This article summarises data originally reported by ZDNet, sourced from a report published by the UK government’s Digital Economy Council. Salary figures are from the original 2019 report and reflect the UK market at that time.
Software Developer Tops UK Tech Job Volume
According to data published by the UK government’s Digital Economy Council, software developer was the single most common tech job advertised in the UK, with more than 130,000 job listings in the year covered by the report. The median salary for the role stood at £39,430 nationally, rising to £55,000 in London.
Front end developer ranked second by volume, appearing in more than 30,000 job advertisements. Median pay came in at just over £35,000 across the UK and £50,000 in London.
Highest-Paid UK Tech Roles
While software developer dominated by sheer volume, it was not the best-compensated role on the list. The report identified the following as the top earners:
- IT Systems Architect — £63,000 median UK salary; £77,500 in London (highest on the list)
- DevOps Engineer — £67,500 in London (second-highest London salary reported)
- Data Scientist — featured prominently in cost-of-living-adjusted comparisons (see below)
The gap between London and national median salaries is significant across all roles, but the report also highlighted that London’s higher cost of living can erode the real-world advantage of a higher nominal salary.
Tech Jobs Are Spreading Beyond London
A notable finding in the report is that digital tech employment is no longer concentrated solely in the capital. Cities across the UK are developing their own tech clusters, with meaningful salary premiums over the national average:
- Edinburgh — 48,118 people employed in digital tech; salaries approximately 15% above the national average
- Reading — 100,507 digital tech workers; salaries around 8.11% above the national average
- Belfast — 60,000 people in the digital tech sector; salaries 17% above the national average
Other cities mentioned as growing tech hubs include Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and Cardiff.
Best Cities by Role (Cost of Living Adjusted)
When cost of living is factored in, the picture changes considerably. The report made the following city-by-role recommendations:
| Role | Best City (Cost-Adjusted) | Notable Context |
|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | Leeds | Better net position than London after cost of living |
| Software Developer | Belfast | Demand up 120% over four years |
| Full Stack Developer | Belfast | Same demand surge as software development |
| Analyst | Edinburgh | Strong digital sector employment base |
| Python Developer | Glasgow | As identified by the report |
| IT Systems Architect | Cardiff | As identified by the report |
Scale of the UK Digital Tech Sector
The report estimates that approximately 2.1 million people work in the UK’s digital tech sector. In five cities — Oxford, Cambridge, Reading, Belfast and Newcastle — more than 10% of the total population is now employed in the sector. Cambridge is an outlier even within that group: the report states that around half of Cambridge’s working population is employed in digital tech.
High Demand Doesn’t Always Mean Fast Hiring
Volume of job ads does not automatically translate into vacancies being filled quickly. Separate data cited alongside the report suggests that software engineers, senior programmers and back-end developers are among the hardest tech professionals to recruit in the UK — meaning strong candidate leverage for those with the right skills.
For DevOps engineers and IT systems architects, the combination of relatively high advertised salaries and known recruitment difficulty suggests a candidate-friendly market, particularly for professionals who can demonstrate hands-on experience with infrastructure automation, CI/CD pipelines and cloud platforms.
Key Takeaways for Tech Professionals
- DevOps engineer and IT systems architect roles command the highest London salaries in the report.
- London’s nominal salary advantage is partly or fully offset by cost of living for many roles.
- Belfast, Leeds, Edinburgh and Glasgow offer competitive real-world pay for specific specialisms.
- Recruitment difficulty in software engineering and back-end development gives experienced candidates strong negotiating power.
- The UK digital tech sector is geographically diversifying, creating opportunities outside traditional hubs.
Salary data originates from the UK government’s Digital Economy Council report as summarised by ZDNet in 2019. Figures should be treated as a historical baseline; consult current industry salary surveys for up-to-date benchmarks.