Programmer Job Trends in the UK excluding London

Programmer
UK > UK excluding London

The median Programmer salary in the UK excluding London is £45,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 6 January 2026.

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

6 months to
6 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 347 424 357
Rank change year-on-year +77 -67 +288
Permanent jobs requiring a Programmer 179 140 199
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK excluding London 0.43% 0.38% 0.62%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.47% 0.41% 0.65%
Number of salaries quoted 141 86 120
10th Percentile - £33,500 £23,461
25th Percentile £35,000 £35,000 £25,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £40,000 £35,000
Median % change year-on-year +12.50% +14.29% -30.00%
75th Percentile £50,000 £45,000 £45,000
90th Percentile £55,000 £55,000 £62,928
UK median annual salary £45,000 £40,000 £30,000
% change year-on-year +12.50% +33.33% -45.45%

All Permanent IT Job Roles
UK excluding London

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies in the UK excluding London. 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 UK excluding London with a recognized job title 38,055 33,958 30,791
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 90.42% 92.95% 95.27%
Number of salaries quoted 23,081 16,702 23,207
10th Percentile £28,000 £31,250 £28,000
25th Percentile £35,000 £40,000 £37,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £50,000 £52,500 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% +5.00% -4.76%
75th Percentile £65,000 £68,750 £65,250
90th Percentile £80,000 £82,500 £80,000
UK median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £58,500
% change year-on-year -8.33% +2.56% -2.50%

Programmer
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Programmer' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London.

Programmer job vacancy trend in the UK excluding London

Programmer
Salary Trend in the UK excluding London

Salary distribution trend for Programmer job vacancies in the UK excluding London.

Salary distribution trend for Programmer job vacancies in the UK excluding London

Programmer
Salary Histogram in the UK excluding London

Salary distribution for jobs citing Programmer in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 6 January 2026.

Salary histogram for Programmer in the UK excluding London

Programmer
Job Locations in the UK excluding London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Programmer within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 6 January 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
North of England +28 52 £40,000 - 24
Midlands +27 43 £45,000 +25.00% 18
West Midlands +44 35 £45,000 +12.50% 14
North West +25 33 £40,000 - 16
South East +32 32 £50,000 -9.09% 14
East of England +46 28 £45,000 - 14
South West +6 11 £37,500 -6.25% 8
North East +14 10 £32,500 -40.91% 3
Wales +12 9 £40,000 - 3
Yorkshire -13 9 £50,000 - 5
East Midlands -10 8 £55,000 +57.14% 4
Scotland -8 2 £57,500 +105.36% 4
Northern Ireland - 2 £28,000 - 1
Programmer
UK

Programmer Skill Set
Top 13 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London

For the 6 months to 6 January 2026, Programmer 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 UK excluding London region featuring Programmer in the job title.

1 25 (13.97%) CAD
2 10 (5.59%) Fusion 360
3 8 (4.47%) Mentoring
4 6 (3.35%) Process Improvement
4 6 (3.35%) Software Engineering
5 5 (2.79%) ALPHACAM
5 5 (2.79%) Customer Requirements
5 5 (2.79%) Performance Management
6 2 (1.12%) Biometrics
7 1 (0.56%) Computacenter
7 1 (0.56%) Power Management
7 1 (0.56%) Rockwell
7 1 (0.56%) Statistical Analysis

Programmer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London 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:

Applications
1 10 (5.59%) Fusion 360
2 5 (2.79%) ALPHACAM
General
1 28 (15.64%) Aerospace
2 26 (14.53%) Automotive
3 22 (12.29%) Manufacturing
4 9 (5.03%) Agriculture
5 4 (2.23%) Military
6 3 (1.68%) Electronics
6 3 (1.68%) Public Sector
6 3 (1.68%) Telecoms
7 1 (0.56%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 1 (0.56%) Pharmaceutical
Miscellaneous
1 5 (2.79%) e-Learning
2 1 (0.56%) Robotics
Processes & Methodologies
1 25 (13.97%) CAD
2 8 (4.47%) Mentoring
3 6 (3.35%) Process Improvement
3 6 (3.35%) Software Engineering
4 5 (2.79%) Customer Requirements
4 5 (2.79%) Performance Management
5 2 (1.12%) Biometrics
6 1 (0.56%) Power Management
6 1 (0.56%) Statistical Analysis
Vendors
1 1 (0.56%) Computacenter
1 1 (0.56%) Rockwell