Lead Developer Job Trends in England
Lead Developer
UK > England
The median Lead Developer salary in England is £85,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 24 October 2026.
The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 24 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 321 | 372 | 260 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +51 | -112 | +43 |
| Permanent Lead Developer jobs | 591 | 271 | 661 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in England | 0.56% | 0.63% | 1.07% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.60% | 0.70% | 1.13% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 475 | 192 | 524 |
| 10th Percentile | £65,000 | £55,125 | - |
| 25th Percentile | £70,000 | £65,938 | £47,000 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £85,000 | £75,000 | £70,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +13.33% | +7.14% | -12.50% |
| 75th Percentile | £100,000 | £97,500 | £95,000 |
| 90th Percentile | - | £142,000 | £142,500 |
| UK median annual salary | £80,000 | £75,000 | £67,500 |
| % change year-on-year | +6.67% | +11.11% | -15.63% |
All Permanent IT Job Roles
England
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job adverts in England matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all permanent IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 24 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent job adverts in England matching a recognised job title | 98,146 | 38,982 | 58,749 |
| % of permanent job adverts matching a recognised job title | 92.22% | 90.62% | 95.16% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 68,067 | 23,606 | 33,541 |
| 10th Percentile | £30,500 | £28,250 | £31,250 |
| 25th Percentile | £41,250 | £35,750 | £42,500 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £60,000 | £53,750 | £57,500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +11.63% | -6.52% | -4.17% |
| 75th Percentile | £77,500 | £75,000 | £75,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £100,000 | £95,000 | £95,000 |
| UK median annual salary | £59,300 | £52,500 | £56,500 |
| % change year-on-year | +12.95% | -7.08% | -5.83% |
Lead Developer Job Vacancy Trend in England
Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent Lead Developer job postings relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in England.
Lead Developer Salary Trend in England
Salary distribution trend for Lead Developer job vacancies in England.
Lead Developer Salary Histogram in England
Salary distribution for Lead Developer jobs in England over the 6 months to 24 October 2026.
Lead Developer Job Locations in England
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in Lead Developer jobs within the England region over the 6 months to 24 October 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 |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Salary Past 6 Months |
Median Salary % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | +3 | 199 | £95,000 | -7.32% | 81 |
| North of England | -5 | 128 | £75,000 | +7.14% | 33 |
| Midlands | +5 | 107 | £70,000 | -3.45% | 17 |
| South East | +1 | 104 | £92,500 | +25.42% | 16 |
| West Midlands | -13 | 64 | £70,000 | -3.45% | 12 |
| North West | -11 | 58 | £72,500 | +3.57% | 8 |
| Yorkshire | -15 | 46 | £75,000 | +7.14% | 18 |
| East Midlands | -5 | 43 | £70,000 | -6.67% | 5 |
| East of England | -27 | 26 | £85,000 | +29.77% | 10 |
| North East | -55 | 24 | £100,000 | +45.99% | 8 |
| South West | -74 | 21 | £70,000 | +55.56% | 5 |
| Lead Developer UK |
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Lead Developer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England
For the 6 months to 24 October 2026, Lead Developer job ads cited the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent Lead Developer job ads across the England region.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technical Leadership | 24.2% | 143 |
| 2 | C# | 23.4% | 138 |
| 2 | Full-Stack Development | 23.4% | 138 |
| 4 | Azure | 22.7% | 134 |
| 5 | .NET | 21.3% | 126 |
| 6 | JavaScript | 20.6% | 122 |
| 7 | AWS | 20.1% | 119 |
| 8 | Mentoring | 19.3% | 114 |
| 9 | TypeScript | 18.8% | 111 |
| 10 | AI | 15.4% | 91 |
| 11 | CI/CD | 14.7% | 87 |
| 11 | Node.js | 14.7% | 87 |
| 13 | SaaS | 14.0% | 83 |
| 14 | Software Engineering | 13.4% | 79 |
| 15 | SQL | 12.7% | 75 |
| 16 | Python | 12.5% | 74 |
| 17 | Microsoft | 11.2% | 66 |
| 18 | Continuous Improvement | 9.8% | 58 |
| 18 | DevOps | 9.8% | 58 |
| 20 | Microservices | 9.6% | 57 |
| 21 | Agile | 9.3% | 55 |
| 21 | SQL Server | 9.3% | 55 |
| 23 | Dynamics 365 | 8.6% | 51 |
| 24 | React | 8.5% | 50 |
| 25 | Roadmaps | 8.0% | 47 |
| 26 | Power Platform | 7.3% | 43 |
| 27 | Docker | 6.8% | 40 |
| 28 | Event-Driven | 6.4% | 38 |
| 28 | RESTful | 6.4% | 38 |
| 30 | Problem-Solving | 6.3% | 37 |
Lead Developer Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lead Software Developer | 32.0% | 189 |
| 2 | Software Developer | 31.8% | 188 |
| 3 | Lead Full-Stack Developer | 17.3% | 102 |
| 4 | Lead .NET Developer | 9.1% | 54 |
| 5 | Lead Python Developer | 8.0% | 47 |
| 6 | Lead C# Developer | 7.4% | 44 |
| 6 | Lead Dynamics 365 Developer | 7.4% | 44 |
| 8 | Artificial Intelligence Developer | 4.1% | 24 |
| 8 | C# .NET Developer | 4.1% | 24 |
| 10 | React Developer | 3.7% | 22 |
| 11 | Lead Java Developer | 3.6% | 21 |
| 12 | Automation Developer | 3.4% | 20 |
| 12 | Integration Developer | 3.4% | 20 |
| 12 | Power Platform Developer | 3.4% | 20 |
| 15 | .NET Developer - Fintech | 3.0% | 18 |
| 15 | Senior Developer | 3.0% | 18 |
| 17 | Developer/Software Engineer | 2.9% | 17 |
| 17 | Lead Software Engineer | 2.9% | 17 |
| 17 | MuleSoft Developer | 2.9% | 17 |
| 20 | Artificial Intelligence Engineer | 2.5% | 15 |