UK Gov Cybersecurity Jobs Average Salary is Under £45,000, Study Finds – Source: www.infosecurity-magazine.com

UK public sector cybersecurity roles offer an average salary of just £44,739 ($60,070) per annum, according to a study by Bridwell.

The cybersecurity firm analyzed 768 cybersecurity job listings across a range of sectors from the recruitment website Indeed.

Roles within government and public administration were found to offer some of the lowest average cybersecurity salary across the advertised roles.

Only non-profit and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) paid a lower average salary at £40,750 ($54,717).

The UK government has been under fire for offering relatively low salaries for cybersecurity roles in recent years.

In 2023, a job listing for a new head of cybersecurity at HM Treasury provoked significant backlash for offering an annual salary range of just £50,550–£57,500 ($67,877–$77,209).

In March 2025, the civil service’s COO, Cat Little, told the UK’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that pay for government cybersecurity specialists must increase substantially in order to compete effectively for talent with the private sector.

The industries offering the highest average cybersecurity salaries in the UK are insurance at £79,167 ($106,301), legal at £75,000 ($100,706) and finance at £74,998 ($100,703), Bridewell’s study found.

However, several industries offered no salary transparency including pharmaceutical & biotechnology, restaurants & food, arts, entertainment & recreation and property.

Sectors like management & consulting and retail & wholesale offering very low rates of salary information also offered limited visibility into salary information.

In contrast, 100% of government and public administration roles disclosed the salary.

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Significant Variation in Sector Demand

The industry with the most open roles for cybersecurity in the UK is IT, accounting for 27% (209 roles) reviewed.

This was followed by management & consulting (17%) and finance (15%).

Government and public administration made up 3% (23 roles) of advertised positions.

The sectors with the fewest advertised positions were property (two roles), arts entertainment & recreation (two roles) and legal (seven roles).

Anthony Young, CEO at Bridewell, noted that despite the much publicized cyber skills gap, the findings show there is not an abundance of available jobs, especially for entry-level positions.

“There is a skills gap, but this is generally for the more advanced, senior roles and normally in quite niche specialisms like OT security, architecture and engineering,” he commented. 

Young continued: “Transparency, whether in pay, job availability, or skill expectations, is essential to bridging the gap between job seekers and employers. We need a more honest conversation about where the gaps are, and how we can collaboratively close them.”