Software Developer Job Trends in the North West

Software Developer
England > North West

The median Software Developer salary in the North West is £52,500 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 2 December 2025.

The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
2 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 115 158 129
Rank change year-on-year +43 -29 +21
Permanent jobs requiring a Software Developer 69 73 60
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 1.40% 1.14% 1.63%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.60% 1.21% 1.70%
Number of salaries quoted 59 71 55
10th Percentile - £35,000 £40,000
25th Percentile £28,250 £40,000 £41,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £50,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -9.09% +7.32%
75th Percentile £60,000 £60,000 £68,750
90th Percentile £76,500 £71,250 £72,500
England median annual salary £55,000 £57,500 £60,000
% change year-on-year -4.35% -4.17% +9.59%

All Permanent IT Job Vacancies
North West

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies in the North West. 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 permanent jobs in our overall sample.

Permanent vacancies in the North West with a recognized job title 4,309 6,009 3,531
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 87.56% 94.05% 96.21%
Number of salaries quoted 2,581 3,310 2,703
10th Percentile £27,625 £31,250 £30,500
25th Percentile £34,250 £40,000 £41,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £50,000 £50,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year - -9.09% +4.76%
75th Percentile £65,000 £65,000 £70,000
90th Percentile £80,000 £77,500 £83,750
England median annual salary £55,000 £58,500 £60,000
% change year-on-year -5.98% -2.50% -

Software Developer
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Software Developer' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the North West.

Software Developer job vacancy trend in the North West

Software Developer
Salary Trend in the North West

Salary distribution trend for Software Developer job vacancies in the North West.

Salary distribution trend for Software Developer job vacancies in the North West

Software Developer
Salary Histogram in the North West

Salary distribution for jobs citing Software Developer in the North West over the 6 months to 2 December 2025.

Salary histogram for Software Developer in the North West

Software Developer
Job Locations in the North West

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Software Developer within the North West region over the 6 months to 2 December 2025. 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
Manchester +45 37 £60,000 +11.11% 21
Cheshire -10 15 £55,000 +10.00% 13
Merseyside +7 13 £30,500 -56.43% 1
Lancashire +10 3 £32,500 -38.10% 13
Cumbria -2 1 - -
Software Developer
England

Software Developer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the North West

For the 6 months to 2 December 2025, Software Developer 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 permanent job ads across the North West region featuring Software Developer in the job title.

1 42 (60.87%) Azure
2 38 (55.07%) Microsoft
3 29 (42.03%) .NET
4 27 (39.13%) C#
4 27 (39.13%) JavaScript
5 25 (36.23%) HTML
6 24 (34.78%) CSS
7 23 (33.33%) Mentoring
8 22 (31.88%) AWS
9 21 (30.43%) Agile
9 21 (30.43%) Git
10 20 (28.99%) Python
11 19 (27.54%) SQL
12 18 (26.09%) GitHub
13 16 (23.19%) AWS Certification
13 16 (23.19%) AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
13 16 (23.19%) Azure Certification
13 16 (23.19%) Cybersecurity
13 16 (23.19%) Internet
13 16 (23.19%) Microsoft Certification
14 13 (18.84%) ASP.NET
14 13 (18.84%) Continuous Improvement
15 12 (17.39%) Full-Stack Development
15 12 (17.39%) Problem-Solving
16 11 (15.94%) SQL Server
16 11 (15.94%) Stakeholder Engagement
17 10 (14.49%) SaaS
18 9 (13.04%) .NET Core
18 9 (13.04%) DevOps
19 8 (11.59%) .NET Framework

