Software Engineer Job Trends in the South East

Software Engineer
England > South East

The median Software Engineer salary in the South East is £65,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 24 June 2026.

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

6 months to
24 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 20 98 27
Rank change year-on-year +78 -71 +42
Permanent jobs requiring a Software Engineer 910 226 1,154
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 6.05% 2.85% 6.28%
As % of the Job Titles category 6.34% 3.26% 6.66%
Number of salaries quoted 666 168 881
10th Percentile £45,000 £36,025 £37,500
25th Percentile £51,250 £47,500 £45,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £65,000 £52,501
Median % change year-on-year - +23.81% -12.50%
75th Percentile £80,000 £75,000 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £90,000 £80,000
England median annual salary £70,000 £78,655 £60,000
% change year-on-year -11.00% +31.09% -14.29%

All Permanent IT Job Roles
South East

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies in the South East. 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 South East with a recognized job title 14,348 6,931 17,326
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 95.42% 87.39% 94.26%
Number of salaries quoted 10,130 3,699 12,411
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,500 £27,500
25th Percentile £37,563 £36,250 £36,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £51,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +2.94% +2.00% -9.09%
75th Percentile £70,000 £67,500 £65,000
90th Percentile £85,000 £81,250 £77,500
England median annual salary £57,500 £57,500 £52,500
% change year-on-year - +9.52% -12.50%

Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Software Engineer' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the South East.

Software Engineer job vacancy trend in the South East

Software Engineer
Salary Trend in the South East

Salary distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in the South East.

Salary distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in the South East

Software Engineer
Salary Histogram in the South East

Salary distribution for jobs citing Software Engineer in the South East over the 6 months to 24 June 2026.

Salary histogram for Software Engineer in the South East

Software Engineer
Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Software Engineer within the South East region over the 6 months to 24 June 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
Thames Valley +85 367 £65,000 +1.96% 41
Hampshire +50 353 £68,750 +10.00% 59
Oxfordshire +30 195 £65,000 -3.70% 14
Surrey +27 113 £80,000 +23.08% 7
Berkshire +61 87 £62,500 +20.19% 15
Buckinghamshire +53 85 £80,000 +42.22% 12
Kent -11 36 £45,000 -28.00% 9
East Sussex +13 29 £60,000 -33.33% 2
West Sussex -16 12 £75,000 +150.00% 6
Software Engineer
England

Software Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East

For the 6 months to 24 June 2026, Software Engineer 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 South East region featuring Software Engineer in the job title.

1 896 (98.46%) Software Engineering
2 248 (27.25%) C++
3 187 (20.55%) C#
4 183 (20.11%) Degree
5 179 (19.67%) Python
6 125 (13.74%) .NET
7 121 (13.30%) Agile
8 105 (11.54%) AWS
9 96 (10.55%) Computer Science
10 94 (10.33%) Computer Science Degree
11 86 (9.45%) Security Cleared
12 83 (9.12%) Linux
13 82 (9.01%) Azure
14 81 (8.90%) Full-Stack Development
15 80 (8.79%) C
16 71 (7.80%) CI/CD
16 71 (7.80%) DevOps
17 68 (7.47%) SaaS
18 67 (7.36%) AI
19 62 (6.81%) Problem-Solving
20 58 (6.37%) SC Cleared
21 57 (6.26%) JavaScript
22 55 (6.04%) Docker
23 53 (5.82%) Git
23 53 (5.82%) Test Automation
23 53 (5.82%) TypeScript
24 48 (5.27%) Containerisation
24 48 (5.27%) Continuous Improvement
25 47 (5.16%) Master's Degree
25 47 (5.16%) Mentoring

