Technology is the Highest-Paying industry in the UK

The economic challenges of recent years, the rising cost of living and the cooling job market of 2023 haven’t affected tech salaries. According to the latest data from our partner Totaljobs, tech roles continue to offer some of the most competitive salaries. Keep learning to find out which cities and industries have the highest-paying tech jobs in the UK.

Tech Professionals, the Best-Paid Workers in the UK

Technology was one of the top ten industries to experience wage growth in 2023. While salaries in the UK grew by 3.4% on average, tech salaries rose by 5%. 

The UK’s average annual salary in the IT sector is £50,377, making Technology among the highest paid across the 30 industries analysed by Totaljobs. 

83% of Tech Workers Are Satisfied with their Salary

It’s not just the pay in tech; job satisfaction is through the roof. A whopping 83% of tech workers are satisfied with their salaries, and 89% are happy with their benefits. 

We’re not surprised by the revelations, as tech companies are known for their excellent compensation offering. 

Most attractive benefits for tech employees:

• The ability to buy extra holiday leave
• Flexible working hours
• Full-time remote working 
• Pension contributions about what’s legally required
• Performance bonuses

Beyond the attractive pay and perks, the tech industry offers excellent career development opportunities. Most employers highlight career development, progression, and learning and training opportunities in job ads. However, tech employees prioritise financial and well-being benefits. That’s definitely something to bear in mind when you are attracting top tech talent and keeping your existing employees happy. 

What UK Cities Offer the Highest-Paying Tech Jobs?

Salary data across different UK cities highlight some regional variations. Belfast tops the list with an average tech salary of £59,700, followed closely by London at £57,900 and Cardiff at £57,500. Other hotspots like Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool also offer lucrative salaries, all above £54,000. 

Software Development remains a highly demanded career path in the UK. DevOps Engineer, Senior Software Engineer, and Java Developer were the top high-paying job titles. Software Engineering, Data Engineering, Infrastructure Engineering, and IT Support were some of the most advertised job opportunities in the information technology sector.

What are the best-paid IT jobs in the UK? (2025)

With demand for highly skilled IT professionals showing no signs of slowing down, IT salaries are always growing faster than the average salaries in the UK. IT salaries reflect the level of technical expertise required, the strategic value these tech roles bring to businesses and the demand in that technical expertise.

Below are some of the best-paid IT roles in the UK as of 2025, including a mix of hands-on technical jobs and high-level leadership positions, based on data from our partners Reeds, TotalJobs, Glassdoor, Indeed, and our salary research:

1. Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Salary: Up to £176,000 per year
What they do: The CIO leads an organisation’s IT strategy, overseeing systems implementation, infrastructure, and digital transformation initiatives.

2. Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Salary: Up to £165,000 per year
What they do: CTOs drive the company’s technological direction, focusing on innovation, product development, and staying ahead of emerging tech trends.

3. Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

Salary: Up to £158,000 per year
What they do: Responsible for an organisation’s overall cybersecurity strategy. This is, monitoring risks, managing security frameworks, and reporting threats to leadership teams.

4. Cloud Architect

Salary: Average £98,400 per year
What they do: Design scalable, secure cloud solutions, often working across AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud environments.

5. Data Architect

Salary: Average £96,900 per year
What they do: Build and optimise data frameworks that support analytics, business intelligence, and data-driven decisions.

6. Solution Architect

Salary: Up to £103,000 per year
What they do: Translate business needs into technical solutions, ensuring systems are designed with scalability and efficiency in mind.

7. Application Security Engineer

Salary: Average £93,600 per year
What they do: Embed security throughout the software development lifecycle, protecting applications from threats and vulnerabilities.

8. IT Director

Salary: Up to £112,500 per year
What they do: Oversee all IT functions within an organisation, from infrastructure to team management and digital transformation.

9. Software Architect

Salary: Average £78,670 per year
What they do: Define the structure of software systems, ensuring they align with both technical standards and client requirements.

10. Python Developer

Salary: Average £67,096 per year
What they do: Write and maintain Python code for web development, data pipelines, AI, and machine learning applications.

11. DevOps Engineer

Salary: Average £65,184 per year
What they do: Connect development and operations teams, automating deployment pipelines and improving delivery efficiency.

12. Cybersecurity Analyst / Expert

Salary: Up to £55,000 (Analyst level); significantly higher in senior roles
What they do: Cybersecurity Analysts identify vulnerabilities, respond to security incidents, and ensure systems are protected from cyber threats. Senior professionals—such as Security Architects—can earn much more.

Tech is the Place to Be!

The technology sector isn’t just leading in pay and providing an attractive benefits package that satisfies the candidates’ expectations. Competition for top tech talent is fierce for employers, though. You must be well-informed of the latest IT recruitment trends and get the proper support only a professional and experienced IT Recruitment consultancy can offer. 

Our salary and compensation benchmarking tools, exclusive talent insights, and the support and guidance of our expert recruitment consultants will help you source and attract the top-quality tech talent your organisation needs to grow.