Average salary in the UK
The typical full-time salary in the UK is £39,039 a year before tax. This is the median: the middle salary when full-time employees are lined up from lowest to highest, so half earn more and half earn less.
The figure comes from the Office for National Statistics survey of pay in April 2025. It is 4.3% higher than a year earlier, when it was £37,439. The median hourly rate for full-time work, without overtime, was £19.67.
On £39,039 in 2026/27, take-home pay is about £2,635.79 a month in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and about £2,631.18 a month in Scotland. That assumes a standard tax code, no pension and no student loan.
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025, checked 12 October 2026.
Why the median and not the mean
The mean adds up every salary and divides by the number of people. A small number of very high salaries pull the mean up, so it sits above what most people earn. The median is not moved by the very top, which is why the Office for National Statistics uses it as its main measure. The figures here are for full-time employees who had been in the same job for at least a year. Part-time work, self-employment and people who changed jobs during the year are not included.
The range of full-time salaries
The table shows salaries at points across the range. At the tenth percentile, nine in ten full-time employees earn more. At the ninetieth, only one in ten does. The salary percentile calculator places any salary in this range, for the UK and for each region.
| Point in the range | Salary a year | Share of full-time employees who earn more |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £23,990 | 90% |
| 20th percentile | £27,495 | 80% |
| 25th percentile | £29,262 | 75% |
| 30th percentile | £30,935 | 70% |
| 40th percentile | £34,779 | 60% |
| 50th percentile | £39,039 | 50% |
| 60th percentile | £44,203 | 40% |
| 70th percentile | £50,115 | 30% |
| 75th percentile | £54,009 | 25% |
| 80th percentile | £59,083 | 20% |
| 90th percentile | £76,903 | 10% |
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 provisional, Table 3.7a, published 23 October 2025.
Average salary by region
Pay differs by where people work. London is well above every other region, and the North East is at the bottom. Living costs, and housing costs in particular, also differ, so a higher salary in one region does not always leave more to spend.
The average salary in London is £49,692 for full-time work, the highest of any region or nation. The lowest is the North East, at £34,403.
| Region or nation | Median salary a year |
|---|---|
| London | £49,692 |
| South East | £39,983 |
| Scotland | £39,719 |
| East | £38,597 |
| North West | £37,361 |
| South West | £37,195 |
| West Midlands | £37,064 |
| Northern Ireland | £37,052 |
| Wales | £35,796 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £35,682 |
| East Midlands | £35,600 |
| North East | £34,403 |
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 provisional, Table 3.7a, published 23 October 2025.
From salary to take-home pay
A salary figure is before Income Tax, National Insurance, pension contributions and any student loan. The take-home pay on a salary close to the median shows each deduction in turn. To compare two jobs, or a pay rise, the salary comparison calculator puts both side by side.
If you are paid by the hour, the hourly pay to salary converter turns an hourly rate into a yearly figure. The lowest legal hourly rate is set out on the minimum wage page.
How the figures are made
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings takes pay records for a sample of employee jobs from HMRC's payroll data each April. Results for the latest year are provisional and can change slightly when they are revised a year later. The survey covers employees only, so it does not show the earnings of the self-employed.