SQL Server DBA Contract Job Trends in England

SQL Server Database Administrator
UK > England

The median SQL Server Database Administrator daily rate in England is £500, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 21 February 2026.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
21 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 555 456 548
Rank change year-on-year -99 +92 +121
Contract jobs requiring a SQL Server DBA 7 26 16
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.020% 0.10% 0.042%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.022% 0.11% 0.045%
Number of daily rates quoted 7 10 9
10th Percentile £470 £298 £388
25th Percentile - £334 £409
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £400 £425
Median % change year-on-year +25.00% -5.88% -17.07%
75th Percentile £544 £575 £538
90th Percentile £588 £638 £630
UK median daily rate £500 £400 £575
% change year-on-year +25.00% -30.43% +15.00%

All Contract IT Job Roles
England

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies in England. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of contract jobs in our overall sample.

Contract vacancies in England with a recognized job title 32,094 24,035 35,291
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.85% 92.97% 92.99%
Number of daily rates quoted 20,339 15,179 23,643
10th Percentile £305 £297 £270
25th Percentile £410 £408 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £625 £638 £640
90th Percentile £725 £750 £745
UK median daily rate £500 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,052 719 2,161
10th Percentile £15.01 £16.25 £13.23
25th Percentile £18.87 £21.50 £16.67
Median hourly rate £33.17 £35.00 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year -5.23% - -12.50%
75th Percentile £65.00 £65.00 £60.00
90th Percentile £74.63 £75.00 £72.50
UK median hourly rate £31.49 £34.00 £35.00
% change year-on-year -7.38% -2.86% -10.26%

SQL Server DBA
Job Vacancy Trend in England

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'SQL Server DBA' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in England.

SQL Server DBA job vacancy trend in England

SQL Server DBA
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for SQL Server DBA job vacancies in England.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for SQL Server DBA job vacancies in England

SQL Server DBA
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for SQL Server DBA job vacancies in England.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for SQL Server DBA job vacancies in England

SQL Server DBA
Contract Job Locations in England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing SQL Server DBA within the England region over the 6 months to 21 February 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
London -50 6 £500 -16.67%
North West -34 1 £500 +68.07%
North of England -62 1 £500 +68.07%
SQL Server DBA
UK

SQL Server DBA Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England

For the 6 months to 21 February 2026, SQL Server DBA contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads across the England region featuring SQL Server DBA in the job title.

1 7 (100.00%) SQL Server
2 5 (71.43%) Performance Tuning
2 5 (71.43%) SQL
3 4 (57.14%) Azure
3 4 (57.14%) Azure SQL Database
3 4 (57.14%) SQL Server Integration Services
3 4 (57.14%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 3 (42.86%) Azure Cosmos DB
4 3 (42.86%) High Availability
4 3 (42.86%) SQL Server Analysis Services
5 2 (28.57%) Disaster Recovery
5 2 (28.57%) Knowledge Transfer
5 2 (28.57%) Performance Testing
5 2 (28.57%) QA
5 2 (28.57%) Test Strategy
6 1 (14.29%) Active Directory
6 1 (14.29%) Data Encryption
6 1 (14.29%) Data Security
6 1 (14.29%) Database Security
6 1 (14.29%) Key Management
6 1 (14.29%) Microsoft
6 1 (14.29%) OpenEdge
6 1 (14.29%) PowerShell
6 1 (14.29%) SC Cleared
6 1 (14.29%) Security Cleared
6 1 (14.29%) Task Automation
6 1 (14.29%) T-SQL
6 1 (14.29%) Wealth Management
6 1 (14.29%) Windows
6 1 (14.29%) Windows Server

SQL Server DBA Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 1 (14.29%) OpenEdge
Cloud Services
1 4 (57.14%) Azure
2 3 (42.86%) Azure Cosmos DB
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (100.00%) SQL Server
2 4 (57.14%) Azure SQL Database
2 4 (57.14%) SQL Server Integration Services
2 4 (57.14%) SQL Server Reporting Services
3 3 (42.86%) SQL Server Analysis Services
General
1 4 (57.14%) Social Skills
2 2 (28.57%) Banking
3 1 (14.29%) Finance
3 1 (14.29%) Financial Institution
3 1 (14.29%) Public Sector
Miscellaneous
1 1 (14.29%) Clustering
1 1 (14.29%) Replication
Operating Systems
1 1 (14.29%) Windows
1 1 (14.29%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 5 (71.43%) Performance Tuning
2 3 (42.86%) High Availability
3 2 (28.57%) Disaster Recovery
3 2 (28.57%) Knowledge Transfer
3 2 (28.57%) Performance Testing
3 2 (28.57%) Test Strategy
4 1 (14.29%) Data Encryption
4 1 (14.29%) Data Security
4 1 (14.29%) Database Security
4 1 (14.29%) Key Management
4 1 (14.29%) Task Automation
4 1 (14.29%) Wealth Management
Programming Languages
1 5 (71.43%) SQL
2 1 (14.29%) PowerShell
2 1 (14.29%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 1 (14.29%) SC Cleared
1 1 (14.29%) Security Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 2 (28.57%) QA
System Software
1 1 (14.29%) Active Directory
Vendors
1 1 (14.29%) Microsoft