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 8 June 2026.

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

6 months to
8 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 20 101 32
Rank change year-on-year +81 -69 +41
Permanent jobs requiring a Software Engineer 835 218 1,048
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 5.76% 2.78% 5.83%
As % of the Job Titles category 6.04% 3.23% 6.20%
Number of salaries quoted 625 166 814
10th Percentile £45,000 £35,500 £37,500
25th Percentile £51,250 £47,688 £44,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £65,000 £54,000
Median % change year-on-year - +20.37% -13.60%
75th Percentile £80,000 £75,000 £66,250
90th Percentile £90,000 £87,500 £80,000
England median annual salary £70,000 £77,250 £60,000
% change year-on-year -9.39% +28.75% -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 13,824 6,742 16,913
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 95.28% 85.92% 94.16%
Number of salaries quoted 9,567 3,593 12,151
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,000 £27,750
25th Percentile £37,500 £36,250 £36,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £52,500 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year - +5.00% -9.09%
75th Percentile £70,000 £67,500 £65,000
90th Percentile £85,000 £80,000 £77,500
England median annual salary £56,000 £57,500 £52,500
% change year-on-year -2.61% +9.52% -12.86%

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 8 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 8 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 +87 351 £65,000 +8.33% 56
Hampshire +54 310 £65,000 +1.96% 91
Oxfordshire +28 185 £65,000 - 28
Surrey +28 108 £80,000 +23.08% 17
Buckinghamshire +48 89 £80,000 +36.17% 9
Berkshire +55 77 £62,500 +20.19% 19
East Sussex +14 30 £57,500 - 2
Kent -31 28 £45,000 -28.00% 13
West Sussex -17 8 £65,000 +116.67% 5
Software Engineer
England

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

For the 6 months to 8 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.

1 821 (98.32%) Software Engineering
2 221 (26.47%) C++
3 171 (20.48%) C#
4 169 (20.24%) Degree
5 152 (18.20%) Python
6 129 (15.45%) .NET
7 110 (13.17%) Agile
8 91 (10.90%) AWS
9 88 (10.54%) Computer Science Degree
10 83 (9.94%) Computer Science
11 78 (9.34%) Full-Stack Development
12 71 (8.50%) C
13 70 (8.38%) Azure
13 70 (8.38%) Linux
14 67 (8.02%) SaaS
15 66 (7.90%) Security Cleared
16 64 (7.66%) DevOps
17 60 (7.19%) CI/CD
18 55 (6.59%) JavaScript
19 52 (6.23%) AI
20 49 (5.87%) Continuous Improvement
21 48 (5.75%) Git
21 48 (5.75%) Test Automation
22 47 (5.63%) Problem-Solving
23 46 (5.51%) SC Cleared
23 46 (5.51%) SQL
23 46 (5.51%) TypeScript
24 44 (5.27%) Docker
24 44 (5.27%) Master's Degree
25 42 (5.03%) Containerisation

