March 2026 – North West UK – IT, Tech and AI Salary & Contractor Rates

The North West (hubs like Manchester, Liverpool, and Warrington) remains a powerhouse for technical delivery. While the base numbers are lower than London or the South East, the Percentage Change remains high because Manchester is currently the “second capital” for AI and Fintech startups, creating intense competition for the same talent pool available in the South..

  • Architecture Reaching £100k: In Manchester city center, Cloud Architect medians have officially crossed the £100k threshold. While the regional average is £101k, top-tier talent in MediaCityUK or the central business district are seeing offers closer to £115k.

  • The “Chester Effect”: In our own backyard (Chester/Warrington), we’re seeing high demand for Infrastructure (3rd Line) and Project Managers who can manage the transition to hybrid cloud. The 6.13% rise in contractor day rates reflects this local project surge.

  • Talent Retention: North West firms are increasingly using Flexible Working as a tool to compete with London salaries. Most successful placements this month featured a 2-day office / 3-day home split.

  • Category
    Job Title
    Yearly Low
    Yearly Median
    Yearly High (NW)
    Annual Salary Change
    Contractor Day Rate
    Day Rate Change
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Leadership
    Chief Transformation Officer (CTRO)
    £119,700
    £159,600
    £194,700
    +1.51%
    £1,214
    +2.24%
     
    Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
    £116,100
    £154,800
    £188,900
    +1.50%
    £1,166
    +2.25%
     
    Chief Information Officer (CIO)
    £108,700
    £144,900
    £176,800
    +1.50%
    £1,117
    +2.26%
     
    Chief Info Security Officer (CISO)
    £97,800
    £130,400
    £159,100
    +1.52%
    £1,066
    +2.27%
     
    IT Director
    £69,400
    £92,500
    £112,800
    +1.46%
    £777
    +2.25%
     
    Head of Data / AI
    £105,900
    £141,200
    £172,300
    +1.50%
    £971
    +2.20%
     
    Head of IT
    £59,000
    £78,600
    £95,900
    +1.47%
    £729
    +2.27%
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Operations
    3rd Line Support (SysAdmin)
    £38,600
    £51,400
    £62,700
    +4.04%
    £378
    +6.13%
     
    2nd Line Support
    £28,100
    £37,500
    £45,800
    +3.95%
    £277
    +6.18%
     
    1st Line Support
    £21,100
    £28,100
    £34,300
    +3.86%
    £201
    +6.00%
     
    IT Support Manager
    £43,400
    £57,800
    £70,500
    +3.93%
    £504
    +6.00%
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Architecture
    Enterprise Architect
    £70,500
    £94,000
    £114,700
    +3.83%
    £954
    +5.68%
     
    Solution Architect
    £66,500
    £88,700
    £108,200
    +3.78%
    £853
    +5.65%
     
    Cloud Architect (AWS/Azure)
    £75,800
    £101,100
    £123,300
    +3.80%
    £903
    +5.67%
     
    Security Architect
    £81,400
    £108,500
    £132,400
    +3.82%
    £1,054
    +5.71%
     
    Data Architect
    £66,400
    £88,500
    £108,000
    +3.84%
    £903
    +5.67%
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Engineering
    AI / Machine Learning Engineer
    £69,700
    £92,900
    £113,300
    +2.95%
    £893
    +4.44%
     
    DevOps / SRE Engineer
    £62,400
    £83,200
    £101,500
    +3.06%
    £745
    +4.53%
     
    Cyber Security Engineer
    £55,000
    £73,300
    £89,400
    +2.93%
    £720
    +4.55%
     
    Software Developer (Senior)
    £62,400
    £83,200
    £101,500
    +3.06%
    £645
    +4.46%
     
    Data Engineer
    £57,200
    £76,300
    £93,100
    +2.95%
    £695
    +4.57%
     
    Network Engineer
    £42,500
    £56,700
    £69,200
    +2.93%
    £496
    +4.40%
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Data & PM
    Data Scientist (Senior)
    £64,700
    £86,300
    £105,300
    +3.18%
    £822
    +4.85%
     
    Data Analyst
    £35,200
    £47,000
    £57,300
    +3.12%
    £448
    +4.89%
     
    IT Project Manager
    £53,000
    £70,600
    £86,100
    +3.19%
    £647
    +4.77%
     
    Business Analyst (Technical)
    £44,100
    £58,800
    £71,700
    +3.17%
    £547
    +4.73%

If your company is thinking of hiring, do it now. As demand rises, so too with the rates of pay and the difficulty levels of attracting and securing the right talent.

If, however, your company is slowing down – beware! If your IT staff start to feel insecure, talent competitors and recruiters will find it very easy to persuade your staff to interview elsewhere. Despite the stress and negativity that may exist, take the time to focus on reassuring your team and, where appropriate, reward their loyalty. It’s a false economy to avoid salary increases for your best people. Doing so risks leave yourself vulnerable to losing key staff and the larger costs in both time and money of replacing them.

Should you be considering recruitment or simply would like some advice on anything recruitment related, please do not hesitate to give us a call and see how we can really help you to Recruit Someone Worth Recruiting.

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