Software Engineer Salary in Liverpool — 2026 ranges

How Liverpool compares to other UK cities for software engineers

Liverpool median full-time pay sits around £31,500 in 2026, below the UK median of £37,000 and the Manchester median of £33,000. Office-based professional roles tend to land 15-22% below comparable London offers and 5-10% below Manchester. A mid-level software engineer in Liverpool earns £45,000-£62,000 against £55,000-£75,000 in Manchester and £65,000-£90,000 in London. Healthcare and life sciences roles at AstraZeneca Speke pay competitively with the wider UK pharma sector — clinical research and regulatory positions reach £55,000-£80,000 mid-career. Gaming salaries at Firesprite and Lucid are within 10% of London studio rates. Legal salaries at DWF and Hill Dickinson trail London by 25-30% but with materially lower hour expectations. The wider city average is dragged down by a high share of public-sector and lower-paid service roles, so headline figures understate what professional roles actually pay.

Liverpool is one of the cheapest major UK cities to live in. A one-bedroom flat in the city centre rents for £750-£1,000 per month in 2026 — roughly 40% of an inner London equivalent. Buying is genuinely accessible: average Liverpool house prices sit around £180,000-£210,000, with terraced houses in established neighbourhoods like Aigburth, Allerton, and Mossley Hill available below £200,000. The Baltic Triangle and Liverpool Waters apartment scene runs higher at £1,000-£1,300 for a one-bed but is still well below Manchester's Northern Quarter. Council tax is moderate — most flats fall in Bands A-C at £1,300-£1,700 per year. Public transport via Merseyrail covers the city region efficiently, and the city is genuinely walkable in the centre. A mid-career professional on £50,000 in Liverpool typically has more disposable income than the same role on £65,000 in Manchester or £75,000 in inner London once rent is factored in.