What does ‘fair pay’ actually mean in the UK right now, are the salaries you’re offering competitive enough to attract new talent?
And how do your team’s current earnings stack up against people of a similar age, region, or industry?
The latest Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) salary data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) helps answer those questions.
Median annual pay for all employees now is £32,890, and full-time workers earn around £39,039.
But the national median only tells part of the story.
Pay varies significantly by region, industry, occupation, gender and age, and those differences can have a real impact on your hiring plans and retention strategy.
In this guide, you’ll find an insight into how salaries vary across the UK.
You’ll see how different groups compare, how pay has shifted over time and where the biggest changes are happening, so you can plan with a little more clarity and a lot less guesswork.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Key insights
The following are seven important trends we took from the latest Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings by the ONS.
These points give you a fast snapshot of where salaries are heading in the UK and how they may influence your hiring and payroll planning this year.
1. Median pay continues to rise across the UK.
The median annual salary for all employees is £32,890, which represents 4.1% growth from last year.
Full-time workers earn £39,039, and part-time workers earn £14,713.
Part-time pay is rising, which can affect how businesses structure flexible roles.
2. Regional pay differences remain pronounced.
London has the highest median annual earnings at £39,778, while the North East sits at £29,584 with a difference of 25%.
The South East, Scotland, and parts of the East of England also report above-average earnings.
3. The 40–49 age group earns the highest median pay.
Employees in this group earn a median of £37,734, the highest of any age bracket.
Salaries level off slightly after age 50, which mirrors long-term patterns in the dataset.
4. A notable gender pay gap is still present.
Men earn a median salary of £38,466, while women earn £27,850, which is a difference of 28%.
The Gender Pay Gap total median is 12.8.
5. High-skill industries lead the upper pay ranges.
Roles in aviation, information technology, senior leadership, engineering, and medicine record some of the highest median salaries in the UK.
Many exceed £50,000, and some significantly exceed that benchmark.
6. Lower-paying industries create different planning pressures.
Care, hospitality, retail, sports and entry-level administrative roles often fall below the £15,000 range.
These roles tend to have higher turnover and more pressure on progression paths, which can influence how small businesses plan staffing and pay reviews.
7. The long-term trend still points upward.
Most categories show steady increases over the past decade.
The pace varies across industries and age groups, which affects how you plan future pay growth and budget for annual reviews.
Keep reading to see how earnings vary by region, age, gender, industry, and occupation, so you can build salary ranges that fit both your market and your budget.
What is the average salary in the UK?
For all employees in 2025, the median annual salary is £32,890.
This figure includes both full-time and part-time workers.
Median pay rose 4.1% from the previous year, which gives you a sense of how quickly wages are moving.
Average salaries in the UK:
- Annual median, full-time employees: £39,039
- Annual median, part-time employees: £14,713
- Mean average salary, all employees: £40,269
- Median weekly pay, all employees: £642.50
- Median hourly pay, all employees: £18.00
Understanding the difference between mean and median is important if you’re using this data to plan salaries.
- Mean: This is the traditional “average,” all salaries added together, divided by the number of jobs. The mean is not always a reliable measure as it can be skewed by a relatively small number of very low or high-paying roles.
- Median: This is the middle point of the pay distribution; 50% of jobs pay less than this figure, and 50% pay more. Because it ignores extreme outliers, the ONS prefers the median as the better indicator of “typical” pay.
The salary data helps you to compare your salaries with the wider market and see how different types of roles affect your overall costs.
Part-time earnings, for example, rose 5.9%, compared with 4.3% for full-time roles.
If your business relies heavily on flexible or variable-hours work, that difference may shape what you’ll need to budget for in the year ahead.
It’s also worth considering that the minimum wage was increased in the November 2025 budget and the impact that may have on the figures for the coming year.
Average UK salary by region
Not surprisingly, where you work has a big influence on what you earn in the UK.
Some regions lean heavily on professional and technical jobs, which naturally pushes salaries higher.
Others have more roles in hospitality, care or retail, and that brings the local median down.
Median annual salary by region
The latest data shows clear differences in pay from one region to another.
Here’s a look at the median salary in each part of the UK, based on employees on adult rates who’ve been in the same job for more than a year.
| Region | Number of jobs (thousand) | Annual Median (£) |
| North East | 882 | 29,584 |
| North West | 2,731 | 31,330 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 1,996 | 30,682 |
| East Midlands | 1,800 | 30,690 |
| West Midlands | 2,060 | 31,345 |
| East | 2,385 | 34,104 |
| London | 2,971 | 39,778 |
| South East | 3,523 | 35,215 |
| South West | 2,122 | 31,432 |
| Wales | 1,202 | 30,732 |
| Scotland | 2,204 | 33,061 |
| Northern Ireland | 883 | 31,252 |
Note: The numbers shown above are based on annual salary. ONS caveats that all numbers are intended to provide a broad idea of the number of employee jobs, but they should not be considered accurate estimates.
