CTO Salary in South East
Official ONS earnings for South East, covering 10,000 jobs.
Median salary — South East
£95,391
gross, per year, all employees
Mean
£107,830
Jobs measured
10,000
What a typical cto takes home
On the median of £95,391, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£5,490
Take-home a year
£65,884
Income Tax
£25,588
National Insurance
£3,918
What most ctos actually earn
Half of ctos in South East earn between £43,253 and £98,065. Earning above £98,065 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
ONS suppresses the detailed spread for this occupation at regional level, so this range describes the wider “Functional Managers and Directors” group in South East.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of ctos earn less than this.
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 publishes a sampling error of 13.4% for this figure and asks that anything above 10% is treated as imprecise — too few people in this region answered the survey for this occupation. The figure is shown because it is the one ONS published, but it is not firm enough to rank South East against anywhere else, so this page doesn't.
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 South East?
The median is £95,391 a year and the mean is £107,830, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.
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, so there is no separate rate for South East.
What is a good CTO salary?
Half of ctos earn between £43,253 and £98,065. Anything above £98,065 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 £25,953 and the lowest quarter under £43,253 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Do ctos in South East earn more than the UK average?
The median in South East is £95,391 against £90,081 across the UK, 5.9% higher. ONS marks the South East figure as imprecise, so treat the gap as indicative.
How many ctos are there in South East?
ASHE counts around 10,000 employee jobs in “Information technology directors” (SOC 1137) in South East. 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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