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 12 August 2026.

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

6 months to
12 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 24 53 13
Rank change year-on-year +29 -40 +63
Permanent jobs requiring a Software Engineer 3,810 1,521 5,216
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK excluding London 4.95% 4.40% 8.71%
As % of the Job Titles category 5.24% 4.92% 9.17%
Number of salaries quoted 2,993 652 2,867
10th Percentile £45,000 £43,750 £40,000
25th Percentile £55,000 £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 £67,500
90th Percentile £90,000 £95,000 £80,000
UK median annual salary £70,000 £80,000 £60,000
% change year-on-year -12.50% +33.33% -14.29%

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 72,709 30,936 56,875
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 94.43% 89.43% 94.97%
Number of salaries quoted 50,271 17,815 37,488
10th Percentile £30,000 £26,500 £28,498
25th Percentile £39,000 £32,500 £37,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £48,500 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +8.25% -3.00% -6.54%
75th Percentile £70,000 £65,000 £65,000
90th Percentile £85,000 £80,000 £80,000
UK median annual salary £56,000 £55,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year +1.82% - -8.33%

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 12 August 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 12 August 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 +74 1,000 £65,000 -1.89% 255
North of England +22 981 £65,000 -7.14% 266
South West +31 704 £65,000 - 209
North West +9 545 £70,000 -6.67% 174
East of England +84 469 £70,000 +27.27% 239
Midlands +59 386 £62,500 -3.85% 122
Yorkshire +79 267 £60,000 -10.11% 50
East Midlands +31 199 £55,000 -21.43% 65
West Midlands +41 187 £65,000 +4.00% 57
North East +18 169 £70,000 +27.27% 42
Scotland -12 147 £67,500 +3.85% 187
Wales +7 110 £55,000 -17.29% 32
Northern Ireland -56 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 12 August 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 3,769 (98.92%) Software Engineering
2 637 (16.72%) C++
3 584 (15.33%) C#
4 504 (13.23%) Python
5 474 (12.44%) Agile
6 396 (10.39%) AWS
7 375 (9.84%) Security Cleared
8 360 (9.45%) Full-Stack Development
9 351 (9.21%) CI/CD
10 335 (8.79%) AI
11 320 (8.40%) Java
12 318 (8.35%) .NET
13 300 (7.87%) Degree
14 286 (7.51%) Azure
15 270 (7.09%) Linux
16 264 (6.93%) JavaScript
17 262 (6.88%) C
18 258 (6.77%) Mentoring
19 240 (6.30%) DevOps
20 238 (6.25%) SC Cleared
21 236 (6.19%) TypeScript
22 212 (5.56%) Problem-Solving
23 209 (5.49%) React
24 201 (5.28%) Test Automation
25 199 (5.22%) SDLC
26 198 (5.20%) Microservices
27 192 (5.04%) SQL
28 184 (4.83%) Computer Science
