Computer Specialists: Job, Salary, and School Information from The Riley Guide

Job Numbers and Growth

Computer specialists in the US number about 136,000. Compared to other occupations, unemployment is considered low.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

About 6% of employees work fewer than 40 hours per week. About 7% of computer specialists are self-employed.

Training and Education

Expect to need to get an associate degree if you pursue this occupation. 68% of employees have a bachelor's degree. 25 of people working as computer specialists have had some college education, but stopped short of a degree. About 7% of those working as workers have a high-school diploma, but no further education. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which, if any, could help you with this career.

Area Job Conditions

Jobs per capita for employees are most common in Carson City (Nevada), Salem (Oregon), and Warner Robins (Georgia), and least common in Cape Coral (Florida), Gary (Indiana), and Rochester (New York).

Jobs for computer specialists pay the most in Washington (District of Columbia), Atlantic City (New Jersey), and Pascagoula (Mississippi), and the least in Muskegon (Michigan), Provo (Utah), and Lakeland (Florida).

Career Overview Video About Computer Specialists

Computer Specialists: Job and Salary Data by Metropolitan Area

The table below shows data for Computer Specialists, as of 2008. The Popularity in Area number tells you how common jobs for Computer Specialists are in the area, compared to other US metro areas. A value of 1.0 means an average number of people in the position for area population. Lower numbers mean fewer of these positions in the metro area. The most popular areas for Computer Specialists are starred .

