QA Engineer salaries and job demand
Last updated
QA Engineer roles typically advertise around £64,740 a year. Here's the current salary range, hiring demand, and the skills employers ask for most.
What do QA Engineer roles pay in 2026?
As of September 2026, the typical advertised salary is £64,740 (≈ $82k) a year, with most postings between £51,500 and £80,000.
| 25th percentile | £51,500 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | £64,740 |
| 75th percentile | £80,000 |
Advertised base salary, from 108 job postings with pay data, as of September 2026.
Disclosed base wage (H-1B/LCA)
Employers disclose a median base wage of US$111,000 on H-1B/LCA visa filings for this role, between US$91,739 and US$137,000.
| 25th percentile | US$91,739 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$111,000 |
| 75th percentile | US$137,000 |
Disclosed base wage, from 22,557 H-1B/LCA filings, U.S. DOL OFLC, as of Q4 2025.
| Period | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | US$91,071 | US$109,534 | US$135,879 |
| Q4 2024 | US$96,563 | US$115,502 | US$141,564 |
| Q1 2025 | US$99,237 | US$117,823 | US$142,525 |
| Q2 2025 | US$86,730 | US$103,418 | US$128,065 |
| Q3 2025 | US$94,016 | US$113,000 | US$138,647 |
| Q4 2025 | US$95,000 | US$115,000 | US$141,075 |
How strong is hiring demand for QA Engineer roles in 2026?
Tarmac tracked 472 postings in August 2026, the most recent month we tracked from start to finish.
We need 3 complete months of tracking before we publish a month-by-month series. Months we only partly covered are left out rather than shown as low demand.
Skills employers ask for
- python806
- test-automation805
- ci-cd-pipelines784
- javascript713
- http-apis631
- databases-sql629
- agile-delivery382
- docker179
- aws171
- ai-engineering169
- java164
- typescript151
Postings for this role that named each skill, out of the postings we could parse. Bars run to 806, the most-asked skill here.
Which skills to study first
These skills matter most for this role, scored together on how often employers ask for them, what they pay, and how often people pass them when they practise.
| Skill | Market demand | Median pay | Pass rate | Leverage | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JavaScript | 18% of postings10,442 postings | US$160,000+20% | 45%33 attempts | 46 | Practice |
| Python | 57% of postings33,051 postings | US$170,000+28% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Databases & SQL | 52% of postings29,701 postings | US$166,400+25% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| AWS | 46% of postings26,710 postings | US$171,289+29% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| HTTP & APIs | 26% of postings14,969 postings | US$168,620+27% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| AI Engineering | 23% of postings13,419 postings | US$180,705+36% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Docker | 22% of postings12,890 postings | £80,000+14% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| CI-CD Pipelines | 21% of postings12,173 postings | £77,500+11% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| TypeScript | 13% of postings7,709 postings | US$177,250+33% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Java | 9% of postings5,227 postings | £80,000+14% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Agile Delivery | 9% of postings5,172 postings | A$136,250 | Not enough data yet | — | — |
| Test Automation | 3% of postings1,821 postings | £70,000 | Not enough data yet | — | — |
Pass rate is the share of correct answers among people who practised that skill on Tarmac, a self-selected group rather than every developer, so read it as relative difficulty, not a universal stat. It comes from how people actually scored, not what anyone claimed, and a dash in that column means not enough people have practised the skill here yet. Leverage scores demand, pay, and difficulty together (out of 100); a higher score means a skill is both worth learning and worth your study time.
Pay by level and city in United States
These figures cover United States postings only, as of September 2026. The median above pools every level and every city; these split it, so you can read the rung you are actually applying for.
| Level | 25th | Median | 75th | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | US$83,200 | US$87,750 | US$87,750 | 7 |
| Mid-level | US$98,800 | US$125,046 | US$143,241 | 48 |
| Senior | US$102,500 | US$125,000 | US$163,800 | 45 |
| City | 25th | Median | 75th | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | US$107,525 | US$125,000 | US$141,875 | 24 |
| San Francisco, CA | US$130,125 | US$178,880 | US$201,250 | 14 |
| Chicago, IL | US$55,813 | US$96,250 | US$126,250 | 12 |
| Remote | US$86,975 | US$93,715 | US$104,560 | 10 |
| Washington, DC | US$86,500 | US$112,500 | US$115,000 | 9 |
| Austin, TX | US$93,350 | US$98,800 | US$122,525 | 8 |
Advertised base salary. A level or city with too few postings quoting pay is left out rather than shown on a thin sample.
What it takes
The entry bar and required skills employers ask for. Most job ads reach us as a short summary rather than the full posting, and the percentages below count only the ones we have in full — so they skew toward employers who publish a fuller description. Every bar runs 0 to 60% of those postings: solid is required, outlined is preferred, dashed is the posting's own words.
Australia
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
- Years asked down 3 years over the last 4 weeks.
- Databases & SQL now required in 33% of postings, was 11% 4 weeks ago.
- HTTP & APIs now required in 33% of postings, was 22% 4 weeks ago.
- Java required in only 11% of postings, was 44% 4 weeks ago.
- CI-CD Pipelines required in only 11% of postings, was 22% 4 weeks ago.
United States
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Years asked up 5 years over the last 4 weeks.
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
United Kingdom
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Not enough postings state a years-of-experience figure for Staff / lead yet.
Practice interview questions
Jobs data powered by Adzuna.
Disclosed wage data from the U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC.
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