Developer Contract Job Trends in Cheshire
Developer
North West > Cheshire
The median Developer daily rate in Cheshire is £513, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 23 October 2026.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 23 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 35 | 22 | 15 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -13 | -7 | +18 |
| Contract Developer jobs | 43 | 66 | 57 |
| As % of all contract jobs in Cheshire | 5.61% | 9.64% | 11.00% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 6.28% | 10.78% | 11.83% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 26 | 58 | 39 |
| 10th Percentile | £267 | £314 | £308 |
| 25th Percentile | £409 | £350 | £323 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £513 | £375 | £374 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +36.67% | +0.27% | -22.29% |
| 75th Percentile | £550 | £449 | £472 |
| 90th Percentile | - | £488 | £548 |
| North West median daily rate | £492 | £425 | £440 |
| % change year-on-year | +15.82% | -3.41% | -7.37% |
All Contract IT Job Roles
Cheshire
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts in Cheshire matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 23 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract job adverts in Cheshire matching a recognised job title | 685 | 612 | 482 |
| % of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title | 89.31% | 89.34% | 93.05% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 371 | 469 | 280 |
| 10th Percentile | £225 | £270 | £322 |
| 25th Percentile | £400 | £358 | £375 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £470 | £447 | £470 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.15% | -4.89% | -5.05% |
| 75th Percentile | £568 | £538 | £569 |
| 90th Percentile | £620 | £688 | £641 |
| North West median daily rate | £500 | £450 | £475 |
| % change year-on-year | +11.11% | -5.26% | -5.00% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 76 | 34 | 25 |
| 10th Percentile | £15.93 | £12.82 | £13.49 |
| 25th Percentile | £17.25 | £15.50 | £15.36 |
| Median hourly rate | £41.07 | £25.15 | £22.09 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +63.28% | +13.85% | -27.67% |
| 75th Percentile | £85.00 | £36.06 | £35.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £111.25 | £67.25 | £43.75 |
| North West median hourly rate | £47.56 | £25.15 | £35.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +89.11% | -28.14% | +6.06% |
Developer Job Vacancy Trend in Cheshire
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract Developer job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Cheshire.
Developer Daily Rate Trend in Cheshire
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Developer job vacancies in Cheshire.
Developer Daily Rate Histogram in Cheshire
Daily rate distribution for Developer jobs in Cheshire over the 6 months to 23 October 2026.
Developer Hourly Rate Trend in Cheshire
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Developer job vacancies in Cheshire.
Developer Contract Job Locations in Cheshire
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in Developer jobs within the Cheshire region over the 6 months to 23 October 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 |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester | +15 | 24 | £550 | +15.79% | 11 |
| Knutsford | -14 | 12 | £445 | +18.73% | 1 |
| Winsford | - | 2 | £513 | - | |
| Warrington | -10 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Developer North West |
|||||
Developer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Cheshire
For the 6 months to 23 October 2026, Developer contract job ads cited the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract Developer job ads across the Cheshire region.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CI/CD | 37.2% | 16 |
| 2 | Observability | 32.6% | 14 |
| 3 | Incident Response | 30.2% | 13 |
| 3 | SQL | 30.2% | 13 |
| 5 | Git | 27.9% | 12 |
| 5 | Python | 27.9% | 12 |
| 7 | Agile | 25.6% | 11 |
| 7 | JSON | 25.6% | 11 |
| 9 | DevOps | 20.9% | 9 |
| 9 | GitLab | 20.9% | 9 |
| 9 | SQL Server | 20.9% | 9 |
| 12 | Java | 18.6% | 8 |
| 12 | Jenkins | 18.6% | 8 |
| 12 | Kafka | 18.6% | 8 |
| 12 | SD-WAN | 18.6% | 8 |
| 12 | Splunk | 18.6% | 8 |
| 12 | WAN | 18.6% | 8 |
| 12 | Wireless | 18.6% | 8 |
| 19 | Ansible | 16.3% | 7 |
| 19 | Confluence | 16.3% | 7 |
| 19 | JavaScript | 16.3% | 7 |
| 19 | Linux | 16.3% | 7 |
| 19 | REST | 16.3% | 7 |
| 24 | Clean Code | 14.0% | 6 |
| 24 | Django | 14.0% | 6 |
| 24 | Infrastructure as Code | 14.0% | 6 |
| 24 | Test Automation | 14.0% | 6 |
| 28 | AI | 11.6% | 5 |
| 28 | Claude Code | 11.6% | 5 |
| 28 | HTML | 11.6% | 5 |
Developer Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Cheshire by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Automation Developer | 30.2% | 13 |
| 2 | Python Developer | 9.3% | 4 |
| 3 | Full-Stack Developer | 7.0% | 3 |
| 3 | SQL Developer | 7.0% | 3 |
| 5 | Java Developer | 4.7% | 2 |
| 5 | Senior Developer | 4.7% | 2 |
| 7 | Backend Developer | 2.3% | 1 |
| 7 | C# Developer | 2.3% | 1 |
| 7 | DevOps Developer | 2.3% | 1 |
| 7 | Lead Developer | 2.3% | 1 |
| 7 | React Developer | 2.3% | 1 |
| 7 | Senior Python Developer | 2.3% | 1 |
| 7 | ServiceNow Developer | 2.3% | 1 |
| 7 | SSRS Developer | 2.3% | 1 |