Average UK CIO salary reaches £124,000 per year

Computing looks at average salaries across a range of senior technology leadership positions. Are you being paid what you deserve?

The average annual salary for a UK-based CIO is now £124,367, according to the latest data from recruitment firm Harvey Nash.

The firm quotes £151,000 as the higher quartile figure for CIO salaries, stating that this is more reflective of the ‘going rate'.

This is a long way above the average UK salary for those in full-time work, which is currently £35,423.

The CIO figure is higher than the average remuneration levels for other technology leadership roles, which reflects the position's overall responsibility for IT, which often extends to a seat at the board table.

In fact, CIO is the only role which breaks into six figures on average. The next closest is IT Programme Management, which commands an average salary of £98,085.

Architects are also high earners, with an average salary of £87,977, slightly ahead of Development Management (£81,557) and Security Specialists (£77,711).

At the lower end of the scale is Web Developing which commands an average annual salary of £28,311, reflecting the fact that many organisations don't require years of experience for the role. The next lowest average salary with IT is ‘Helpdesk', which sits at £40,443.

Average daily rates for contractors broadly follows a similar pattern, with CIOs at the top with £905, or £1,250 in the highest quartile.

Contracting Programme Managers can expect £797 on average, ahead of Architects on £551, Development Managers on £535, and UX/UI Designers on £528.

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