State	Area	Positions	Typical Pay	Popularity in Area
Alabama	Birmingham	440	$65,960	0.6
Alabama	Huntsville	820	$88,120	2.7
Alabama	Montgomery	580	$73,470	2.3
Alaska	Anchorage	330	$76,170	1.4
Alaska	Fairbanks	130	$70,320	3.1
Arizona	Flagstaff	50	$63,310	0.7
Arizona	Phoenix	1,040	$70,850	0.4
Arizona	Tucson	420	$57,160	0.8
Arkansas	Fayetteville	60	$50,470	0.2
Arkansas	Little Rock	340	$62,140	0.7
Arkansas	Pine Bluff	40	$53,150	0.9
California	Bakersfield	440	$79,770	1.1
California	Fresno	230	$65,860	0.5
California	Hanford	50	$74,450	1.4
California	Oakland	2,570	$93,030	1.6
California	Oxnard	520	$77,340	1.2
California	Riverside	770	$67,770	0.4
California	Sacramento	2,870	$66,700	2.1
California	Salinas	400	$83,820	1.8
California	San Diego	4,190	$79,070	2
California	San Francisco	4,750	$85,080	3.1
California	San Jose	3,580	$93,650	2.5
California	San Luis Obispo	60	$63,910	0.4
California	Santa Ana	2,840	$71,550	1.2
California	Santa Barbara	180	$68,340	0.7
California	Santa Rosa	50	$77,240	0.2
California	Stockton	110	$68,120	0.3
California	Vallejo	160	$80,320	0.9
California	Yuba City	50	$101,270	1
Colorado	Boulder	910	$75,630	3.9
Colorado	Colorado Springs	910	$73,190	2.4
Colorado	Denver	4,300	$76,400	2.2
Colorado	Fort Collins	560	$76,920	3.2
Colorado	Grand Junction	70	$53,280	0.9
Colorado	Pueblo	50	$64,200	0.7
Connecticut	Bridgeport	160	$65,520	0.2
Connecticut	Hartford	330	$68,190	0.4
Connecticut	New Haven	120	$59,250	0.3
Connecticut	Norwich	70	$81,960	0.4
Delaware	Wilmington	280	$68,830	0.6
District of Columbia	Washington	16,730	$95,740	4.7
Florida	Cape Coral	30	$59,130	0.1
Florida	Fort Lauderdale	300	$60,320	0.3
Florida	Fort Walton Beach	160	$69,610	1.5
Florida	Gainesville	60	$67,700	0.4
Florida	Jacksonville	470	$71,710	0.5
Florida	Lakeland	60	$31,930	0.2
Florida	Miami	500	$62,050	0.3
Florida	Orlando	780	$43,250	0.5
Florida	Palm Bay	200	$67,660	0.7
Florida	Panama City	40	$71,640	0.4
Florida	Pensacola	350	$78,090	1.6
Florida	Tallahassee	70	$49,170	0.3
Florida	Tampa	790	$67,710	0.4
Florida	West Palm Beach	130	$67,580	0.2
Georgia	Albany	100	$72,140	1.2
Georgia	Athens	50	$63,470	0.5
Georgia	Atlanta	2,490	$75,020	0.7
Georgia	Augusta	190	$66,750	0.6
Georgia	Brunswick	50	$74,890	0.9
Georgia	Columbus	70	$69,740	0.5
Georgia	Warner Robins	330	$69,290	5
Hawaii	Honolulu	1,010	$71,340	1.5
Idaho	Boise	630	$58,820	1.6
Idaho	Coeur Dalene	50	$54,110	0.7
Idaho	Idaho Falls	110	$56,540	1.8
Idaho	Lewiston	40	$40,670	1.4
Idaho	Pocatello	50	$56,480	1.3
Illinois	Champaign	250	$66,470	1.9
Illinois	Chicago	9,490	$75,440	1.6
Illinois	Peoria	140	$59,550	0.6
Illinois	Rockford	130	$47,950	0.6
Illinois	Springfield	420	$66,060	2.9
Indiana	Fort Wayne	60	$65,860	0.2
Indiana	Gary	40	$68,680	0.1
Indiana	Indianapolis	1,030	$69,640	0.8
Indiana	South Bend	70	$54,310	0.4
Indiana	Terre Haute	50	$62,530	0.5
Iowa	Ames	190	$52,530	3.9
Iowa	Davenport	350	$77,090	1.3
Iowa	Des Moines	410	$57,120	0.8
Iowa	Iowa City	70	$62,600	0.7
Kansas	Topeka	110	$72,140	0.7
Kansas	Wichita	300	$74,140	0.7
Kentucky	Bowling Green	30	$55,500	0.4
Kentucky	Lexington	160	$75,480	0.4
Kentucky	Louisville	520	$71,220	0.6
Louisiana	Alexandria	50	$65,940	0.6
Louisiana	Baton Rouge	300	$51,400	0.5
Louisiana	Lafayette	50		0.2
Louisiana	Monroe	40	$39,180	0.4
Louisiana	New Orleans	880	$80,200	1.1
Louisiana	Shreveport	70	$66,270	0.3
Maine	Portland	170	$57,190	0.6
Maryland	Baltimore	5,650	$88,130	2.8
Maryland	Bethesda	2,740	$91,850	3.1
Maryland	Hagerstown	650	$85,100	4.6
Massachusetts	Barnstable Town	90	$73,610	0.6
Massachusetts	Boston	2,060	$79,720	0.8
Massachusetts	Framingham	320	$85,180	1.4
Massachusetts	Lawrence	60	$72,740	0.8
Massachusetts	Lowell	170	$75,180	1
Massachusetts	Springfield	140	$69,360	0.3
Massachusetts	Worcester	180	$65,480	0.5
Michigan	Ann Arbor	480	$72,940	2
Michigan	Battle Creek	230	$70,580	3.6
Michigan	Detroit	1,910	$86,510	1.8
Michigan	Flint	140	$43,680	0.7
Michigan	Grand Rapids	990	$49,070	1.7
Michigan	Holland	130	$56,310	0.9
Michigan	Jackson	50	$55,630	0.7
Michigan	Kalamazoo	260	$47,950	1.3
Michigan	Monroe	40	$65,080	0.8
Michigan	Muskegon	50	$40,770	0.6
Michigan	Niles	50	$50,050	0.6
Michigan	Saginaw	140	$58,710	1.3
