Average Salaries ($K)
Cardiff 2020-2024
Data Salary review
Cardiff
2020 - 2024
- 54% Average Cost Of Living Rise
- #10/23 Cheapest City To Live
- 29% Average Salary Rise
- #2/23 Salary Growth - All Roles
- #5/23 Salary Growth For Heads Of Data
- #3/23 Salary Growth For Data Engineers
- #6/23 Salary Growth For Data Analysts
- #4/23 Salary Growth For Data Scientists
Overview
It might be surprising to see Cardiff experiencing the second-biggest wage growth among the 23 cities we researched, especially given Bristol’s reputation as a rising tech hub in recent years. Perhaps because of the proximity of the two cities (just 45 minutes apart) Cardiff has had to put in extra effort to attract and retain talent, competing with Bristol’s growing tech scene.
Cardiff offers a diverse mix of data roles across industries like fintech (e.g. Admiral), the public sector (e.g. NHS Wales), and media (e.g. BBC Cymru Wales), providing a wider range of opportunities compared to Edinburgh, although not yet at the scale of Manchester or London. Government-backed initiatives, such as Digital Skills Wales, along with the city’s universities producing STEM graduates, have contributed to a thriving talent pool and opportunities for career growth. With lower living costs and rising wages, Cardiff presents an attractive option for individuals starting their careers or looking for a more affordable place to progress to intermediate-level roles.
Heads Of Data
Over the years, Cardiff has been positioning itself as a hub for tech, particularly fintech, media, and public sector data roles but has traditionally had trouble keeping hold of senior talent. This might be the reason why, whilst we see a dip in salaries during the pandemic, expert-level roles were not affected and actually rose 2.8%, very much against the worldwide trend.
Whilst salaries are lower in Cardiff when compared to London (11% different at the expert level) the cost of living shows a much kinder gap of 42%. This means your quality of life should be higher and indeed the rivalry between Bristol and Cardiff can only be good for those looking to advance their careers. It must be said however that historically these regions have experienced poverty and unemployment at much higher levels, and it remains to be seen if this influx of talent, bringing with it higher costs of hiring will continue into the future. Today though, Cardiff would be ideal for a Head Of Data, especially at intermediate level who is looking for the next step in their career.
We see a rise of 35% at beginner level, 7.69% at intermediate level and 26.47% at expert level over the last five years.
Average Salaries ($K) By Experience
Data Engineers
After a prolonged period of stagnation following the pandemic, demand and wages have shown a sharp uptick for data engineers in 2024. This recent surge is likely a response to years of underinvestment in experienced roles and an inability to retain top talent, with Cardiff trailing behind other tech hubs in this respect. The market correction suggests that employers are now making up for lost ground by aggressively competing for skilled professionals.
Efforts to attract entry-level data engineers appeared to come at the expense of experienced professionals, whose wages saw a decline of -10.52% during the years 2021-2023. This strategy may have exacerbated the challenges of retaining senior engineers, leading to talent migration out of Cardiff. We also see that the gap between intermediate level engineers and expert level was 40% back in 2020 and only 22.22% in 20224. This might highlight growing demand, but could also mean that intermediate-level roles may be expect to handle the job description of their senior colleagues.
Employers often seek professionals with cloud expertise (AWS, Azure, GCP) and strong data pipeline experience, but niche roles in real-time processing or big data architecture can be harder to find. While Cardiff offers a lower cost of living and better work-life balance than London, career progression can be slower due to the propensity of medium-sized businesses.
Average Salaries ($K) By Experience
Data Analysts
Being a data analyst in Cardiff presents solid career opportunities, particularly within fintech, healthcare, and the public sector, where data-driven decision-making is becoming more essential. The city benefits from strong university pipelines, meaning there is a steady flow of entry-level talent, but mid-to-senior roles can be more competitive due to fewer large-scale employers compared to cities like London or Manchester. While salaries in Cardiff are lower than in major UK hubs, the cost of living is also more manageable, making it an attractive option for those prioritising work-life balance.
