The Top 10 Best UK Cities To Live and Work in Tech in 2022:
Source: CompTIA
- Bristol
- Manchester
- Cambridge
- Birmingham
- Nottingham
- London
- Edinburgh
- Leeds
- Belfast
- Newcastle
The UK Tech Town Index 2022 breaks down these numbers and provides some context around job growth, pay, opportunity, affordability and ultimately offers guidance on the best UK cities to live in and work in tech.
Working in technology continues to be a lucrative choice for IT professionals all over the world – particularly in the United Kingdom. The UK ranks behind only the United States on the global stage, and investment in the UK’s tech sector has overtaken both India and China compared to the full year 2021 rankings.
The first UK Tech Town Index debuted in 2019 with Manchester, Bristol and Leeds taking the top three spots, respectively. In the 2020 report, Leeds, Birmingham and Belfast placed in the top three. And this year, Bristol claims the number one rank with Manchester and Cambridge coming in at no. 2 and no. 3.
In 2022, Bristol leads the way for growth. The city is expected to add many more new technology jobs next year. And while growth is the name of the game in Bristol, nobody can surpass London in sheer number of available jobs.
London posted 308,882 open tech jobs in the past 12 months – that’s at least 10 times more than many other cities on the index. With that many job opportunities, it’s no surprise that London also has the highest median tech wage at £49,685.
However, it’s Belfast that wins the affordability category – based on average home prices. In Belfast, the average home goes for £152,603, compared to a UK-wide average of £283,496.
While the index remains largely similar to what we’ve seen in past years, Reading and Bath both fell off the index this year. We also welcomed newcomers, Nottingham at no. 5 and Newcastle at no. 10.
The reality is, with the rise of remote work, we might not be limited to a certain geographic region anymore. But the concept of Tech Towns is more than a guide on where to live. It’s a big picture view of where ideas are born, where talent is made, where innovation is appreciated and ultimately where technology blossoms.