Software Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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 5 (0.55%) Apache
2 2 (0.22%) Confluence
3 1 (0.11%) ArchestrA
Applications
1 6 (0.66%) Lightworks
2 3 (0.33%) Simulink
3 2 (0.22%) AutoCAD
3 2 (0.22%) EPLAN
4 1 (0.11%) Microsoft Office
4 1 (0.11%) Microsoft Project
Cloud Services
1 105 (11.54%) AWS
2 82 (9.01%) Azure
3 68 (7.47%) SaaS
4 31 (3.41%) GCP
5 12 (1.32%) Azure DevOps
6 11 (1.21%) Serverless
7 10 (1.10%) GitHub
8 6 (0.66%) PaaS
9 5 (0.55%) Figma
9 5 (0.55%) Firebase
10 4 (0.44%) Amazon EKS
10 4 (0.44%) AWS Lambda
10 4 (0.44%) Stripe
11 3 (0.33%) Azure Functions
11 3 (0.33%) Azure Monitor
12 2 (0.22%) Amazon S3
12 2 (0.22%) Anthropic Claude
12 2 (0.22%) Cloud Run
12 2 (0.22%) GitHub Actions
13 1 (0.11%) Adobe Analytics
Communications & Networking
1 17 (1.87%) Wireless
2 9 (0.99%) TCP/IP
3 6 (0.66%) MQTT
4 4 (0.44%) Software-Defined Radio
4 4 (0.44%) Wireshark
5 2 (0.22%) Ethernet
6 1 (0.11%) ATM
6 1 (0.11%) Broadband
6 1 (0.11%) Internet
6 1 (0.11%) LAN
6 1 (0.11%) Multicast
6 1 (0.11%) Software-Defined Networking
6 1 (0.11%) SpaceWire
6 1 (0.11%) VoIP
6 1 (0.11%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 34 (3.74%) SQL Server
2 13 (1.43%) PostgreSQL
3 6 (0.66%) MySQL
4 5 (0.55%) MongoDB
5 2 (0.22%) Elasticsearch
5 2 (0.22%) NoSQL
5 2 (0.22%) Pinecone
5 2 (0.22%) Redis
6 1 (0.11%) Oracle Reports
6 1 (0.11%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 53 (5.82%) Git
2 21 (2.31%) GitLab
3 20 (2.20%) Visual Studio Code
4 6 (0.66%) Yeoman
5 5 (0.55%) Visual Studio
6 4 (0.44%) JIRA
7 3 (0.33%) Bitbucket
7 3 (0.33%) JUnit
7 3 (0.33%) Rational Rhapsody
8 2 (0.22%) CMake
8 2 (0.22%) Eclipse
8 2 (0.22%) Eclipse RCP
8 2 (0.22%) Jenkins
8 2 (0.22%) PetaLinux
8 2 (0.22%) Postman
8 2 (0.22%) SpecFlow
9 1 (0.11%) NUnit
9 1 (0.11%) Storybook
9 1 (0.11%) Toad
9 1 (0.11%) utPLSQL
General
1 60 (6.59%) Social Skills
2 55 (6.04%) Manufacturing
3 53 (5.82%) Electronics
4 31 (3.41%) Aerospace
5 29 (3.19%) Finance
6 23 (2.53%) Aviation
7 15 (1.65%) Telecoms
8 14 (1.54%) Pharmaceutical
9 13 (1.43%) Military
10 12 (1.32%) Analytical Skills
10 12 (1.32%) Games
11 8 (0.88%) Automotive
12 7 (0.77%) Public Sector
13 4 (0.44%) Law
14 3 (0.33%) Organisational Skills
15 2 (0.22%) Banking
16 1 (0.11%) Advertising
16 1 (0.11%) Influencing Skills
16 1 (0.11%) Marketing
16 1 (0.11%) Presentation Skills
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 125 (13.74%) .NET
2 44 (4.84%) React
3 27 (2.97%) CSS
4 26 (2.86%) HTML
5 22 (2.42%) Vue
6 19 (2.09%) AngularJS
7 17 (1.87%) Django
7 17 (1.87%) Unreal Engine
7 17 (1.87%) WPF
8 16 (1.76%) REST
9 15 (1.65%) Node.js
10 12 (1.32%) JSON
10 12 (1.32%) WebSockets
11 10 (1.10%) ASP.NET
11 10 (1.10%) XML
12 9 (0.99%) .NET Core
13 7 (0.77%) Blazor
13 7 (0.77%) Qt
14 6 (0.66%) OpenGL
14 6 (0.66%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 51 (5.60%) Algorithms
2 34 (3.74%) Embedded Systems
