COBOL
UK
The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs requiring COBOL skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 24 January 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 24 Jan 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 644 | 688 | 726 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +44 | +38 | +242 |
| Permanent jobs citing COBOL | 13 | 19 | 32 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in the UK | 0.021% | 0.036% | 0.049% |
| As % of the Programming Languages category | 0.11% | 0.11% | 0.13% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 10 | 3 | 29 |
| 10th Percentile | £52,813 | £57,500 | £44,750 |
| 25th Percentile | £53,344 | £63,125 | £52,500 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £60,000 | £75,000 | £55,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -20.00% | +36.36% | +4.76% |
| 75th Percentile | £70,031 | £85,639 | £65,250 |
| 90th Percentile | £76,400 | £90,522 | £77,450 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £60,000 | £71,376 | £55,000 |
| % change year-on-year | -15.94% | +29.78% | -8.33% |
All Programming Languages
UK
COBOL falls under the Programming Languages category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring coding skills.
| Permanent vacancies with a requirement for coding skills | 11,920 | 17,841 | 25,001 |
| As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK | 19.06% | 33.59% | 38.17% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 8,630 | 10,404 | 20,481 |
| 10th Percentile | £32,750 | £37,500 | £37,500 |
| 25th Percentile | £46,250 | £47,500 | £46,250 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £62,500 | £65,000 | £60,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -3.85% | +8.33% | -7.69% |
| 75th Percentile | £82,500 | £85,000 | £81,250 |
| 90th Percentile | £101,250 | £110,000 | £102,500 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £55,000 | £55,000 | £55,000 |
COBOL
Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing COBOL relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.
COBOL
Salary Trend
Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing COBOL.
COBOL
Salary Histogram
Salary distribution for jobs citing COBOL over the 6 months to 24 January 2026.
COBOL
Top 11 Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing COBOL within the UK over the 6 months to 24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | +56 | 10 | £60,000 | -20.00% | 7 |
| UK excluding London | +23 | 10 | £60,000 | -15.94% | 4 |
| South East | - | 3 | £60,000 | - | |
| North of England | +1 | 2 | £78,000 | -8.51% | 2 |
| Yorkshire | -19 | 2 | £78,000 | -8.51% | 2 |
| South West | - | 2 | £56,250 | - | 1 |
| Northern Ireland | - | 2 | - | - | |
| Work from Home | +69 | 1 | - | - | 6 |
| London | +49 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| Midlands | +15 | 1 | £54,000 | -6.09% | 1 |
| East Midlands | -3 | 1 | £54,000 | - | 1 |
COBOL
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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: