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Computer Support Specialist Employment Statistics

U.S. employment projections, wages, industries, state estimates, and job requirements for computer support specialists.

November 11, 2026 9 min read computertechnician.net Editorial Team

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Computer support specialist employment statistics: workforce size and projections

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) groups computer support specialists into a broad occupational category that includes user support and network support specialists. Its Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) reports 903,100 U.S. jobs in 2025. The projection for 2035 is 878,800 jobs, with a projected net change of 24,300 fewer jobs over 2025–35. The accompanying percentage change is −3 percent. BLS rounds employment estimates to the nearest 100 and percentage changes to the nearest whole percent, so these figures are best read at that level of precision. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

MeasureEstimate
Employment in 2025903,100 jobs
Projected employment in 2035878,800 jobs
Projected change, 2025–35−24,300 jobs
Projected percentage change, 2025–35−3%

The broad category’s projected decline sits alongside continuing demand for workers to fill positions as people leave the occupation or the labor force. BLS projects about 48,700 openings per year on average over the 2025–35 projection decade. These are openings, not a forecast of net job growth: BLS says all are expected to result from workers transferring to other occupations or exiting the labor force. The distinction matters when interpreting the outlook. A declining employment count can coexist with recurring opportunities to replace departing workers. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

These are national projections, not a count of vacancies at a particular time or a guarantee of hiring in a particular location. They describe the expected path of employment over a decade and should be kept separate from the May 2024 state estimates and May 2025 wage data discussed below. Each series measures a different part of the labor market and has its own reference period. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

The two principal specialties have different projected trajectories. Computer network support specialists are projected to edge upward, from 152,500 U.S. jobs in 2025 to 154,400 in 2035. BLS lists a net increase of 1,900 jobs and a 1 percent change over 2025–35. Computer user support specialists, a much larger group, are projected to move from 750,600 jobs in 2025 to 724,400 in 2035, a decline of 26,200 jobs, or 3 percent. Employment figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and percentage changes to the nearest percent. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

Specialty2025 employment2035 projected employmentProjected change, 2025–35Percent change
Computer network support specialists152,500154,400+1,900+1%
Computer user support specialists750,600724,400−26,200−3%

The specialty figures show why a single headline for the whole occupation can conceal variation. The projected increase in network support is modest in both job count and percentage terms, while user support has a larger projected reduction in jobs. These estimates describe employment levels and projected net changes; they do not say that every employer or region will follow the same pattern. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

The broad category’s projected annual average of about 48,700 openings also should not be assigned to either specialty individually based on these figures. The opening estimate is for computer support specialists overall, and BLS attributes the openings to transfers and exits from the labor force. The specialty employment changes, by contrast, describe net change over the projection period. Openings and net change answer different questions: how many positions may need replacement versus whether the number of jobs is expected to rise or fall. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

Computer support specialist employment statistics: wages by support specialty

BLS reports a May 2025 median annual wage of $62,890 for computer support specialists as a whole. The specialty medians differ: computer network support specialists had a median annual wage of $76,220, while computer user support specialists had a median of $61,860. These are U.S. annual wage medians for May 2025, not hourly rates or starting salaries. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

OccupationMedian annual wage, May 2025Lowest 10% earnedHighest 10% earned
Computer support specialists$62,890——
Computer network support specialists$76,220Less than $47,120More than $127,780
Computer user support specialists$61,860Less than $40,980More than $100,540

For network support specialists, the lowest-paid 10 percent earned less than $47,120 annually and the highest-paid 10 percent earned more than $127,780. For user support specialists, the corresponding thresholds were less than $40,980 and more than $100,540. These percentile descriptions show the breadth of observed wages within each specialty; they are thresholds, not precise earnings for every worker in those groups. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

The median marks the midpoint of the wage distribution: half of workers earned more and half earned less. The overall median and the specialty medians describe related but differently scoped populations, so they should not be treated as interchangeable. The values also refer to May 2025, while employment projections cover 2025–35 and state employment counts refer to May 2024. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