Highest and lowest-paying local authorities
Local authority data gives you an even closer look at how pay levels vary.
Many of the highest-earning areas are in London or in the commuter towns surrounding it, where higher-paid roles are more concentrated.
Top 10 highest-paying local authorities
| Local authority | Number of jobs (thousand) | Median (£) |
| Wandsworth | 107 | 49,310 |
| Islington | 77 | 47,411 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 36 | 46,690 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 61 | 46,594 |
| St Albans | 53 | 45,543 |
| Tower Hamlets | 106 | 45,183 |
| Westminster | 58 | 45,172 |
| East Hertfordshire | 60 | 44,154 |
| Camden | 67 | 44,088 |
| Bromley | 118 | 43,981 |
| Lambeth | 115 | 43,666 |
Note: All employees on adult rates in the same job for at least a year.
Most of these areas fall either within London or just outside it.
Places like Tower Hamlets, Westminster and Camden sit right next to the City and Canary Wharf, where finance and professional services push salaries well above the national average.
Nearby orbital towns such as Richmond, St Albans and East Hertfordshire are all popular commuter towns with fast access to London and the City and exceptionally high-earning residents.
Top 10 lowest-paying local authorities
| Local authority | Number of jobs (thousand) | Median (£) |
| Kingston upon Hull UA | 91 | 27,309 |
| Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | 46 | 27,243 |
| Moray | 31 | 26,943 |
| Denbighshire / Sir Ddinbych | 38 | 26,812 |
| Pendle | 28 | 26,742 |
| Isle of Wight UA | 42 | 26,740 |
| East Lindsey | 40 | 26,705 |
| Melton | 16 | 26,633 |
| West Devon | 16 | 26,556 |
| Nottingham UA | 87 | 26,512 |
| Gwynedd / Gwynedd | 43 | 25,179 |
Note: All employees on adult rates in the same job for at least a year.
The regions above are all areas with lower-paying industries.
It’s important to note that the data here is based on annual salaries paid, which is different to a measure of the most deprived areas of the UK that would include unemployed data.
Rural and coastal locations tend to rely more on tourism and hospitality, which are lower-paid salaries.
Some places also have fewer large employers or professional roles, so salaries naturally sit below the national average.
Some areas may also have a higher retired population who do not work.
These factors can also impact regional salary levels.
What stands out in the regional data
London is the highest paying region in the UK, with median pay at £39,778.
This is not a surprise for a capital city which has a concentration of roles in finance, tech, legal services and global headquarters.
London will always be a magnet that attracts the best countrywide and worldwide talent for the career opportunities it offers.
Many people will ‘suffer’ the high cost of living to build their careers before moving to other regional areas such as the South East and East of England.
Commuter towns like St Albans and the East Hertfordshire region consistently show up among the highest-paying local authorities.
On the other end of the spectrum, the North East has the lowest regional median at £29,584.
The North East economy has been supported by car manufacturers such as Nissan in Sunderland and the area also has many call centres which take advantage of the lower wages.
Rural and coastal areas often look similar, especially where a lot of the work is part-time or seasonal, so overall earnings don’t climb as quickly as they do elsewhere.
Methodology: How the ONS calculates regional salary data
The figures in this section follow the ONS methodology for the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE):
- Estimates reflect employees on adult rates who have been in the same job for more than a year.
- Job counts are provided for context only and should not be treated as precise employment totals.
- Data quality varies by location and is measured through the coefficient of variation, which indicates the reliability of each estimate.
These details help place the results in context and explain why some regions or local authorities may show wider margins of uncertainty than others.
Average UK salary by age
Salaries rise and fall as people move through different stages of their careers, which reflects their experience and their rise in role seniority.
People tend to progress and hold higher roles as they have worked longer.
After a certain age, working people tend to again take roles with fewer demands and hours.
These patterns might be obvious, but they do help you to understand where pay pressure might show up in your own team and what people at different experience levels are likely to expect.
Median annual salaries by age group in the UK:
| Age group | Number of jobs (thousand) | Annual Median £ | Hourly median £ |
| All employees | 24,897 | 32,890 | 17.96 |
| 18-21 | 825 | 13,069 | 12.59 |
| 22-29 | 3,454 | 29,855 | 15.88 |
| 30-39 | 6,229 | 36,000 | 19.70 |
| 40-49 | 5,987 | 37,734 | 20.65 |
| 50-59 | 5,403 | 34,835 | 19.31 |
| 60+ | 2,927 | 26,750 | 16.45 |
Note: Data is taken from employees on adult rates who held the same job for more than a year. The job counts are not precise and are only provided to offer scale.
