Principal Developer
UK
The median Principal Developer salary in the UK is £85,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 1 May 2025.
The table below provides salary benchmarking and summary statistics, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 1 May 2025 |
Same period 2024 | Same period 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 672 | 781 | 844 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +109 | +63 | +119 |
| Permanent jobs requiring a Principal Developer | 20 | 115 | 145 |
| As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK | 0.038% | 0.12% | 0.14% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.043% | 0.12% | 0.15% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 15 | 63 | 108 |
| 10th Percentile | £76,000 | £50,000 | £68,375 |
| 25th Percentile | £78,250 | £65,000 | £74,375 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £85,000 | £80,000 | £100,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +6.25% | -20.00% | +11.11% |
| 75th Percentile | £88,125 | £90,000 | £111,563 |
| 90th Percentile | £96,000 | £104,000 | £115,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £82,500 | £77,500 | £82,500 |
| % change year-on-year | +6.45% | -6.06% | -3.79% |
All Permanent IT Job Vacancies
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies. 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 with a recognized job title | 46,902 | 93,183 | 95,132 |
| % of permanent jobs with a recognized job title | 90.12% | 94.62% | 91.53% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 27,275 | 66,883 | 59,840 |
| 10th Percentile | £30,000 | £28,500 | £32,500 |
| 25th Percentile | £42,000 | £38,500 | £45,000 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £57,500 | £52,777 | £60,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +8.95% | -12.04% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £75,000 | £71,250 | £81,250 |
| 90th Percentile | £97,500 | £90,000 | £100,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £52,000 | £50,000 | £52,500 |
| % change year-on-year | +4.00% | -4.76% | +5.00% |
Principal Developer
Job Vacancy Trend
Job postings that featured Principal Developer in the job title as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.
Principal Developer
Salary Trend
3-month moving average salary quoted in jobs citing Principal Developer.
Principal Developer
Salary Histogram
Salary distribution for jobs citing Principal Developer over the 6 months to 1 May 2025.
Principal Developer
Top 10 Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Principal Developer within the UK over the 6 months to 1 May 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | +108 | 20 | £85,000 | +6.25% | 7 |
| UK excluding London | +146 | 16 | £82,500 | +6.45% | 6 |
| South West | +99 | 6 | £86,250 | +7.81% | 1 |
| Work from Home | +167 | 5 | £85,000 | +3.03% | 3 |
| South East | +101 | 4 | £81,000 | -1.82% | 1 |
| London | +93 | 4 | £100,000 | +8.11% | 2 |
| Midlands | +81 | 3 | £80,000 | - | |
| North of England | +53 | 3 | £85,000 | +30.77% | 3 |
| West Midlands | +49 | 3 | £80,000 | - | |
| North West | +14 | 3 | £85,000 | +49.12% | 1 |
Principal Developer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities
For the 6 months to 1 May 2025, Principal Developer job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent job ads featuring Principal Developer in the job title.
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Principal Developer Skill Set
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities by Category
The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:
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