Software Developer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the North West 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 4 (5.80%) Camunda
2 2 (2.90%) nginx
Cloud Services
1 42 (60.87%) Azure
2 22 (31.88%) AWS
3 18 (26.09%) GitHub
4 10 (14.49%) SaaS
5 2 (2.90%) GCP
6 1 (1.45%) Power Platform
Communications & Networking
1 16 (23.19%) Internet
2 1 (1.45%) SSH
Database & Business Intelligence
1 11 (15.94%) SQL Server
2 7 (10.14%) MySQL
3 3 (4.35%) MongoDB
3 3 (4.35%) PostgreSQL
3 3 (4.35%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 21 (30.43%) Git
2 6 (8.70%) GitLab
2 6 (8.70%) Jenkins
3 5 (7.25%) Bitbucket
3 5 (7.25%) SonarQube
3 5 (7.25%) Sonatype Nexus
General
1 16 (23.19%) Multimedia
1 16 (23.19%) Social Skills
2 7 (10.14%) Analytical Skills
3 4 (5.80%) Marketing
4 2 (2.90%) Retail
5 1 (1.45%) Electronics
5 1 (1.45%) Finance
5 1 (1.45%) Mandarin Language
5 1 (1.45%) Manufacturing
5 1 (1.45%) Public Sector
5 1 (1.45%) Telecoms
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 29 (42.03%) .NET
2 25 (36.23%) HTML
3 24 (34.78%) CSS
4 13 (18.84%) ASP.NET
5 9 (13.04%) .NET Core
6 8 (11.59%) .NET Framework
6 8 (11.59%) React
7 7 (10.14%) REST
8 6 (8.70%) RESTful
9 4 (5.80%) ASP.NET Core
9 4 (5.80%) CSS3
9 4 (5.80%) HTML5
9 4 (5.80%) Laravel
10 3 (4.35%) Node.js
11 2 (2.90%) jQuery
11 2 (2.90%) JSON
11 2 (2.90%) Kafka
11 2 (2.90%) Vue
12 1 (1.45%) GraphQL
12 1 (1.45%) Spring
Miscellaneous
1 6 (8.70%) Greenfield Project
2 5 (7.25%) Product Ownership
3 3 (4.35%) Distributed Systems
4 2 (2.90%) Client/Server
4 2 (2.90%) Marketing Technology
4 2 (2.90%) Mobile App
5 1 (1.45%) Cloud Native
Operating Systems
1 3 (4.35%) Linux
2 2 (2.90%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 23 (33.33%) Mentoring
2 21 (30.43%) Agile
3 16 (23.19%) Cybersecurity
4 13 (18.84%) Continuous Improvement
5 12 (17.39%) Full-Stack Development
5 12 (17.39%) Problem-Solving
6 11 (15.94%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 9 (13.04%) DevOps
8 8 (11.59%) AI
8 8 (11.59%) RAD
9 7 (10.14%) Business Strategy
9 7 (10.14%) Code Quality
9 7 (10.14%) Collaborative Culture
9 7 (10.14%) Decision-Making
9 7 (10.14%) Unit Testing
10 6 (8.70%) CI/CD
10 6 (8.70%) Front End Development
10 6 (8.70%) Software Engineering
11 5 (7.25%) Secure Coding
11 5 (7.25%) User Experience
Programming Languages
1 27 (39.13%) C#
1 27 (39.13%) JavaScript
2 20 (28.99%) Python
3 19 (27.54%) SQL
4 8 (11.59%) TypeScript
5 7 (10.14%) Java
5 7 (10.14%) PHP
6 2 (2.90%) Go
7 1 (1.45%) Shell Script
7 1 (1.45%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 16 (23.19%) AWS Certification
1 16 (23.19%) AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
1 16 (23.19%) Azure Certification
1 16 (23.19%) Microsoft Certification
2 8 (11.59%) Degree
3 1 (1.45%) BPSS Clearance
3 1 (1.45%) DV Cleared
3 1 (1.45%) Security Cleared
System Software
1 4 (5.80%) Docker
Vendors
1 38 (55.07%) Microsoft
2 2 (2.90%) HubSpot
3 1 (1.45%) Atlassian
3 1 (1.45%) Oracle
3 1 (1.45%) SAP