QA Engineer Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 20,000 jobs.
Median salary
£44,973
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 11.9% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£47,118
Mean
£46,738
Jobs measured
20,000
What a typical qa engineer takes home
On the median of £44,973, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£2,992
Take-home a year
£35,900
Income Tax
£6,481
National Insurance
£2,592
What most qa engineers actually earn
Half of qa engineers earn between £35,716 and £55,000. Earning above £55,000 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 qa engineers earn less than this.
QA Engineer salary by region
6 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| South East | £55,001 | £51,360 |
| East | £50,490 | £52,170 |
| North West | £49,821 | £47,934 |
| South West | £40,583 | £44,122 |
| Scotland | £39,116 | £42,686 |
| East Midlands | £38,181 | £39,980 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- IT quality and testing professionals
- SOC 2020 code
- 2136
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “qa engineer” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “IT quality and testing professionals”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS measures IT quality and testing professionals.
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.
QA Engineer salary FAQs
What is the average QA Engineer salary in the UK?
The median is £44,973 a year and the mean is £46,738, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £47,118.
How much does a qa engineer earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £23.83 excluding overtime, or £23.96 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good QA Engineer salary?
Half of qa engineers earn between £35,716 and £55,000. Anything above £55,000 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a qa engineer?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of qa engineers earn under £28,964 and the lowest quarter under £35,716 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Has qa engineer pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +11.9% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many qa engineers are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 20,000 employee jobs in “IT quality and testing professionals” (SOC 2136) 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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