Analysts here often need to be adaptable, as many companies expect them to handle a mix of reporting, dashboarding, and even elements of data science. However, for those looking to specialise in advanced analytics or machine learning, career progression may require moving to a larger city or seeking remote roles.
Cardiff stands out with some of the most intriguing results when analysing data analyst roles, so much so that we initially questioned the data and double-checked its accuracy! Unlike most tech hubs in the UK, Cardiff experienced wage growth during 2021-2022, with expert-level salaries rising by 19.44%. This seeming anomaly is likely tied to Cardiff’s historic abundance of beginner-level roles. When the influx of new talent from universities was disrupted by the pandemic, local employers may have faced increased competition for skilled professionals, driving up wages. Whilst this period saw a steep rise, wages appear to have plateaued since, with average salaries across all experience levels remaining relatively stagnant. Despite this, there remains a significant and noticeable salary gap between experience bands, suggesting that expertise continues to command a premium in the Cardiff market. Cardiff ranked #6/23 for wage growth when comparing average salaries from 2020 to 2024.
Average Salaries ($K) By Experience
Data Scientists
Being a data scientist in Cardiff can be frustrating if you are looking for rapid career progression or cutting-edge AI work. The city’s data scene is still developing, meaning there are fewer high-level roles, and many companies do not fully grasp the value of advanced analytics. As a result, data scientists here often get stuck doing basic reporting, ad-hoc analysis, or even data engineering work rather than the complex machine learning projects they were trained for.
Salaries are lower compared to major UK hubs like London and Manchester, and while the cost of living is cheaper, the gap is not always enough to justify the pay difference. If you are ambitious and want to work on state-of-the-art AI, you may have to either take a remote job with a London-based firm or move entirely. The lack of a deep data science community also means fewer networking and mentorship opportunities, making it harder to stay on top of industry trends or find new roles locally. Cardiff is great if you value stability and work-life balance, but if you are chasing innovation and big paychecks, it is not the best place to be.
Average Salaries ($K) By Experience
Hiring Data Roles For Cardiff Companies
Cardiff’s data talent pool is growing but remains relatively small compared to major UK hubs like London and Manchester. The city has a steady pipeline of junior and mid-level data professionals, thanks to strong university programs, but hiring for more senior roles can be challenging. Many companies in Cardiff are still in the early stages of leveraging data, meaning there is often a skills gap when it comes to advanced analytics, automation, or large-scale cloud infrastructure. Salaries are lower than in London, making hiring more affordable, but retention can be difficult as skilled professionals often seek higher-paying opportunities in larger cities or remote roles with bigger firms.
For businesses struggling to build an advanced data function, partnering with a data agency like 173tech can be a cost-effective alternative to hiring in-house. Agencies provide instant access to senior expertise across data strategy, analytics, and machine learning, without the long hiring cycles or overhead costs of building a full team. This is particularly beneficial for companies that lack the resources to compete for top-tier talent or those looking to quickly implement data-driven solutions without waiting months to fill specialist roles.
173tech Direct Comparison
- Head Of Data (5+ yrs) $215k
- Data Engineer (5+ yrs) $110k
- Data Engineer (0-3 yrs) $65k
- Data Analyst (3-5 yrs) $66k
- $456k per yr + Tax + Pension + Holidays
- Candice (15+ yrs) Ruben (8+ yrs) Oliver (10+ yrs)
- Adrian (15+ yrs)
- Oscar (2+ yrs)
- Emeric (3+ yrs) Mai (4+ yrs) Noel (2+ yrs) Amy (2+ yrs)
- $240k
Working with 173tech is effortless – wake up, log in, and instantly tap into a full data team at your fingertips. From strategy to implementation, we make leveraging data for growth easy and hassle-free.
We deploy a full team to every project and give you direct access through weekly syncs and shared slack. We work with the tools and processes you have already established or can set up from scratch.
We provide a fully flexible resource to tap into when you need to fast-track data projects and represent not only great value, but are passionate about creating value from data. Get in touch today to see how we can help you!