29 181 (4.75%) Docker
30 179 (4.70%) Continuous Improvement

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 22 (0.58%) Apache
2 15 (0.39%) SharePoint Server
3 9 (0.24%) Confluence
4 8 (0.21%) FactoryTalk
5 7 (0.18%) WinCC
6 4 (0.10%) Apache Airflow
6 4 (0.10%) Apache Solr
6 4 (0.10%) Apache Spark
7 3 (0.079%) CMS
7 3 (0.079%) GeoServer
8 2 (0.052%) ArchestrA
8 2 (0.052%) Headless CMS
8 2 (0.052%) WordPress
9 1 (0.026%) Cloud Foundry
9 1 (0.026%) OpenStack
9 1 (0.026%) SharePoint
9 1 (0.026%) Tomcat
9 1 (0.026%) Umbraco
9 1 (0.026%) WebSphere
Applications
1 12 (0.31%) Lightworks
2 6 (0.16%) Simulink
3 4 (0.10%) EPLAN
3 4 (0.10%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (0.10%) Microsoft Office
3 4 (0.10%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 3 (0.079%) CANalyzer
5 2 (0.052%) AutoCAD
6 1 (0.026%) EngageOne
6 1 (0.026%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.026%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.026%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 5 (0.13%) Oracle Applications
2 1 (0.026%) Shopify
Cloud Services
1 396 (10.39%) AWS
2 286 (7.51%) Azure
3 149 (3.91%) SaaS
4 108 (2.83%) GCP
5 71 (1.86%) Serverless
6 50 (1.31%) GitHub
7 38 (1.00%) Azure DevOps
8 34 (0.89%) Firebase
9 32 (0.84%) Anthropic Claude
10 25 (0.66%) AWS Lambda
11 17 (0.45%) GitHub Actions
12 16 (0.42%) Amazon S3
12 16 (0.42%) Cloud Run
13 15 (0.39%) AWS CloudFormation
14 14 (0.37%) Amazon EKS
15 10 (0.26%) Slack
16 9 (0.24%) AWS Step Functions
16 9 (0.24%) Azure AKS
16 9 (0.24%) Azure Functions
16 9 (0.24%) OpenShift
Communications & Networking
1 56 (1.47%) Wireless
2 36 (0.94%) Ethernet
3 26 (0.68%) Bluetooth
4 22 (0.58%) Modbus
4 22 (0.58%) RS-232
5 20 (0.52%) MQTT
6 19 (0.50%) TCP/IP
7 17 (0.45%) ZigBee
8 15 (0.39%) Profibus
8 15 (0.39%) Wi-Fi
9 12 (0.31%) RS-485
10 10 (0.26%) ATM
11 8 (0.21%) LTE
11 8 (0.21%) Network Security
12 6 (0.16%) Wireshark
13 4 (0.10%) AMQP
13 4 (0.10%) Broadband
13 4 (0.10%) Software-Defined Radio
14 3 (0.079%) Software-Defined Networking
15 2 (0.052%) 5G
Database & Business Intelligence
1 81 (2.13%) PostgreSQL
2 64 (1.68%) SQL Server
3 61 (1.60%) MongoDB
4 50 (1.31%) NoSQL
5 43 (1.13%) MySQL
6 26 (0.68%) Relational Database
7 17 (0.45%) Redis
8 16 (0.42%) Elasticsearch
8 16 (0.42%) Pinecone
9 15 (0.39%) DynamoDB
10 12 (0.31%) Big Data
11 7 (0.18%) Azure SQL Database
12 6 (0.16%) Hadoop
13 5 (0.13%) FileMaker
13 5 (0.13%) Neo4j
14 4 (0.10%) Cloudera CDH
14 4 (0.10%) MariaDB
15 3 (0.079%) Amazon RDS
15 3 (0.079%) Data Lake
15 3 (0.079%) Geospatial Data
Development Applications
1 141 (3.70%) Git
2 50 (1.31%) GitLab
3 36 (0.94%) JIRA
4 33 (0.87%) Jenkins
5 21 (0.55%) Visual Studio Code
6 20 (0.52%) Claude Code
7 14 (0.37%) Visual Studio
8 11 (0.29%) Cucumber
9 9 (0.24%) SonarQube