Michigan	Warren	3,270	$66,240	1.8
Minnesota	Duluth	90	$56,310	0.5
Minnesota	Minneapolis	6,300	$75,350	2.3
Minnesota	Rochester	340	$61,590	2.6
Minnesota	St Cloud	110	$56,560	0.8
Mississippi	Gulfport	190	$70,720	1.2
Mississippi	Jackson	140	$68,430	0.4
Mississippi	Pascagoula	60	$93,590	1
Missouri	Columbia	40	$58,770	0.4
Missouri	Jefferson City	40	$72,290	0.4
Missouri	Kansas City	1,480	$77,390	0.9
Missouri	Springfield	90	$41,870	0.3
Missouri	St Louis	2,870	$75,520	1.4
Montana	Missoula	60	$49,530	0.9
Nebraska	Lincoln	160		0.7
Nebraska	Omaha	380	$71,150	0.5
Nevada	Carson City	330	$70,050	9.8
Nevada	Las Vegas	740	$63,670	0.5
Nevada	Reno	260	$58,230	0.8
New Hampshire	Manchester	110	$70,660	0.7
New Hampshire	Nashua	210	$95,550	1
New Hampshire	Portsmouth	170	$72,610	2.2
New Hampshire	Rochester	60	$71,980	0.8
New Jersey	Atlantic City	510	$91,430	2.4
New Jersey	Camden	660	$56,340	0.8
New Jersey	Edison	2,270	$73,480	1.4
New Jersey	Newark	2,010	$94,210	1.3
New Jersey	Trenton	780	$74,490	2.5
New Mexico	Albuquerque	490	$76,290	0.8
New Mexico	Las Cruces	100	$65,570	1.2
New Mexico	Santa Fe	140	$56,550	1.6
New York	Albany	320	$82,470	0.5
New York	Buffalo	140	$61,770	0.2
New York	Nassau	300	$62,990	0.2
New York	New York	3,240	$73,740	0.4
New York	Rochester	50	$63,270	0.1
New York	Syracuse	60	$68,500	0.1
North Carolina	Asheville	100	$84,280	0.4
North Carolina	Charlotte	620	$74,300	0.5
North Carolina	Durham	430	$77,200	1.1
North Carolina	Fayetteville	430	$68,080	2.5
North Carolina	Greensboro	80	$72,710	0.1
North Carolina	Jacksonville	180	$65,640	3.4
North Carolina	Raleigh	720	$72,010	0.9
North Dakota	Bismarck	80	$55,840	1.1
North Dakota	Fargo	60	$61,720	0.4
Ohio	Akron	290	$65,880	0.6
Ohio	Canton	40	$42,280	0.2
Ohio	Cincinnati	1,930	$67,790	1.2
Ohio	Cleveland	1,760	$70,110	1.1
Ohio	Columbus	1,890	$80,250	1.3
Ohio	Dayton	1,200	$78,170	2
Ohio	Springfield	40	$63,720	0.6
Ohio	Toledo	150	$57,470	0.3
Ohio	Youngstown	80	$48,210	0.2
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City	650	$73,720	0.8
Oklahoma	Tulsa	270	$67,000	0.4
Oregon	Bend	80	$71,330	0.9
Oregon	Eugene	210	$53,220	1
Oregon	Medford	140	$55,570	1.2
Oregon	Portland	2,960	$71,750	1.9
Oregon	Salem	1,560	$62,890	7.2
Pennsylvania	Harrisburg	1,070	$76,430	2.3
Pennsylvania	Johnstown	40	$79,440	0.5
Pennsylvania	Lancaster	40	$58,400	0.1
Pennsylvania	Lebanon	80	$66,870	1.3
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	2,100	$74,080	0.7
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	660	$68,760	0.4
Pennsylvania	Reading	40	$54,400	0.2
Pennsylvania	Scranton	130	$74,910	0.3
Pennsylvania	State College	120	$53,760	1.6
Pennsylvania	York	150	$83,190	0.6
Rhode Island	Providence	950	$72,960	1.1
South Carolina	Charleston	250	$75,250	0.6
South Carolina	Columbia	270	$54,950	0.5
Tennessee	Chattanooga	110	$40,290	0.3
Tennessee	Clarksville	80	$67,710	0.8
Tennessee	Johnson City	90	$64,810	0.9
Tennessee	Knoxville	230	$52,430	0.5
Tennessee	Memphis	550	$70,000	0.6
Tennessee	Nashville	630	$60,220	0.5
Texas	Austin	1,000	$78,910	0.9
Texas	Beaumont	30	$80,710	0.1
Texas	Corpus Christi	220	$74,180	0.9
Texas	Dallas	1,860	$76,650	0.6
Texas	El Paso	140	$68,360	0.4
Texas	Fort Worth	600	$66,460	0.5
Texas	Houston	2,670	$78,870	0.7
Texas	Killeen	220	$65,400	1.3
Texas	Midland	60	$75,810	0.7
Texas	San Antonio	1,220	$72,980	0.9
Utah	Ogden	920	$70,420	3.1
Utah	Provo	220	$30,630	0.9
Virginia	Blacksburg	50	$73,500	0.6
Virginia	Charlottesville	60	$81,670	0.5
Virginia	Richmond	520	$76,670	0.6
Virginia	Virginia Beach	1,550	$79,200	1.3
Washington	Bellingham	50	$49,820	0.5
Washington	Bremerton	290	$78,730	2.5
Washington	Kennewick	180	$72,450	1.4
Washington	Seattle	5,820	$81,000	2.6
Washington	Spokane	260	$52,310	0.8
Washington	Tacoma	370	$63,090	0.9
West Virginia	Charleston	40	$57,640	0.2
West Virginia	Huntington	60	$64,790	0.4
West Virginia	Parkersburg	280	$75,660	2.9
West Virginia	Wheeling	30	$57,600	0.3
Wisconsin	Green Bay	50	$46,430	0.2
Wisconsin	Madison	320	$56,330	0.6
Wisconsin	Milwaukee	410	$64,620	0.3
Wisconsin	Racine	30	$43,000	0.3
Wyoming	Casper	60	$66,020	1.2
Wyoming	Cheyenne	90	$59,530	1.6

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Computer Specialists