Software Engineer Job Trends in the UK excluding London

Software Engineer
UK > UK excluding London

The median Software Engineer salary in the UK excluding London is £65,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 16 July 2026.

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

6 months to
16 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 25 49 15
Rank change year-on-year +24 -34 +66
Permanent jobs requiring a Software Engineer 3,468 1,599 6,238
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK excluding London 4.85% 4.73% 8.52%
As % of the Job Titles category 5.12% 5.29% 8.99%
Number of salaries quoted 2,788 742 3,599
10th Percentile £45,000 £43,750 £38,250
25th Percentile £53,750 £52,500 £45,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £65,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year - +18.18% -8.33%
75th Percentile £80,000 £80,000 £66,250
90th Percentile £90,000 £95,000 £80,000
UK median annual salary £70,000 £77,500 £60,000
% change year-on-year -9.68% +29.17% -13.60%

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 67,793 30,227 69,426
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 94.71% 89.42% 94.87%
Number of salaries quoted 46,899 17,289 49,174
10th Percentile £30,000 £26,968 £27,000
25th Percentile £37,500 £33,750 £35,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £50,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% - -5.12%
75th Percentile £70,000 £65,625 £65,000
90th Percentile £85,000 £80,000 £77,500
UK median annual salary £55,000 £55,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year - +4.76% -12.50%

Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

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 UK excluding London.

Software Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK excluding London

Software Engineer
Salary Trend in the UK excluding London

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

Salary distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in the UK excluding London

Software Engineer
Salary Histogram in the UK excluding London

Salary distribution for jobs citing Software Engineer in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 16 July 2026.

Salary histogram for Software Engineer in the UK excluding London

Software Engineer
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 Software Engineer within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 16 July 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
South East +83 950 £65,000 - 156
North of England +21 925 £65,000 -7.14% 105
South West +24 605 £65,000 - 109
North West +7 536 £70,000 -6.67% 66
East of England +61 399 £70,000 +6.70% 99
Midlands +44 339 £62,500 -3.85% 59
Yorkshire +60 236 £62,500 -8.76% 27
West Midlands +33 176 £67,500 +8.00% 13
East Midlands +19 163 £54,500 -22.14% 46
North East +9 153 £70,000 +27.27% 12
Scotland -17 150 £65,000 - 18
Wales +1 87 £44,000 -35.29% 22
Northern Ireland -45 14 £90,000 +80.00% 29
Software Engineer
UK

Software Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London

For the 6 months to 16 July 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 UK excluding London region featuring Software Engineer in the job title.

1 3,423 (98.70%) Software Engineering
2 585 (16.87%) C++
3 538 (15.51%) C#
4 448 (12.92%) Python
5 416 (12.00%) Agile
6 373 (10.76%) AWS
7 353 (10.18%) Full-Stack Development
8 324 (9.34%) Security Cleared
9 313 (9.03%) .NET
10 303 (8.74%) CI/CD
11 300 (8.65%) Java
12 288 (8.30%) Degree
13 273 (7.87%) AI
14 267 (7.70%) Azure
15 265 (7.64%) C
16 258 (7.44%) JavaScript
17 238 (6.86%) DevOps
18 228 (6.57%) Linux
19 226 (6.52%) TypeScript
20 221 (6.37%) Mentoring
21 206 (5.94%) SC Cleared
22 193 (5.57%) Problem-Solving
22 193 (5.57%) React
23 189 (5.45%) SQL
24 188 (5.42%) Microservices
25 176 (5.07%) SDLC
25 176 (5.07%) Test Automation
26 173 (4.99%) Computer Science
27 169 (4.87%) Continuous Improvement
28 160 (4.61%) Docker

Software Engineer 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:

