If you’re based in the UK and thinking about working as a UX designer, knowing how much you can get paid there is a good place to start. Many factors will affect what you can earn as a UX designer and location is just one.
For this article, we analysed data on UX salaries from Payscale and Glassdoor for three major UK cities to give you an idea of pay rates in the country.
Location and UX Designer Salary in the UK – at a glance
| City | Junior: 1-3 years | Mid: 3-5 years | Senior: 5-7 years |
| London | £29,000-£39,000 | £37,000-£55,000 | £51,000-£91,000 |
| Manchester | £31,000-£39,000 | £32,000-£48,500 | £40,500-£75,000 |
| Edinburgh | £32,000-£37,000 | £34,000-£48,000 | £46,000-£71,000 |
From the table above showing some of the top locations for UX designer salaries in the UK you’ll see that the pay in London is significantly higher at the mid- and senior career levels. When compared to the next two cities, the gap is certainly big. For experienced designers with 5-7 years in the sector, it can mean a difference of up to £20,000 per year.
UX Salaries in London
With more than 40,000 tech companies in the inner city alone, London is considered by many to be the tech capital of Europe. The city is home to companies like Amazon and Google, and these two tech giants are well known for paying above-average rates for UX salaries.
For junior UX designers in London with 1-3 years experience, you can earn £29,000-£39,000 on average. In the case of mid-career UX professionals that number increases to £37,000-£55,000 for those with 3-5 years in the industry. The research also tells us that with just a few more years in the profession, senior UX designers with 5-7 years in the field can expect to make £51,000-£91,000.
UX Salaries in Manchester
A little further north, Manchester was dubbed the ‘fastest-growing tech city in Europe’ in 2021 and is home to MediaCityUK; a major creative campus site hosting companies like BBC, ITV, Ericsson, and Kellog’s. Junior UX designers in the city will earn £31,000-£39,000 with 1-3 years experience in the job. Mid-career UX designers there can expect to see that figure grow to £32,000-£48,500, while senior UX designers should earn around £40,500-£75,000.
UX Salaries in Edinburgh
Across the border in Scotland, Edinburgh is firmly established as Scotland’s technology hub with developers and engineers accounting for around 7% of the city’s workforce. Junior UX designers here will start out at £32,000-£37,000. That figure jumps to a range of £34,000-£48,000 for mid-career UX designers. At the next level, senior UX designers can see their salary average at £46,000-£71,000.
The tech economy in the UK continues to expand, creating more jobs, and salaries are also likely to rise in the years to come. In October 2021 to September 2022, it was reported that 1.86 million job roles can be attributed to the UK’s digital sector, and unlike the rest of the economy, which has barely grown in this time, the digital sector showed a 12% increase above its level in February 2020. That figure is set to continue to grow further in 2024.
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