10 8 (0.21%) GDB
10 8 (0.21%) JUnit
11 7 (0.18%) LabVIEW
11 7 (0.18%) Moq
12 6 (0.16%) Bitbucket
12 6 (0.16%) CMake
12 6 (0.16%) Yeoman
13 5 (0.13%) Postman
13 5 (0.13%) Subversion
14 4 (0.10%) Eclipse
14 4 (0.10%) Rational DOORS
General
1 230 (6.04%) Manufacturing
2 198 (5.20%) Electronics
3 182 (4.78%) Social Skills
4 133 (3.49%) Finance
5 113 (2.97%) Aerospace
6 92 (2.41%) Public Sector
7 84 (2.20%) Automotive
8 51 (1.34%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 48 (1.26%) Analytical Skills
10 45 (1.18%) Aviation
11 39 (1.02%) Pharmaceutical
12 36 (0.94%) Retail
13 23 (0.60%) Law
13 23 (0.60%) Military
14 22 (0.58%) Games
15 18 (0.47%) Telecoms
16 15 (0.39%) Organisational Skills
17 14 (0.37%) Marketing
18 11 (0.29%) Tech for Good
19 9 (0.24%) Agriculture
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 318 (8.35%) .NET
2 209 (5.49%) React
3 116 (3.04%) Node.js
4 101 (2.65%) Vue
5 75 (1.97%) WPF
6 74 (1.94%) AngularJS
7 68 (1.78%) CSS
8 65 (1.71%) Spring
9 61 (1.60%) REST
10 60 (1.57%) Spring Boot
11 58 (1.52%) RESTful
12 57 (1.50%) HTML
13 37 (0.97%) .NET Core
13 37 (0.97%) Django
14 36 (0.94%) Next.js
15 31 (0.81%) .NET Framework
16 26 (0.68%) Yocto
17 24 (0.63%) ASP.NET
18 23 (0.60%) React Native
19 22 (0.58%) WebSockets
Miscellaneous
1 172 (4.51%) Cloud Native
2 127 (3.33%) Embedded Systems
3 100 (2.62%) Algorithms
3 100 (2.62%) Robotics
4 82 (2.15%) Legacy Systems
5 71 (1.86%) Product Ownership
6 64 (1.68%) AI Agents
6 64 (1.68%) Distributed Systems
7 57 (1.50%) IoT
8 46 (1.21%) Greenfield Project
9 31 (0.81%) Mobile App
10 28 (0.73%) Device Driver
10 28 (0.73%) Public Cloud
11 25 (0.66%) Data Structures
12 21 (0.55%) ARM Cortex
12 21 (0.55%) Cyber Threat
13 18 (0.47%) Client/Server
13 18 (0.47%) Distributed Computing
13 18 (0.47%) Educational Technology
13 18 (0.47%) Hedge funds
Operating Systems
1 270 (7.09%) Linux
2 59 (1.55%) Windows
3 53 (1.39%) Embedded Linux
4 31 (0.81%) FreeRTOS
5 29 (0.76%) Android
6 9 (0.24%) Debian
7 6 (0.16%) Apple iOS
8 5 (0.13%) Ubuntu
8 5 (0.13%) Windows Server
9 4 (0.10%) CentOS
9 4 (0.10%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 4 (0.10%) Unix
9 4 (0.10%) VxWorks
10 3 (0.079%) Gentoo
11 2 (0.052%) Robot Operating System
11 2 (0.052%) SafeRTOS
11 2 (0.052%) Windows 10
11 2 (0.052%) Windows Server 2019
11 2 (0.052%) zOS
12 1 (0.026%) ThreadX
Processes & Methodologies
1 3,769 (98.92%) Software Engineering
2 474 (12.44%) Agile
3 360 (9.45%) Full-Stack Development
4 351 (9.21%) CI/CD
5 335 (8.79%) AI
6 258 (6.77%) Mentoring
7 240 (6.30%) DevOps
8 212 (5.56%) Problem-Solving
9 201 (5.28%) Test Automation
10 199 (5.22%) SDLC
11 198 (5.20%) Microservices
12 184 (4.83%) Computer Science
13 179 (4.70%) Continuous Improvement
14 131 (3.44%) Containerisation
