Technology & IT · Baltimore, MD
Baltimore has 2.77 times the national share of information security analysts but under half the share of data scientists, and its database administrators out-earn their Washington peers. Careerscape's technology recruiters belong to a national team organized by industry and run Baltimore searches by phone and video.
By the numbers
Figures not shown in the BLS occupation table below. The Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro covers Baltimore City and the surrounding counties, including Howard and Anne Arundel; the Washington comparisons come from the same BLS survey.
Talent depth
BLS May 2025 estimates for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro, all employers. LQ is the local share of jobs in a role divided by the national share.
| Occupation | Jobs in metro | Median pay · vs. U.S. | Concentration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 16,850 | $138,900+2% | 1.14 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | 2,670 | $129,880+25% | 1.64 |
| Information Security Analysts | 4,600 | $138,170+7% | 2.77 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | 4,620 | $122,950+24% | 1.69 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 6,850 | $108,980+3% | 1.51 |
| Data Scientists | 1,090 | $134,320+12% | 0.48 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 7,010 | $168,520−4% | 1.20 |
| Computer User Support Specialists | 5,080 | $62,950+2% | 0.81 |
| Computer Network Architects | 2,480 | $160,340+20% | 1.58 |
| Database Administrators | 1,190 | $123,730+18% | 1.95 |
| Web Developers | 790 | $107,590+16% | 1.29 |
Security, database and QA work stand out: information security analysts (LQ 2.77), database administrators (1.95) and QA analysts and testers (1.64) are all well above the U.S. share. Data scientists are the gap: 1,090 jobs and an LQ of 0.48, under half the national share. Pay is mixed. Database administrators earn a $123,730 median here, above both the U.S. ($104,620) and the DC metro ($108,750), and network architects ($160,340) edge out DC's $159,820. Computer and information systems managers ($168,520) sit below the U.S. median of $175,140. Jobs and median annual pay for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area, all employers, from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025). “Vs. U.S.” compares with the national median. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: above 1.0 means the job makes up a bigger share of local employment than it does nationally.
Who hires
Employers are named as market context from public sources, not as Careerscape clients.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Social Security Administration both have their headquarters in Woodlawn, just west of the city. Their contractors hire developers, data engineers, testers and security analysts, and many of those seats are public trust positions rather than cleared ones.
The NSA, U.S. Cyber Command and DISA all sit inside Fort Meade. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory is in Laurel. Here the work usually needs a clearance, often with a polygraph, which is covered on our Baltimore staffing page.
Johns Hopkins and the region's health systems run large IT shops: electronic health records, research computing, identity and access management, and security operations that handle protected health information under HIPAA.
T. Rowe Price is headquartered in Baltimore, and Exelon and M&T Bank are among the city's larger employers. They hire application developers, data and cloud engineers, and IT risk staff on commercial timelines, usually without federal screening.
Public trust
Contract IT staff at CMS, SSA and other civilian agencies are often screened for suitability or fitness, not for a security clearance. This is the federal sequence; each agency sets its own process and timing. General information, not legal advice.
Under 5 CFR 731.106, every covered position gets a high, moderate or low risk level. High and moderate risk positions are public trust positions. The rule explicitly covers positions held by contractor employees.
The risk level, not the employer's preference, decides which investigation the candidate needs. Get it from the contracting officer before you post the role, because a moderate risk seat and a high risk seat attract different candidate pools.
Part 731 includes reciprocity requirements, so a candidate with a prior favorable determination at the same or higher level may not need a new investigation. Ask candidates for the level, agency and approximate date of any prior public trust or clearance investigation.
For contractor employees, the agency makes the fitness determination. Your offer should be conditional on it, and your start date should allow for the agency's processing time.
Contract-to-hire or a short contract bench can hold a strong candidate while fitness is processed. A public trust determination is not a clearance and does not grant access to classified information.
Talent pipeline
UMBC in Catonsville, with its bwtech@UMBC research park, is the region's clearest technology feeder. Johns Hopkins and the University System of Maryland's other campuses add computer science and information systems graduates.
For thin roles, look south. Baltimore has under half the national share of data scientists, while the Washington metro has 9,260 of them at a location quotient of 1.75. Columbia and Annapolis Junction sit between the two metros, so a search can reach both labor pools, and a Baltimore offer can compete on commute and cost of living even when the salary trails DC's.
Careerscape recruits Baltimore technology staff as part of a national technology staffing practice, through contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire searches.
Roles we fill
Public trust, cleared and commercial versions of most roles. Salary links go to national pay by role.
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Share the role, the work site, and any public trust or clearance level the contract requires.
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FAQ
No. A public trust position is a high or moderate risk designation under 5 CFR 731, which deals with suitability and fitness for federal work, including work by contractor employees. It does not grant access to classified information. A clearance is a separate national security determination. Many IT roles at civilian agencies such as CMS and SSA need public trust, not a clearance.
Usually, but not always. BLS May 2025 medians put software developers at $138,900 in the Baltimore metro against $154,930 in the Washington metro. Database administrators run the other way, $123,730 in Baltimore against $108,750 in DC, and network architects are about even. See our database administrator salary guide for ranges by level.
By BLS location quotient, data scientists are the thinnest pool: 1,090 jobs in the metro, under half the national share. Computer user support specialists are also below the U.S. share (LQ 0.81). Security, database and QA roles are deep by comparison, though employers compete hard for candidates with public trust or clearance history.
Yes. We recruit cleared professionals from Secret through TS/SCI with polygraph for federal contractors, as well as public trust and commercial IT staff. Our recruiters work remotely from a national team organized by industry, not from a Baltimore office. Employers review a pre-screened shortlist in a private Employer Portal.
Contract staffing and contract-to-hire fit most task-order work, because start dates depend on the agency's fitness or clearance processing and on contract funding. Direct hire fits corporate and health system roles with steady budgets. For senior IT leadership, executive search runs a confidential, targeted search.
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