by the labor category. Manager, lead, and director categories are excluded.
Help desk and IT support
Middle half: $60 to $98 · 3,176 rates
- 0-2 yrs$68
- 3-5 yrs$80
- 6-9 yrs$99
- 10+ yrs$115
2.6x the BLS median wage ($29.74/hr)
Network administrator
Middle half: $92 to $142 · 1,438 rates
- 0-2 yrs$97
- 3-5 yrs$110
- 6-9 yrs$134
- 10+ yrs$145
2.4x the BLS median wage ($47.66/hr)
Systems administrator
Middle half: $91 to $143 · 3,848 rates
- 0-2 yrs$97
- 3-5 yrs$113
- 6-9 yrs$133
- 10+ yrs$144
2.4x the BLS median wage ($47.66/hr)
Network engineer
Middle half: $104 to $158 · 2,904 rates
- 0-2 yrs$105
- 3-5 yrs$122
- 6-9 yrs$144
- 10+ yrs$158
Database administrator
Middle half: $104 to $156 · 3,022 rates
- 0-2 yrs$104
- 3-5 yrs$123
- 6-9 yrs$147
- 10+ yrs$160
2.6x the BLS median wage ($50.30/hr)
Cybersecurity analyst
Middle half: $105 to $162 · 2,277 rates
- 0-2 yrs$101
- 3-5 yrs$127
- 6-9 yrs$149
- 10+ yrs$180
2.1x the BLS median wage ($62.11/hr)
Security engineer
Middle half: $119 to $180 · 3,105 rates
- 0-2 yrs$118
- 3-5 yrs$140
- 6-9 yrs$162
- 10+ yrs$180
Penetration tester
Middle half: $120 to $193 · 546 rates
- 0-2 yrs$129
- 3-5 yrs$149
- 6-9 yrs$177
- 10+ yrs$184
Cloud engineer
Middle half: $132 to $199 · 1,859 rates
- 0-2 yrs$127
- 3-5 yrs$153
- 6-9 yrs$178
- 10+ yrs$209
Cloud architect
Middle half: $153 to $221 · 858 rates
- 0-2 yrs$144
- 3-5 yrs$169
- 6-9 yrs$195
- 10+ yrs$214
How rates compare with wages
A contract rate pays for the worker plus benefits, overhead, and profit. For roles with a direct match in Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation data, the median rate runs 2.1 to 2.6 times the national median hourly wage.
| Role | BLS occupation | BLS median wage | Median contract rate | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Help desk and IT support | 15-1232 | $29.74 | $76.34 | 2.6x |
| Network administrator | 15-1244 | $47.66 | $113.37 | 2.4x |
| Systems administrator | 15-1244 | $47.66 | $115.25 | 2.4x |
| Database administrator | 15-1242 | $50.30 | $129.26 | 2.6x |
| Cybersecurity analyst | 15-1212 | $62.11 | $129.99 | 2.1x |
Does it matter where the work is done?
Labor categories are priced for work at the contractor’s own facility or on site at the customer. For most roles the difference is small and runs in both directions.
| Role | Contractor site | Customer site | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Help desk and IT support | $80 | $73 | +10% |
| Network administrator | $120 | $108 | +11% |
| Systems administrator | $118 | $113 | +4% |
| Network engineer | $132 | $125 | +5% |
| Database administrator | $133 | $126 | +6% |
| Cybersecurity analyst | $134 | $126 | +7% |
| Security engineer | $150 | $144 | +4% |
| Penetration tester | $145 | $155 | -6% |
| Cloud engineer | $166 | $158 | +5% |
| Cloud architect | $190 | $177 | +8% |
What this means for MSP pricing
These are federal ceiling prices, so they mark the upper range of what an established contractor can charge for dedicated labor. They are useful as a sanity check: at the median rate, a full-time equivalent help desk technician bills about $12,214 a month and a systems administrator about $18,440. A per-user managed services price that implies more dedicated labor per client than that is underpriced; one that implies much less needs automation or scale to deliver the promised service levels.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average hourly rate for IT support?
The median GSA contract rate for help desk and IT support labor categories is $76.34 an hour across 3,176 rates, with the middle half between $60 and $98. Entry-level categories (0 to 2 years of experience) have a median of $68.
How much does a penetration tester charge per hour?
Penetration testing labor categories on GSA contracts have a median rate of $152.04 an hour, rising from $129 for 0 to 2 years of experience to $184 for 10 or more years.
What do contract rates include?
GSA schedule rates are fully burdened ceiling prices: the maximum hourly price a contractor may charge the government, covering wages, benefits, overhead, and profit. Actual task order prices can be lower.
How do IT contract rates compare to IT salaries?
For the roles with a direct BLS occupation match, the median contract rate is 2.1 to 2.6 times the national median hourly wage. Help desk rates are 2.6 times the wage of computer user support specialists.
What does a dedicated help desk technician cost per month?
At the median contract rate, 160 hours of help desk labor costs about $12,214 a month; a systems administrator about $18,440. Managed service providers usually price per user or per device instead, spreading one technician across many clients.
Methodology
Source. U.S. General Services Administration, Contract-Awarded Labor Category (CALC+) ceiling rates API, retrieved 2026-10-12. We searched fifteen IT role keywords and kept 26,629 unique labor category rates, all on the Multiple Award Schedule.
Classification. Each labor category title was assigned to one role by keyword (penetration testing first, help desk last); titles containing manager, director, supervisor, lead, chief, principal, or executive were excluded, leaving 23,033 rates. Experience bands use the minimum years of experience in the labor category. Bands with fewer than 20 rates are not shown.
Wage comparison. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 national estimates: 15-1232 (help desk), 15-1244 (systems and network administrators), 15-1212 (information security analysts), 15-1242 (database administrators). Roles without a one-to-one occupation match have no multiple.
Limitations. Ceiling rates are maximums for federal buyers; awarded prices can be lower, and commercial MSP pricing is usually per user or per device. Rates include current-year prices only.
Not advice. This is an analysis of public contract data, not pricing advice.
Cite as:The Uptime Report. "IT Hourly Rates 2026: What Government Contracts Pay for Help Desk, Network, Security, and Cloud Work." October 2026. https://theuptimereport.com/it-hourly-rates-2026/
References
- GSA, CALC+ Pricing Tool. Accessed October 2026.
- GSA, CALC+ Labor Ceiling Rates API documentation. Accessed October 2026.
- BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Accessed October 2026.
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