3 22 (2.42%) Product Ownership
4 21 (2.31%) Client/Server
5 20 (2.20%) IoT
6 19 (2.09%) Robotics
7 18 (1.98%) Distributed Systems
8 17 (1.87%) Distributed Computing
9 13 (1.43%) Self-Motivation
10 12 (1.32%) Cloud Native
11 11 (1.21%) Data Structures
11 11 (1.21%) Smart Energy
12 9 (0.99%) Legacy Systems
13 7 (0.77%) AI Agents
14 6 (0.66%) Life Science
15 5 (0.55%) Video Conferencing
16 4 (0.44%) Driving Licence
16 4 (0.44%) FPGA
16 4 (0.44%) Management Information System
16 4 (0.44%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 83 (9.12%) Linux
2 21 (2.31%) Windows
3 9 (0.99%) Android
4 6 (0.66%) Embedded Linux
5 3 (0.33%) Debian
6 2 (0.22%) FreeRTOS
6 2 (0.22%) Gentoo
7 1 (0.11%) Robot Operating System
7 1 (0.11%) Ubuntu
7 1 (0.11%) VxWorks
Processes & Methodologies
1 896 (98.46%) Software Engineering
2 121 (13.30%) Agile
3 96 (10.55%) Computer Science
4 81 (8.90%) Full-Stack Development
5 71 (7.80%) CI/CD
5 71 (7.80%) DevOps
6 67 (7.36%) AI
7 62 (6.81%) Problem-Solving
8 53 (5.82%) Test Automation
9 48 (5.27%) Containerisation
9 48 (5.27%) Continuous Improvement
10 47 (5.16%) Mentoring
11 46 (5.05%) Software Architecture
12 45 (4.95%) SDLC
13 44 (4.84%) Machine Learning
14 38 (4.18%) Code Quality
15 35 (3.85%) Microservices
16 34 (3.74%) Embedded Software Development
17 31 (3.41%) Software Testing
18 27 (2.97%) Scrum
Programming Languages
1 248 (27.25%) C++
2 187 (20.55%) C#
3 179 (19.67%) Python
4 80 (8.79%) C
5 57 (6.26%) JavaScript
6 53 (5.82%) TypeScript
7 47 (5.16%) SQL
8 34 (3.74%) Java
9 31 (3.41%) Rust
10 13 (1.43%) PHP
11 11 (1.21%) Go
12 6 (0.66%) MATLAB
12 6 (0.66%) PL/SQL
12 6 (0.66%) Ruby
13 4 (0.44%) Apex Code
13 4 (0.44%) Julia
14 3 (0.33%) Uniface
15 2 (0.22%) Shell Script
15 2 (0.22%) T-SQL
15 2 (0.22%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 183 (20.11%) Degree
2 94 (10.33%) Computer Science Degree
3 86 (9.45%) Security Cleared
4 58 (6.37%) SC Cleared
5 47 (5.16%) Master's Degree
6 23 (2.53%) PhD
7 21 (2.31%) DV Cleared
8 8 (0.88%) Azure Certification
9 4 (0.44%) BPSS Clearance
10 3 (0.33%) HNC
10 3 (0.33%) HND
11 2 (0.22%) AWS Certification
11 2 (0.22%) Microsoft Certification
11 2 (0.22%) NVQ Level 3
11 2 (0.22%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (2.97%) QA
2 4 (0.44%) ISO 9001
3 3 (0.33%) DO-178B
3 3 (0.33%) ECSS
3 3 (0.33%) GAMP
4 2 (0.22%) GDPR
System Software
1 55 (6.04%) Docker
2 40 (4.40%) Firmware
3 14 (1.54%) Hyper-V
3 14 (1.54%) KVM
3 14 (1.54%) VMware Infrastructure
4 11 (1.21%) Embedded Firmware
5 6 (0.66%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 32 (3.52%) Kubernetes
2 13 (1.43%) Terraform
3 8 (0.88%) Ansible
4 3 (0.33%) Podman
5 1 (0.11%) Puppet
Vendors
1 14 (1.54%) VMware
2 12 (1.32%) Oracle
3 9 (0.99%) Microsoft
3 9 (0.99%) Salesforce
4 4 (0.44%) HubSpot
5 3 (0.33%) Allen-Bradley
5 3 (0.33%) Google
5 3 (0.33%) Siemens
5 3 (0.33%) Wonderware
6 2 (0.22%) Xilinx
7 1 (0.11%) Adobe
7 1 (0.11%) NVIDIA
7 1 (0.11%) Typelevel
7 1 (0.11%) Xamarin