As of April 22, 2025, the average annual salary for a Mainframe Programmer in Cambridge, UK is £43,539, with an hourly rate of £21, according to Salary.com Global Salary IQ data. The average salary ranges from £37,007 to £51,124, influenced by factors like location, education, experience, and more.

Global Market Data
25TH   £37,007
50TH(Median)   £43,539
75TH   £51,124
Mainframe Programmer Salaries by Percentile
Percentile Salary Location Last Updated
25th Percentile Mainframe Programmer Salary £37,007 United Kingdom April 22, 2025
50th Percentile Mainframe Programmer Salary £43,539 United Kingdom April 22, 2025
75th Percentile Mainframe Programmer Salary £51,124 United Kingdom April 22, 2025

Unlock Intelligence on Your Competitors' Salaries Across 35 Countries

Real-time global intelligence that empowers you to make competitive pay decisions and align offers with global trends.

SalaryIQTM

How Much Does a Mainframe Programmer Make by Hour, Week, Month, and Year?

Last Updated on April 22, 2025

Salary.com provides you with accurate and diversified Mainframe Programmer salary data based on specialized databases to help you get a fairer salary. The average annual pay for a Mainframe Programmer is about £43,539 a year, this translates to an approximate hourly rate of £21, a monthly salary of about £3,628, and a weekly pay of around £837. Click the switch button below to see more details about Mainframe Programmer hourly pay, weekly pay, monthly pay, and so on.

How Much Do Mainframe Programmers Earn at Different Levels in 2025?

A Mainframe Programmer's salary varies significantly based on experience level. Entry typically earn £38,762 - £42,565, while Intermediate make £39,055 - £42,857, Senior earn £41,590 - £45,464, Specialist earn £44,332 - £48,747, Expert can reach £44,672 - £49,086 or more, depending on the company and location.

Levels Salary
Entry Level Mainframe Programmer £41,395
Intermediate Level Mainframe Programmer £41,590
Senior Level Mainframe Programmer £44,106
Specialist Level Mainframe Programmer £47,275
Expert Level Mainframe Programmer £47,502
£41,395 0 yr
£41,590 < 2 yrs
£44,106 2-4 yrs
£47,275 5-8 yrs
£47,502 > 8 yrs
Entry Level 5%
Intermediate Level 4%
Senior Level 1%
Specialist Level 9%
Expert Level 9%
View as Table
View as Graph
Last Updated on April 22, 2025

Skills to Boost a Mainframe Programmer Salary

Mastering key skills can significantly increase your earning potential as a Mainframe Programmer. According to Salary.com's Real-time Job Posting Data, expertise in Commitment can lead to a 29% salary raise, while strong Software Development skills boost pay by a 1%. Even C# can result in a 1% salary increase.

Skill Library evaluates talent skills across five levels, supported by 5-10 behavior indicators, delivering precise insights for data-driven hiring decisions.
Commitment
An agreement or pledge to do something in the future a commitment to improve conditions at the prison especially : an engagement to assume a financial obligation at a future date.
Software Development
Software development is the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, programming, documenting, testing, and bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applications, frameworks, or other software components. Software development is a process of writing and maintaining the source code, but in a broader sense, it includes all that is involved between the conception of the desired software through to the final manifestation of the software, sometimes in a planned and structured process. Therefore, software development may include research, new development, prototyping, modification, reuse, re-engineering, maintenance, or any other activities that result in software products. Software can be developed for a variety of purposes, the three most common being to meet specific needs of a specific client/business (the case with custom software), to meet a perceived need of some set of potential users (the case with commercial and open source software), or for personal use (e.g. a scientist may write software to automate a mundane task). Embedded software development, that is, the development of embedded software, such as used for controlling consumer products, requires the development process to be integrated with the development of the controlled physical product. System software underlies applications and the programming process itself, and is often developed separately.
C#
C# is a general-purpose, multi-paradigm programming language. C# encompasses static typing, strong typing, lexically scoped, imperative, declarative, functional, generic, object-oriented, and component-oriented programming disciplines.
More Skills...
Based on recent job listings, in-demand skills in the Mainframe Programmer field include Commitment (29%), Software Development (1%), C# (1%), and PHP (1%). These skills reflect current market needs.
Skills Salary Demand
Skill & Salary Demand
Commitment £53,645
Commitment
£53,645
29%
Software Development £42,001
Software Development
£42,001
1%
C# £42,001
C#
£42,001
1%
PHP £42,001
PHP
£42,001
1%
Commitment
0.52%
Software Development
3.80%
C#
3.24%
PHP
13.74%

What are the Highest Paying Cities in the United Kingdom for Mainframe Programmer?

The top 3 highest-paying cities in the United Kingdom for Mainframe Programmer are London, Brighton and Hove, and Manchester. In London, the average salary is £44,912 per year, while Brighton and Hove offers £41,894, and Manchester pays around £39,861 annually.

Which Job Pays More: Senior Mainframe Programmer or Mainframe Programmer?

As of April 22, 2025 , a Senior Mainframe Programmer makes more than a Mainframe Programmer. A Senior Mainframe Programmer earns an average annual salary of £55,263. And a Mainframe Programmer earns an average annual salary of £41,585.

Job Title Location Salary Range in GBP
Senior Mainframe Programmer Cambridge, UK
£50,030
£60,476
Intermediate Mainframe Programmer Cambridge, UK
£37,326
£45,891
Mainframe Developer III Cambridge, UK
£49,896
£60,315
Mainframe Developer II Cambridge, UK
£37,513
£46,120

Are you an HR manager or compensation specialist?

Salary.com's CompAnalyst platform offers:

  • Detailed skills and competency reports for specific positions
  • Job and employee pricing reports
  • Compensation data tools, salary structures, surveys and benchmarks.
Learn about CompAnalyst