Which UK cities advertise the highest paid remote jobs?
While research by developer recruitment platform CodinGame claims companies are slow to adapt to remote working, especially for tech talent, a new study by Paymentsense claims there has been a huge surge in remote job roles during the pandemic.
The secure payments provider analysed Adzuna job listings and Google search volumes to find out which city in the UK has the highest average salary for remote roles. With remote jobs becoming more popular and their ability to be done from anywhere in the country, the study reveals exactly where job seekers should be looking to find the best-paid roles, even if they’re miles away.
The research highlights:
- UK average remote working salary is £42,455
- London has the highest average salary for remote jobs at £56,397
- IT jobs are the most advertised remote jobs in the country at 26,454
- Customer service roles are the most searched for remote jobs at 1,527
The top 10 UK cities paying the most for remote roles
| Ranking | Area | Average House Price (last 12 months) |
Remote Jobs Available | Average Salary for Remote Roles |
| 1 | London | £699,812 | 15,662 | £56,397 |
| 2 | Reading | £425,130 | 759 | £47,639 |
| 3 | Edinburgh | £306,759 | 641 | £47,056 |
| 4 | Leeds | £227,074 | 866 | £44,643 |
| 5 | Manchester | £209,794 | 2,832 | £43,550 |
| 6 | Birmingham | £211,392 | 1,527 | £42,807 |
| 7 | Glasgow | £190,670 | 750 | £42,138 |
| 8 | Bristol | £347,088 | 1,884 | £40,904 |
| 9 | Sheffield | £207,318 | 528 | £39,922 |
| 10 | Preston | £196,985 | 119 | £37,359 |
With over a year in restrictions and lockdowns, a large majority of Brits have begun to rethink big-city life. Many workers have realised they can work from home, and with an average UK salary of £42,455 for remote roles, popularity in these particular jobs is increasing.
Although London is one of the most expensive cities to live with an average house price reaching £699,812, remote working has enabled thousands to earn a London salary of £56,397 whilst living in cities that have up to 72% cheaper average house price such as Preston.
Job seekers are also encouraged to look at remote roles advertised in Reading with an average salary of £47,639, and Edinburgh which has an average remote salary of £47,056.
IT, Sales, and Accounting & Finance are the most advertised remote jobs
| Ranking | Industry |
Number of Remote Jobs Advertised
|
| 1 | IT | 26,454 |
| 2 | Sales | 6,684 |
| 3 | Accounting & Finance | 6,511 |
| 4 | Customer Services | 4,653 |
| 5 | PR, Advertising & Marketing | 3,687 |
| 6 | Engineering | 2,814 |
| 7 | Healthcare & Nursing | 2,757 |
| 8 | Legal | 2,192 |
| 9 | Trade & Construction | 2,182 |
| 10 | Admin | 1,974 |
Since March 2020 business opportunities have flourished thanks to the growing ability to work from the comfort of your own home.
With this in mind, IT jobs have been the most advertised remote roles with a massive 26,454 available in the past year, followed by sales roles with 6,684 vacancies, and accounting & finance roles with 6,511 advertised.
The top 10 most searched for remote job roles
| Ranking | Industry | Search volumes | Search Increase |
| 1 | Customer Service | 1,527 | 110% |
| 2 | Admin | 1,519 | 215% |
| 3 | Marketing | 1,286 | 5.50% |
| 4 | Finance | 1,016 | 13.60% |
| 5 | IT | 1,004 | -41.90% |
| 6 | Accounting | 781 | 0% |
| 7 | Sales | 736 | 0% |
| 8 | Engineering | 682 | 0% |
| 9 | Legal | 636 | 0% |
| 10 | Nursing | 238 | 0% |
The highest searched for remote roles over the past year were customer service jobs with 527 searches, administrative roles receiving 1,286 searches, and marketing remote jobs with 1,286 searches.
However, even though administrative search volumes received a search increase of 215% over the last year, there were only 1,974 vacancies available meaning although many people wanted an admin remote job and actively went searching for one, they were in fact the least amount on offer making it a very competitive industry.
For more information on the most in-demand jobs in the UK please see the full research here.