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 4 (0.48%) Apache
2 2 (0.24%) Confluence
3 1 (0.12%) ArchestrA
Applications
1 2 (0.24%) AutoCAD
1 2 (0.24%) EPLAN
2 1 (0.12%) Lightworks
2 1 (0.12%) Microsoft Office
2 1 (0.12%) Microsoft Project
2 1 (0.12%) Simulink
Cloud Services
1 91 (10.90%) AWS
2 70 (8.38%) Azure
3 67 (8.02%) SaaS
4 27 (3.23%) GCP
5 11 (1.32%) Azure DevOps
6 10 (1.20%) Serverless
7 8 (0.96%) GitHub
8 6 (0.72%) PaaS
8 6 (0.72%) Stripe
9 5 (0.60%) Figma
10 4 (0.48%) AWS Lambda
10 4 (0.48%) Firebase
11 3 (0.36%) Azure Functions
11 3 (0.36%) Azure Monitor
12 2 (0.24%) Amazon S3
12 2 (0.24%) Anthropic Claude
12 2 (0.24%) Cloud Run
12 2 (0.24%) GitHub Copilot
13 1 (0.12%) Adobe Analytics
13 1 (0.12%) Azure Machine Learning
Communications & Networking
1 15 (1.80%) Wireless
2 8 (0.96%) TCP/IP
3 4 (0.48%) Software-Defined Radio
3 4 (0.48%) Wireshark
4 3 (0.36%) MQTT
5 1 (0.12%) Broadband
5 1 (0.12%) Internet
5 1 (0.12%) Multicast
5 1 (0.12%) Software-Defined Networking
5 1 (0.12%) SpaceWire
Database & Business Intelligence
1 36 (4.31%) SQL Server
2 9 (1.08%) PostgreSQL
3 4 (0.48%) MySQL
4 3 (0.36%) MongoDB
5 2 (0.24%) NoSQL
5 2 (0.24%) Pinecone
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle Reports
Development Applications
1 48 (5.75%) Git
2 20 (2.40%) GitLab
3 19 (2.28%) Visual Studio Code
4 7 (0.84%) Visual Studio
5 6 (0.72%) Yeoman
6 3 (0.36%) JIRA
6 3 (0.36%) Rational Rhapsody
7 2 (0.24%) Bitbucket
7 2 (0.24%) Claude Code
7 2 (0.24%) JUnit
7 2 (0.24%) Postman
7 2 (0.24%) SpecFlow
8 1 (0.12%) CMake
8 1 (0.12%) NUnit
8 1 (0.12%) Toad
8 1 (0.12%) utPLSQL
General
1 59 (7.07%) Social Skills
2 47 (5.63%) Electronics
3 43 (5.15%) Manufacturing
4 27 (3.23%) Aerospace
5 24 (2.87%) Finance
6 21 (2.51%) Aviation
7 12 (1.44%) Games
8 11 (1.32%) Military
8 11 (1.32%) Pharmaceutical
8 11 (1.32%) Telecoms
9 7 (0.84%) Analytical Skills
9 7 (0.84%) Automotive
9 7 (0.84%) Public Sector
10 3 (0.36%) Organisational Skills
11 2 (0.24%) Law
11 2 (0.24%) Tech for Good
12 1 (0.12%) Documentation Skills
12 1 (0.12%) Health Technology
12 1 (0.12%) Influencing Skills
12 1 (0.12%) Presentation Skills
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 129 (15.45%) .NET
2 38 (4.55%) React
3 22 (2.63%) CSS
4 21 (2.51%) HTML
5 18 (2.16%) Vue
6 17 (2.04%) WPF
7 16 (1.92%) AngularJS
7 16 (1.92%) REST
7 16 (1.92%) Unreal Engine
8 14 (1.68%) Django
9 12 (1.44%) WebSockets
10 10 (1.20%) Node.js
11 9 (1.08%) .NET Core
11 9 (1.08%) ASP.NET
11 9 (1.08%) JSON
12 7 (0.84%) XML
13 6 (0.72%) DirectX
13 6 (0.72%) Middleware
13 6 (0.72%) OpenGL
13 6 (0.72%) OpenGL ES
Miscellaneous
1 50 (5.99%) Algorithms
2 33 (3.95%) Embedded Systems
3 21 (2.51%) Client/Server
4 19 (2.28%) IoT
5 18 (2.16%) Distributed Systems
5 18 (2.16%) Product Ownership
6 15 (1.80%) Distributed Computing
7 14 (1.68%) Robotics
8 12 (1.44%) Cloud Native
8 12 (1.44%) Smart Energy
9 11 (1.32%) Data Structures
10 10 (1.20%) Legacy Systems
10 10 (1.20%) Self-Motivation
11 6 (0.72%) AI Agents
12 5 (0.60%) Video Conferencing
13 4 (0.48%) Driving Licence
13 4 (0.48%) Management Information System
13 4 (0.48%) SCADA
14 3 (0.36%) CUDA
14 3 (0.36%) Smart Home
Operating Systems
1 70 (8.38%) Linux
2 17 (2.04%) Windows
3 9 (1.08%) Android
4 5 (0.60%) Embedded Linux
5 1 (0.12%) VxWorks
Processes & Methodologies
1 821 (98.32%) Software Engineering
2 110 (13.17%) Agile
3 83 (9.94%) Computer Science
4 78 (9.34%) Full-Stack Development
5 64 (7.66%) DevOps
6 60 (7.19%) CI/CD
7 52 (6.23%) AI
8 49 (5.87%) Continuous Improvement
9 48 (5.75%) Test Automation
10 47 (5.63%) Problem-Solving
11 42 (5.03%) Containerisation
12 39 (4.67%) SDLC
13 37 (4.43%) Mentoring
14 36 (4.31%) Code Quality
14 36 (4.31%) Machine Learning
15 34 (4.07%) Software Architecture
16 31 (3.71%) Embedded Software Development
17 27 (3.23%) Microservices
17 27 (3.23%) Software Testing
18 24 (2.87%) Scrum
Programming Languages
1 221 (26.47%) C++
2 171 (20.48%) C#
3 152 (18.20%) Python
4 71 (8.50%) C
5 55 (6.59%) JavaScript
6 46 (5.51%) SQL
6 46 (5.51%) TypeScript
7 31 (3.71%) Java
8 28 (3.35%) Rust
9 12 (1.44%) Go
9 12 (1.44%) PHP
10 6 (0.72%) PL/SQL
11 5 (0.60%) Ruby
12 4 (0.48%) Apex Code
12 4 (0.48%) Julia
12 4 (0.48%) MATLAB
13 3 (0.36%) Uniface
14 2 (0.24%) Shell Script
15 1 (0.12%) T-SQL
15 1 (0.12%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 169 (20.24%) Degree
2 88 (10.54%) Computer Science Degree
3 66 (7.90%) Security Cleared
4 46 (5.51%) SC Cleared
5 44 (5.27%) Master's Degree
6 23 (2.75%) PhD
7 9 (1.08%) DV Cleared
8 8 (0.96%) Azure Certification
9 3 (0.36%) BPSS Clearance
9 3 (0.36%) HNC
9 3 (0.36%) HND
10 2 (0.24%) AWS Certification
10 2 (0.24%) Microsoft Certification
10 2 (0.24%) NVQ Level 3
10 2 (0.24%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 28 (3.35%) QA
2 4 (0.48%) ISO 9001
3 3 (0.36%) DO-178B
4 2 (0.24%) GDPR
5 1 (0.12%) ECSS
System Software
1 44 (5.27%) Docker
2 40 (4.79%) Firmware
3 14 (1.68%) Hyper-V
3 14 (1.68%) KVM
3 14 (1.68%) VMware Infrastructure
4 11 (1.32%) Embedded Firmware
5 6 (0.72%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 24 (2.87%) Kubernetes
2 9 (1.08%) Terraform
3 3 (0.36%) Ansible
4 1 (0.12%) Podman
4 1 (0.12%) Puppet
Vendors
1 14 (1.68%) VMware
2 12 (1.44%) Oracle
3 9 (1.08%) Microsoft
3 9 (1.08%) Salesforce
4 6 (0.72%) HubSpot
5 3 (0.36%) Allen-Bradley
5 3 (0.36%) Siemens
5 3 (0.36%) Wonderware
6 1 (0.12%) Adobe
6 1 (0.12%) Google
6 1 (0.12%) NVIDIA
6 1 (0.12%) Typelevel
6 1 (0.12%) Xamarin