Computer support specialist employment statistics: major employing industries

The OOH identifies five largest listed employer industries for each support specialty and reports each as a share of that specialty’s U.S. employment in 2025. Computer systems design and related services was the leading listed industry for both groups: 20 percent of network support specialists and 21 percent of user support specialists worked in that industry. Educational services, covering state, local, and private institutions, accounted for 11 percent of network specialists and 12 percent of user specialists. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

Specialty and industryShare of specialty employment, 2025
Network support — Computer systems design and related services20%
Network support — Educational services; state, local, and private11%
Network support — Telecommunications8%
Network support — Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals8%
Network support — Finance and insurance6%
User support — Computer systems design and related services21%
User support — Educational services; state, local, and private12%
User support — Information10%
User support — Administrative and support services7%
User support — Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals7%

The remaining listed industries differ between specialties. Telecommunications and finance and insurance appear among the largest listed employers for network support, while information and administrative and support services appear in the user support list. Government, under the stated exclusion for state and local education and hospitals, represents 8 percent of network support employment and 7 percent of user support employment. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

These percentages are specialty-specific shares, not each industry’s share of all computer support jobs. They also cover the largest listed employers rather than every industry where a specialist may work. Because the table’s rows use distinct industry categories, the percentages should be read as separate reported shares; the list is not a complete accounting of all employment. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

Computer support specialist employment statistics: state employment in May 2024

BLS state employment estimates for May 2024 show the states with the highest employment levels separately for computer user support specialists and computer network support specialists. California led the listed user support states with 70,920 jobs, followed by Texas with 61,290. Florida had 48,780, New York 41,260, and Pennsylvania 29,220. These are state employment estimates for user support, not current-year counts or projections. BLS OEWS state employment tables, May 2024

StateComputer user support specialist employment, May 2024
California70,920
Texas61,290
Florida48,780
New York41,260
Pennsylvania29,220
Georgia26,900
Illinois25,370
Ohio22,090
Michigan21,970
North Carolina21,730

For network support specialists, Texas had the largest employment level among the listed states at 12,730, followed by California at 11,410. Ohio had 9,320, Maryland 8,310, and Illinois 8,240. Florida, Indiana, New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania also appear in the table of states with the highest network specialist employment. BLS OEWS state employment tables, May 2024

StateComputer network support specialist employment, May 2024
Texas12,730
California11,410
Ohio9,320
Maryland8,310
Illinois8,240
Florida7,830
Indiana6,510
New York6,450
Virginia5,690
Pennsylvania4,600

The state tables present high-employment states, not a complete ranking of every state or a measure of employment concentration relative to population. Their counts are also occupation-specific: the user support series is much larger than the network support series in the states listed, but the two categories should remain distinct when comparing locations. BLS OEWS state employment tables, May 2024

Computer support specialist employment statistics: job requirements and work conditions

The BLS Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) describes selected requirements associated with computer user support specialist jobs in 2025. More than basic people skills were required for 97.0 percent of these specialists, while basic people skills were required for 3.0 percent. The figures describe occupational requirements in the survey, rather than a rating of an individual worker’s abilities. BLS Occupational Requirements Survey

Requirement reported for computer user support specialistsShare, 2025
More than basic people skills required97.0%
Basic people skills required3.0%
Prior work experience required56.8%
On-the-job training required86.2%
High school diploma required43.6%

The ORS also reports that prior work experience was required for 56.8 percent of computer user support specialists in 2025. On-the-job training was required for 86.2 percent, and a high school diploma was required for 43.6 percent. These measures describe reported requirements across the occupation; they do not establish a single mandatory pathway for every employer or job opening. BLS Occupational Requirements Survey

Taken together, the measures indicate that people skills and on-the-job training were common requirements in the surveyed occupation, while prior experience and a high school diploma were reported for particular shares of jobs. The categories are presented as separate requirement measures, so they should not be added together to infer a combined share or a sequence of qualifications. The ORS figures concern computer user support specialists specifically and should not automatically be generalized to network support specialists or the full support occupation. BLS Occupational Requirements Survey

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