Application Platforms
1 17 (0.49%) Apache
2 15 (0.43%) SharePoint Server
3 8 (0.23%) FactoryTalk
4 7 (0.20%) Confluence
5 5 (0.14%) WinCC
6 4 (0.12%) Apache Solr
6 4 (0.12%) Apache Spark
6 4 (0.12%) CMS
6 4 (0.12%) GeoServer
7 2 (0.058%) ArchestrA
7 2 (0.058%) Headless CMS
7 2 (0.058%) WordPress
8 1 (0.029%) OpenStack
8 1 (0.029%) Umbraco
Applications
1 9 (0.26%) Lightworks
2 5 (0.14%) Simulink
3 4 (0.12%) EPLAN
4 3 (0.087%) CANalyzer
4 3 (0.087%) EngageOne
4 3 (0.087%) Microsoft Excel
4 3 (0.087%) Microsoft Office
4 3 (0.087%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.058%) AutoCAD
6 1 (0.029%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.029%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.029%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 1 (0.029%) Shopify
Cloud Services
1 373 (10.76%) AWS
2 267 (7.70%) Azure
3 158 (4.56%) SaaS
4 87 (2.51%) GCP
5 68 (1.96%) Serverless
6 42 (1.21%) GitHub
7 38 (1.10%) Azure DevOps
8 31 (0.89%) Firebase
9 28 (0.81%) Anthropic Claude
10 22 (0.63%) AWS Lambda
11 18 (0.52%) Amazon S3
12 15 (0.43%) Azure AKS
13 14 (0.40%) GitHub Actions
14 12 (0.35%) Amazon EKS
14 12 (0.35%) AWS CloudFormation
14 12 (0.35%) Cloud Run
15 8 (0.23%) Azure Cosmos DB
16 7 (0.20%) Amazon ECS
16 7 (0.20%) AWS Step Functions
16 7 (0.20%) Azure Functions
Communications & Networking
1 56 (1.61%) Wireless
2 36 (1.04%) Ethernet
3 27 (0.78%) Bluetooth
4 24 (0.69%) RS-232
5 23 (0.66%) Modbus
6 17 (0.49%) MQTT
6 17 (0.49%) ZigBee
7 16 (0.46%) Wi-Fi
8 15 (0.43%) Profibus
8 15 (0.43%) TCP/IP
9 12 (0.35%) RS-485
10 9 (0.26%) LTE
11 8 (0.23%) ATM
11 8 (0.23%) Network Security
12 6 (0.17%) Broadband
13 5 (0.14%) Software-Defined Radio
13 5 (0.14%) Wireshark
14 4 (0.12%) AMQP
15 3 (0.087%) Software-Defined Networking
16 2 (0.058%) LoRaWAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 73 (2.10%) PostgreSQL
2 63 (1.82%) MongoDB
3 62 (1.79%) SQL Server
4 58 (1.67%) NoSQL
5 47 (1.36%) MySQL
6 19 (0.55%) Elasticsearch
6 19 (0.55%) Relational Database
7 15 (0.43%) Redis
8 13 (0.37%) Big Data
8 13 (0.37%) Pinecone
9 11 (0.32%) DynamoDB
10 7 (0.20%) Azure SQL Database
10 7 (0.20%) Neo4j
11 6 (0.17%) Hadoop
12 5 (0.14%) FileMaker
13 4 (0.12%) Cloudera CDH
13 4 (0.12%) Geospatial Data
13 4 (0.12%) GIS
13 4 (0.12%) QGIS
14 3 (0.087%) DocumentDB
Development Applications
1 131 (3.78%) Git
2 47 (1.36%) GitLab
3 30 (0.87%) JIRA
4 27 (0.78%) Jenkins
5 23 (0.66%) Visual Studio Code
6 18 (0.52%) Claude Code
7 12 (0.35%) Visual Studio
8 11 (0.32%) Cucumber
9 9 (0.26%) SonarQube
10 7 (0.20%) Eclipse
10 7 (0.20%) GDB
10 7 (0.20%) JUnit
10 7 (0.20%) Moq
11 6 (0.17%) Bitbucket
11 6 (0.17%) Subversion
11 6 (0.17%) Yeoman
