Data center jobs pay way more than similar gigs elsewhere — but there's a catch.
New data from Indeed Hiring Lab shows data center roles consistently out-earn their non-data-center counterparts, sometimes by jaw-dropping margins.
The Pay Gap, By the Numbers
Based on job postings from January to June 2026, the premiums are steep:
| Job Title | Data center | Non-data center | Bump |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facilities manager | $134K | $82K | **64%** |
| Construction manager | $134K | $104K | 29% |
| Superintendent | $139K | $110K | 26% |
| Network engineer | $133K | $108K | 23% |
| Project manager | $115K | $103K | 12% |
| Electrical engineer | $125K | $114K | 10% |
| Network technician (hourly) | $32 | $23 | **42%** |
| Security officer (hourly) | $21 | $19 | 12% |
| Network engineer (hourly) | $48 | $47 | 2% |
Why so generous? Big Tech dominates — 71% of data center postings come from the largest tech employers, which have reputations for fat paychecks and strong benefits, says Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at Indeed Hiring Lab.
The Trade-Off: Your Nights and Weekends
Don't expect a 9-to-5. Compared to similar non-data-center roles, postings for data center IT, operations, and support jobs advertise:
- **Night work:** ~40x more often
- **Overtime:** ~10x more often
- **On-call duty:** ~5x more often
The demand is real, though. Cody Cole, a superintendent at electrical contractor Corbins making $40+ an hour, says skilled trades workers are needed everywhere as the AI boom fuels construction.
"The data centers are going up all over the place, so the work is there," Cole said.
But Not Everyone's Thrilled
The boom has sparked backlash — national protests in July, angry town halls, and data center bans and moratoriums in New York State and some municipalities.
A January Pew Research survey found only 25% of US adults think data centers are mostly good for local jobs — and just 6% say they're good for nearby residents' quality of life.
Will It Last?
Ullrich says data center jobs appear mostly permanent, not temp gigs. But the open question: once construction wraps, how many workers does a finished data center actually need?
"That's the part that we don't have as much insight into," she said.