CTO Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 60,000 jobs.
Median salary
£90,081
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 12% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£91,671
Mean
£105,533
Jobs measured
60,000
What a typical cto takes home
On the median of £90,081, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£5,234
Take-home a year
£62,804
Income Tax
£23,464
National Insurance
£3,812
What most ctos actually earn
Half of ctos earn between £66,223 and £116,436. Earning above £116,436 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of ctos earn less than this.
CTO salary by region
5 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £105,290 | £121,163 |
| South East | £95,391 | £107,830 |
| North West | £80,828 | £84,567 |
| North East | £72,018 | £76,518 |
| East Midlands | £71,620 | £73,841 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Information technology directors
- SOC 2020 code
- 1137
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “cto” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Information technology directors”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS measures information technology directors.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
CTO salary FAQs
What is the average CTO salary in the UK?
The median is £90,081 a year and the mean is £105,533, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £91,671.
How much does a cto earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £46.60 excluding overtime, or £47.98 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good CTO salary?
Half of ctos earn between £66,223 and £116,436. Anything above £116,436 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a cto?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of ctos earn under £45,818 and the lowest quarter under £66,223 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Has cto pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +12.0% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many ctos are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 60,000 employee jobs in “Information technology directors” (SOC 1137) in the UK. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
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