12 5 (0.14%) LabVIEW
12 5 (0.14%) Postman
13 4 (0.12%) Robot Framework
14 3 (0.087%) CANoe
General
1 204 (5.88%) Manufacturing
2 178 (5.13%) Electronics
3 156 (4.50%) Social Skills
4 95 (2.74%) Finance
5 83 (2.39%) Aerospace
6 79 (2.28%) Automotive
7 76 (2.19%) Public Sector
8 44 (1.27%) Analytical Skills
9 31 (0.89%) Aviation
10 29 (0.84%) Pharmaceutical
11 21 (0.61%) Retail
12 18 (0.52%) Games
12 18 (0.52%) Telecoms
13 17 (0.49%) Military
14 15 (0.43%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 14 (0.40%) Organisational Skills
16 10 (0.29%) Health Technology
16 10 (0.29%) Tech for Good
17 9 (0.26%) Agriculture
17 9 (0.26%) Wearables
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 313 (9.03%) .NET
2 193 (5.57%) React
3 121 (3.49%) Node.js
4 102 (2.94%) Vue
5 72 (2.08%) AngularJS
6 69 (1.99%) WPF
7 65 (1.87%) RESTful
8 64 (1.85%) CSS
9 61 (1.76%) REST
10 59 (1.70%) Spring
11 58 (1.67%) HTML
12 51 (1.47%) Spring Boot
13 43 (1.24%) .NET Core
14 38 (1.10%) Next.js
15 37 (1.07%) .NET Framework
16 34 (0.98%) Django
17 24 (0.69%) Yocto
18 23 (0.66%) Entity Framework
19 21 (0.61%) ASP.NET
19 21 (0.61%) WebSockets
Miscellaneous
1 139 (4.01%) Cloud Native
2 123 (3.55%) Embedded Systems
3 86 (2.48%) Algorithms
4 77 (2.22%) Robotics
5 75 (2.16%) Legacy Systems
6 66 (1.90%) Product Ownership
7 59 (1.70%) IoT
8 52 (1.50%) AI Agents
8 52 (1.50%) Distributed Systems
9 43 (1.24%) Greenfield Project
10 31 (0.89%) Mobile App
11 29 (0.84%) Device Driver
12 23 (0.66%) Client/Server
13 21 (0.61%) Hedge funds
14 19 (0.55%) ARM Cortex
14 19 (0.55%) Data Structures
15 18 (0.52%) Educational Technology
16 17 (0.49%) Distributed Computing
17 16 (0.46%) Cyber Threat
17 16 (0.46%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 228 (6.57%) Linux
2 49 (1.41%) Windows
3 48 (1.38%) Embedded Linux
4 32 (0.92%) Android
5 31 (0.89%) FreeRTOS
6 9 (0.26%) Debian
7 7 (0.20%) Apple iOS
8 5 (0.14%) Ubuntu
8 5 (0.14%) Windows Server
9 4 (0.12%) CentOS
9 4 (0.12%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 3 (0.087%) Gentoo
11 2 (0.058%) Robot Operating System
11 2 (0.058%) SafeRTOS
11 2 (0.058%) Unix
11 2 (0.058%) Windows 10
11 2 (0.058%) Windows Server 2019
11 2 (0.058%) zOS
12 1 (0.029%) ThreadX
12 1 (0.029%) VxWorks
Processes & Methodologies
1 3,423 (98.70%) Software Engineering
2 416 (12.00%) Agile
3 353 (10.18%) Full-Stack Development
4 303 (8.74%) CI/CD
5 273 (7.87%) AI
6 238 (6.86%) DevOps
7 221 (6.37%) Mentoring
8 193 (5.57%) Problem-Solving
9 188 (5.42%) Microservices
10 176 (5.07%) SDLC
10 176 (5.07%) Test Automation
11 173 (4.99%) Computer Science
12 169 (4.87%) Continuous Improvement
13 122 (3.52%) Containerisation
