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The best UK cities for technology professionals

In England and Wales, the technology industry posted more job vacancies in 2021 than the entirety of British businesses did in 2020 and nearly three million people took up jobs in the UK tech industry that year.

The industry appears to be flourishing despite a difficult economic climate, with a large number of people taking up tech roles in recent years. So, where exactly is the best place to be in the UK when working in tech?

VBQ Speakers has conducted research to find out which city in the UK is the best for professionals in the technology industry. 

To do this they analysed almost 500 advertised vacancies, listed under ‘full-time’ and ‘technology occupations’, on the job-seeker website Indeed. Once all the jobs had been collated, they scored and ranked them out of 100 based on the advertised salary, the average cost of living in that city and the number of jobs available. 

According to their research, the best city in the UK for technology professionals is Nottingham, with a score of 76. Here, the average wage of tech vacancies is £33,254 and the cost of living is around £1,200. 

This is followed by Sheffield, where the cost of living is relatively low and wages are above average, with a score of 64.

London didn't even make the top 10, coming in at position 14. Whilst there were 104 technology jobs available, the advertised wages started relatively low despite the cost of living being the highest in the UK.

The top 10 best cities in the UK for technology professionals are: 

  1. Nottingham: 76
  2. Sheffield: 64
  3. Newcastle: 62
  4. Coventry: 58

      = Manchester: 58

  1. Leeds: 55
  2. Bristol: 54
  3. Glasgow: 53
  4. York: 52

      = Milton Keynes: 52

  1. Derby: 51
  2. Leicester: 48

Of the technology job listings that were analysed, 15% were recruiting for fully remote positions and 8% were advertising for people to work hybrid-remote. 

VBQ Speakers Founder & Director, Leo von Bülow-Quirk, said: "Tech professionals are in great demand in the UK at the moment, and this comes at a time when many people are reconsidering where they want to live and how much they want to be working from home or in the office.

“Of course, there are many personal factors that go into choosing where to live and work, but hopefully this analysis will provide useful food for thought for UK tech professionals considering their next career move.” 

See the full list of the 15 best cities in the UK for technology jobs here.