Chief Technology Officer Job Trends
Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
UK
The median Chief Technology Officer (CTO) salary in the UK is £100,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 2 November 2026.
The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 2 Nov 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 748 | 649 | 701 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -99 | +52 | -9 |
| Permanent Chief Technology Officer jobs | 84 | 22 | 34 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in the UK | 0.069% | 0.044% | 0.050% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.075% | 0.049% | 0.053% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 60 | 19 | 24 |
| 10th Percentile | £86,300 | £76,750 | £60,000 |
| 25th Percentile | - | £85,000 | £84,375 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £100,000 | £120,000 | £101,250 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -16.67% | +18.52% | -7.95% |
| 75th Percentile | £115,000 | £172,500 | £137,500 |
| 90th Percentile | £145,750 | £195,000 | £143,500 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £100,000 | £125,000 | £101,250 |
| % change year-on-year | -20.00% | +23.46% | +19.12% |
All Permanent IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job adverts matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all permanent IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 2 Nov 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent job adverts in the UK matching a recognised job title | 112,404 | 45,250 | 64,603 |
| % of permanent job adverts matching a recognised job title | 91.91% | 90.18% | 95.05% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 75,014 | 27,416 | 36,585 |
| 10th Percentile | £30,975 | £28,250 | £31,250 |
| 25th Percentile | £41,250 | £35,000 | £42,200 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £59,000 | £52,500 | £57,500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +12.38% | -8.70% | -4.17% |
| 75th Percentile | £76,250 | £73,750 | £75,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £97,500 | £92,500 | £95,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £55,000 | £46,000 | £50,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +19.57% | -8.00% | -4.76% |
Chief Technology Officer Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent Chief Technology Officer job postings relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.
Chief Technology Officer Salary Trend
Salary distribution trend for Chief Technology Officer job vacancies in the UK.
Chief Technology Officer Salary Histogram
Salary distribution for Chief Technology Officer jobs over the 6 months to 2 November 2026.
Chief Technology Officer Top 13 Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in Chief Technology Officer jobs within the UK over the 6 months to 2 November 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 |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Salary Past 6 Months |
Median Salary % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | -73 | 73 | £100,000 | -16.67% | 25 |
| UK excluding London | -105 | 45 | £100,000 | -20.00% | 11 |
| London | -60 | 35 | £100,000 | +11.11% | 16 |
| North of England | -71 | 14 | £100,000 | -16.67% | 4 |
| North West | -43 | 12 | £102,500 | -14.58% | 3 |
| Midlands | -56 | 12 | £90,000 | -52.63% | 4 |
| South East | - | 11 | £100,000 | - | 3 |
| East Midlands | -43 | 7 | £80,000 | -57.89% | |
| Northern Ireland | - | 7 | £100,000 | - | |
| Work from Home | -62 | 6 | £110,000 | +22.22% | 6 |
| West Midlands | -57 | 5 | £120,000 | -36.84% | 4 |
| North East | - | 2 | £100,000 | - | |
| South West | -80 | 1 | - | - |
Chief Technology Officer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 2 November 2026, Chief Technology Officer job ads cited 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 Chief Technology Officer job ads.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology Strategy | 33.3% | 28 |
| 2 | IT Strategy | 31.0% | 26 |
| 3 | SaaS | 26.2% | 22 |
| 4 | AI | 25.0% | 21 |
| 5 | Roadmaps | 20.2% | 17 |
| 6 | Cybersecurity | 19.0% | 16 |
| 7 | Stakeholder Management | 16.7% | 14 |
| 8 | Agile | 14.3% | 12 |
| 8 | Thought Leadership | 14.3% | 12 |
| 10 | Commercial Awareness | 13.1% | 11 |
| 10 | Technical Leadership | 13.1% | 11 |
| 12 | AWS | 11.9% | 10 |
| 13 | C# | 10.7% | 9 |
| 13 | Strategic Roadmap | 10.7% | 9 |
| 15 | Mentoring | 9.5% | 8 |
| 15 | Problem-Solving | 9.5% | 8 |
| 15 | Workday | 9.5% | 8 |
| 18 | CI/CD | 8.3% | 7 |
| 18 | Data Privacy | 8.3% | 7 |
| 18 | Product Strategy | 8.3% | 7 |
| 18 | Technology Transformation | 8.3% | 7 |
| 22 | B2B | 7.1% | 6 |
| 22 | Budget Management | 7.1% | 6 |
| 22 | C++ | 7.1% | 6 |
| 22 | DevOps | 7.1% | 6 |
| 22 | Enterprise Architecture | 7.1% | 6 |
| 22 | GDPR | 7.1% | 6 |
| 22 | ISO/IEC 27001 | 7.1% | 6 |
| 22 | PCI DSS | 7.1% | 6 |
| 22 | SC Cleared | 7.1% | 6 |
Chief Technology Officer Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chief Architect | 1.2% | 1 |
| 1 | Head of Technology | 1.2% | 1 |
| 1 | Technical Leader | 1.2% | 1 |