15 129 (3.39%) Software Architecture
16 118 (3.10%) Code Quality
17 117 (3.07%) Software Testing
18 110 (2.89%) Technical Leadership
19 109 (2.86%) TDD
20 95 (2.49%) Scrum
Programming Languages
1 637 (16.72%) C++
2 584 (15.33%) C#
3 504 (13.23%) Python
4 320 (8.40%) Java
5 264 (6.93%) JavaScript
6 262 (6.88%) C
7 236 (6.19%) TypeScript
8 192 (5.04%) SQL
9 133 (3.49%) Rust
10 64 (1.68%) Go
11 60 (1.57%) PHP
12 48 (1.26%) Embedded C
13 30 (0.79%) Ruby
14 28 (0.73%) Embedded C++
15 19 (0.50%) Ada
16 18 (0.47%) Kotlin
17 17 (0.45%) Bash
17 17 (0.45%) COBOL
18 14 (0.37%) MATLAB
18 14 (0.37%) Scala
Qualifications
1 375 (9.84%) Security Cleared
2 300 (7.87%) Degree
3 238 (6.25%) SC Cleared
4 166 (4.36%) DV Cleared
5 132 (3.46%) Computer Science Degree
6 55 (1.44%) Master's Degree
7 31 (0.81%) BPSS Clearance
8 24 (0.63%) PhD
9 10 (0.26%) HND
10 9 (0.24%) DBS Check
11 8 (0.21%) Azure Certification
12 6 (0.16%) HNC
13 5 (0.13%) AWS Certification
13 5 (0.13%) CEH
13 5 (0.13%) OSCP
14 4 (0.10%) Microsoft Certification
15 3 (0.079%) Microsoft Certified Professional
16 2 (0.052%) Numerate Degree
16 2 (0.052%) NVQ Level 3
17 1 (0.026%) ISTQB Advanced Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 75 (1.97%) QA
2 45 (1.18%) Accessibility
3 10 (0.26%) IEC 61131
4 8 (0.21%) IEC 61508
4 8 (0.21%) MISRA
4 8 (0.21%) MISRA C
5 6 (0.16%) JTAG
6 5 (0.13%) DO-178B
7 4 (0.10%) Data Quality
8 3 (0.079%) ECSS
8 3 (0.079%) GAMP
8 3 (0.079%) GDPR
8 3 (0.079%) ISO 26262
9 2 (0.052%) Automotive SPICE
9 2 (0.052%) AUTOSAR
9 2 (0.052%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 2 (0.052%) MIL-STD-1553
9 2 (0.052%) WCAG
10 1 (0.026%) HAZOP
10 1 (0.026%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 181 (4.75%) Docker
2 162 (4.25%) Firmware
3 52 (1.36%) Embedded Firmware
4 9 (0.24%) KVM
4 9 (0.24%) Virtual Machines
4 9 (0.24%) VMware Infrastructure
5 8 (0.21%) Hyper-V
6 7 (0.18%) QEMU
7 2 (0.052%) Active Directory
7 2 (0.052%) Time Sharing Option
Systems Management
1 136 (3.57%) Kubernetes
2 89 (2.34%) Terraform
3 35 (0.92%) Ansible
4 10 (0.26%) Grafana
5 7 (0.18%) Kibana
5 7 (0.18%) logstash
5 7 (0.18%) Podman
6 6 (0.16%) Puppet
7 5 (0.13%) Functional Safety
8 3 (0.079%) Plesk
8 3 (0.079%) Prometheus
8 3 (0.079%) SCCM
8 3 (0.079%) SCOM
8 3 (0.079%) SCOrch
9 2 (0.052%) Microsoft Intune
10 1 (0.026%) Packer
10 1 (0.026%) Progress Chef
Vendors
1 34 (0.89%) Siemens
2 31 (0.81%) Microsoft
3 20 (0.52%) Google
4 19 (0.50%) Rockwell
5 17 (0.45%) Oracle
6 14 (0.37%) Okta
6 14 (0.37%) Ping Identity
6 14 (0.37%) Salesforce
7 11 (0.29%) VMware
8 10 (0.26%) Allen-Bradley
9 9 (0.24%) OpenAI
10 8 (0.21%) Splunk
11 7 (0.18%) Atlassian
12 6 (0.16%) Databricks
12 6 (0.16%) Intel
13 5 (0.13%) Xamarin
14 4 (0.10%) IBM
14 4 (0.10%) NVIDIA
14 4 (0.10%) Peregrine
14 4 (0.10%) Red Hat