UK salary survey: how does your pay compare?
Enter your salary to see exactly where you sit among UK full-time employees, using official ONS earnings data. Add your region or age band for a like-for-like comparison.
Data: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 (provisional), covering 12 regions and 6 age bands · How we calculate
Your details
Compare your salary
Your annual pay before tax — the figure on your contract.
Pick either or both to see how you compare against a closer peer group.
Your position in the UK
Top 59%
On £35,000 a year you earn more than 41% of UK full-time employees — the 41st percentile.
- UK median (£39,039)
- −£4,03910% below the median
- UK mean (£48,512)
- −£13,51228% below the mean
Where you sit on the UK pay ladder
10th
£23,990
25th
£29,262
Median
£39,039
75th
£54,009
90th
£76,903
What that pays you each month
£2,393
Take-home after Income Tax and National Insurance (2026/27, no pension or student loan).
Add pension and student loanFigures are gross annual pay for full-time employees from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 (provisional).
Your salary vs each group
Median gross annual pay for full-time employees, April 2025. A positive gap means you earn more than the typical person in that group.
| Group | Median pay | Your gap | You beat |
|---|---|---|---|
| All UK full-time employeesAll UK full-time employees | £39,039 | −£4,039 | 41% |
* Group percentiles are estimated by scaling the published UK distribution to that group’s median; medians and means are published ONS figures. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 (provisional).
What counts as a good salary in the UK?
The most useful yardstick is the median. In April 2025, the middle full-time employee in the UK earned £39,039 a year before tax. Earn more than that and you are in the better-paid half of full-time workers; earn less and you are in the lower half. The mean is higher, at £48,512, because very high salaries drag the average upwards — which is exactly why the median is the fairer comparison.
A rough ladder for full-time pay in the UK, using the published distribution:
- Around £23,990 puts you in the lowest tenth of full-time earners.
- Around £29,262 is the bottom quarter.
- £39,039 is the exact middle.
- Around £54,009 puts you in the top quarter.
- Around £76,903 puts you in the top 10% of full-time employees.
None of that tells you whether a salary feels good, though. Two people on £39,039 can have very different lives depending on rent, commuting, childcare and debt. Ranking is a starting point, not a verdict.
How UK pay varies by region
Location is the single biggest structural factor in UK pay. London’s median full-time salary of £49,692 is roughly 44% above the North East, the lowest-paying region. Housing costs move in the same direction and usually faster, so a higher headline salary in London does not automatically mean more disposable income.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £49,692 | £70,275 |
| South East | £39,983 | £47,619 |
| Scotland | £39,719 | £45,586 |
| East of England | £38,597 | £46,540 |
| North West | £37,361 | £43,731 |
| South West | £37,195 | £43,852 |
| West Midlands | £37,064 | £43,722 |
| Northern Ireland | £37,052 | £43,113 |
| Wales | £35,796 | £40,626 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £35,682 | £41,318 |
| East Midlands | £35,600 | £41,178 |
| North East | £34,403 | £39,859 |
Gross annual pay, full-time employees, April 2025. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 (provisional).
How UK pay varies by age
Pay rises steeply through your twenties and thirties, peaks in your forties, then eases back. Comparing yourself to the all-ages median can be misleading early in a career: a 22-to-29-year-old on £32,347 is exactly typical for their age group, even though that sits below the UK-wide median.
| Age band | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| 18 to 21 | £23,596 | £24,394 |
| 22 to 29 | £32,347 | £35,760 |
| 30 to 39 | £40,668 | £48,421 |
| 40 to 49 | £44,244 | £54,591 |
| 50 to 59 | £41,866 | £53,349 |
| 60 and over | £36,467 | £46,794 |
Gross annual pay, full-time employees, April 2025. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 (provisional).
Median vs mean — why the “average salary” is confusing
Headlines use “average” for both figures, and the gap between them is large: £39,039 median versus £48,512 mean. The mean adds every salary together and divides by the number of people, so a small group of very high earners pulls it up. The median simply lines everyone up and takes the middle person, so it is unaffected by extremes. When you want to know whether your pay is normal, use the median. When you want to know how much money is in the system, use the mean.
What these figures do and don’t include
- Full-time employees only. Part-time jobs are excluded, which is why these medians are higher than “all employees” figures.
- Employees, not the self-employed. ASHE is drawn from PAYE records, so sole traders and company directors paid in dividends are not represented.
- Gross pay, before deductions. Comparisons here are pre-tax. Use the take-home pay calculator to see what any figure is worth after Income Tax and National Insurance.
- Provisional estimates. ASHE 2025 figures were published as provisional on 23 October 2025 and are revised the following year.
- Sample survey, not a census. ASHE covers roughly 1% of employee jobs, so small groups carry wider margins of error.
What to do with the answer
If you are below the median for your region and age band, that is useful evidence for a pay review — particularly alongside a like-for-like job advert. If you are above it, the more interesting question is what the money is actually doing for you each month.
- Take-home pay calculator — what your salary is worth after tax.
- Compare two salaries — model an offer against your current job.
- Salary goal calculator — the gross salary you need for a monthly target.
UK salary comparison — frequently asked questions
- What is the average UK salary in 2026?
- The latest official figures are from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings for April 2025 (published October 2025, provisional). Median gross annual pay for full-time employees was £39,039 and the mean was £48,512. The median is the better guide to a typical salary, because the mean is pulled upwards by very high earners.
- Is my salary above average for the UK?
- Enter your gross annual salary above and the tool shows your percentile against the published ONS full-time distribution. Anything above £39,039 puts you in the better-paid half of full-time employees, around £54,009 puts you in the top quarter and around £76,903 puts you in the top 10%.
- Which UK region has the highest salaries?
- London, with a median full-time salary of £49,692 and a mean of £70,275. Scotland (£39,719) and the South East (£39,983) come next. The North East is lowest at £34,403. London's higher pay is largely offset by housing costs, so the ranking does not reflect disposable income.
- What is a good salary for my age in the UK?
- Median full-time pay rises with experience: £23,596 for 18 to 21, £32,347 for 22 to 29, £40,668 for 30 to 39, peaking at £44,244 for 40 to 49, then £41,866 for 50 to 59 and £36,467 for 60 and over. Comparing against your own age band is more useful than the all-ages figure early in a career.
- Why is the median salary lower than the average salary?
- The mean adds every salary together and divides by the number of employees, so a small number of very large salaries lifts it. The median is the middle salary when everyone is lined up in order, so extremes do not affect it. That is why the UK median (£39,039) sits well below the mean (£48,512).
- Do these figures include part-time and self-employed workers?
- No. They cover full-time employee jobs only. Part-time employees are excluded, which is why these medians are higher than all-employee figures. ASHE is based on PAYE records, so the self-employed and directors paid mainly in dividends are not represented.
- Are these gross or take-home figures?
- All comparisons are gross annual pay, before Income Tax, National Insurance, pension contributions and student loan repayments. The results panel shows what your salary is worth monthly after tax, and the take-home calculator lets you add pension and student loan deductions.
- How reliable is the ONS earnings data?
- ASHE is the UK's most authoritative earnings source, drawn from a 1% sample of employee jobs on PAYE. The 2025 estimates are provisional and get revised the following year, and small groups carry wider margins of error, so treat individual figures as close estimates rather than exact values.
Next steps
- Take-home pay calculator — what your salary is worth after tax.
- Compare two salaries — weigh up a new offer.
- Salary goal calculator — the gross salary you need for a target take-home.