14 113 (3.26%) Software Architecture
15 112 (3.23%) TDD
16 108 (3.11%) Scrum
17 103 (2.97%) Software Testing
18 94 (2.71%) Code Quality
19 85 (2.45%) Collaborative Culture
Programming Languages
1 585 (16.87%) C++
2 538 (15.51%) C#
3 448 (12.92%) Python
4 300 (8.65%) Java
5 265 (7.64%) C
6 258 (7.44%) JavaScript
7 226 (6.52%) TypeScript
8 189 (5.45%) SQL
9 122 (3.52%) Rust
10 57 (1.64%) PHP
11 54 (1.56%) Embedded C
12 51 (1.47%) Go
13 26 (0.75%) Ruby
14 23 (0.66%) Embedded C++
15 19 (0.55%) Bash
16 18 (0.52%) Kotlin
17 17 (0.49%) COBOL
18 14 (0.40%) MATLAB
19 13 (0.37%) Scala
20 9 (0.26%) Ada
Qualifications
1 324 (9.34%) Security Cleared
2 288 (8.30%) Degree
3 206 (5.94%) SC Cleared
4 129 (3.72%) Computer Science Degree
5 126 (3.63%) DV Cleared
6 53 (1.53%) Master's Degree
7 23 (0.66%) PhD
8 10 (0.29%) DBS Check
8 10 (0.29%) HND
9 8 (0.23%) Azure Certification
9 8 (0.23%) BPSS Clearance
10 6 (0.17%) HNC
11 5 (0.14%) AWS Certification
11 5 (0.14%) CEH
11 5 (0.14%) OSCP
12 4 (0.12%) Microsoft Certification
13 2 (0.058%) Microsoft Certified Professional
13 2 (0.058%) NVQ Level 3
14 1 (0.029%) Chartered Engineer
14 1 (0.029%) ISTQB
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 73 (2.10%) QA
2 22 (0.63%) Accessibility
3 8 (0.23%) IEC 61131
3 8 (0.23%) IEC 61508
3 8 (0.23%) MISRA
3 8 (0.23%) MISRA C
4 6 (0.17%) JTAG
5 4 (0.12%) DO-178B
5 4 (0.12%) ECSS
6 3 (0.087%) GAMP
6 3 (0.087%) GDPR
6 3 (0.087%) ISO 9001
7 2 (0.058%) ISO 26262
8 1 (0.029%) Automotive SPICE
8 1 (0.029%) DO-254
8 1 (0.029%) HAZOP
8 1 (0.029%) IEC 62304
8 1 (0.029%) Software Quality Assurance
8 1 (0.029%) WCAG
System Software
1 160 (4.61%) Docker
2 156 (4.50%) Firmware
3 52 (1.50%) Embedded Firmware
4 12 (0.35%) KVM
4 12 (0.35%) VMware Infrastructure
5 11 (0.32%) Hyper-V
6 7 (0.20%) Virtual Machines
7 5 (0.14%) QEMU
8 2 (0.058%) Time Sharing Option
Systems Management
1 122 (3.52%) Kubernetes
2 79 (2.28%) Terraform
3 32 (0.92%) Ansible
4 7 (0.20%) Grafana
4 7 (0.20%) Kibana
4 7 (0.20%) logstash
4 7 (0.20%) Podman
5 6 (0.17%) Functional Safety
6 5 (0.14%) Puppet
7 3 (0.087%) Plesk
7 3 (0.087%) SCCM
7 3 (0.087%) SCOM
7 3 (0.087%) SCOrch
8 2 (0.058%) Microsoft Intune
8 2 (0.058%) Packer
8 2 (0.058%) Progress Chef
Vendors
1 31 (0.89%) Siemens
2 29 (0.84%) Microsoft
3 19 (0.55%) Rockwell
4 18 (0.52%) Google
5 16 (0.46%) Oracle
6 14 (0.40%) VMware
7 11 (0.32%) Salesforce
8 10 (0.29%) Allen-Bradley
9 9 (0.26%) OpenAI
10 8 (0.23%) Okta
10 8 (0.23%) Ping Identity
11 7 (0.20%) Atlassian
12 6 (0.17%) Splunk
12 6 (0.17%) Xamarin
13 4 (0.12%) Intel
13 4 (0.12%) Peregrine
13 4 (0.12%) Red Hat
13 4 (0.12%) SaltStack
14 3 (0.087%) ForgeRock
14 3 (0.087%) Typelevel