Note: Data for hourly pay is different from the annual median and only includes those whose pay in the survey period wasn’t affected by absence.
Understanding age-based salary trends
The earnings by age figures reflect the shape of a typical career.
Pay rises quickly through the twenties and keeps building through the thirties, moving from a median of £29,855 at ages 22–29 to £36,000 for people in their thirties.
The highest career point comes in the 40–49 range at £37,734, which is often when experience, confidence and career progression come into effect.
After age 50, the pattern shifts and median pay drops to £34,835. By age 60+ pay declines to £26,750.
During these older age groups, there is natural attrition as some people take early retirement or reduce hours as they want to improve their work/life when mortgages are paid off and their financial position is more stable.
Workers can move into part-time or flexible work, especially if they’re preparing for retirement or managing health or family commitments.
In physically demanding fields, like construction, earnings can dip earlier as people move into lighter or more manageable roles.
Also, some people decide to switch roles or retrain later in their careers to try and fulfil their purpose in life after they have worked hard for many years.
Average UK salary by gender
The median salary for men is £38,466, compared with £27,850 for women, which is a 28% difference across all employees.
The biggest differences can be seen in full-time roles.
That’s largely because men hold more senior, technical or higher-earning positions.
Part-time pay looks closer, but that’s mostly because more women work in part-time roles where salaries are already grouped within similar bands.
Industry patterns highlight these differences even more.
Some sectors with routine or entry-level work show wide gaps, such as delivery jobs and butchery.
In these areas, historically, there has been a bias of being considered male-oriented work.
Other occupations land much closer together.
Jobs like housing officers, youth and community workers, visual merchandisers, environmental health professionals and train drivers show only small differences between men and women.
These roles usually have clearer pay structures or standardised progression, which helps keep earnings aligned.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the gap widens again in senior management, specialist technical fields and professional services.
These roles have long career ladders, and that’s where differences in progression, access to higher-paid positions and career breaks tend to show up most clearly over time.
Median earnings for men and women by region
| Region | Male annual median £ | Female annual median £ | Annual difference* | GPG Median** |
| East Midlands | 36,645 | 25,674 | -30% | 12.9 |
| East of England | 40,851 | 27,970 | -32% | 13.4 |
| London | 43,695 | 36,142 | -17% | 11.8 |
| North East England | 34,447 | 25,641 | -26% | 9.3 |
| North West England | 36,962 | 26,869 | -27% | 13.7 |
| Northern Ireland | 35,232 | 27,571 | -22% | 7.2 |
| Scotland | 38,918 | 28,917 | -26% | 9.4 |
| South East England | 41,801 | 29,186 | -30% | 15.8 |
| South West England | 37,291 | 26,114 | -30% | 13.3 |
| Wales | 35,654 | 26,372 | -26% | 9.7 |
| West Midlands | 37,052 | 25,815 | -30% | 15.3 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 35,999 | 25,756 | -28% | 12.3 |
* The difference between median annual salaries, not the official Gender Pay Gap.
** The Gender Pay Gap (GPG) is calculated as the difference between average hourly earnings (excluding overtime) of men and women as a proportion of average hourly earnings (excluding overtime) of men. For example, a 4% GPG denotes that women earn 4% less, on average, than men. Conversely, a -4% GPG denotes that women earn 4% more, on average, than men.
Gender pay gap by region
Regions with the smallest gender pay gaps
In the areas below, women earn more than men.
| Region | Gender pay gap |
| Scottish Borders | -13.2 |
| Ealing | -10.2 |
| Lewisham | -6.3 |
| Gwynedd | -6.0 |
| Eastbourne | -5.5 |
Regions with the largest gender pay gaps
The areas below show the most significant differences where men earn more than women.
| Region | Gender pay gap |
| Ribble Valley | 38.9 |
| Mole Valley | 36.6 |
| Bracknell Forest | 33.3 |
| Rochford | 32 |
| South Staffordshire | 31.5 |
Why the regional differences matter
Regional pay differences often come down to the types of jobs available in each area.
Some regions have a stronger mix of professional or technical roles, so salaries tend to be higher.
Others have more jobs in hospitality, care or retail, which naturally brings the median down.
You also see changes based on how many senior roles are available locally and how much competition there is for skilled workers.
And in places where part-time work is more common, earnings usually grow more slowly because the job mix looks different.
Looking at these patterns gives you a clearer sense of what people expect to earn where they live and work.
It also makes regional comparisons much more useful than relying on a single national number.
Average UK salary by industry/occupation
Highest paying industries
You’ll see the very highest salaries in the UK in fields where the bar to entry is naturally high, areas like aviation, specialist medical work and senior roles in technology.
These jobs pay well above the national median because they rely on investment in qualifications, deep expertise, strict training requirements or a level of responsibility that only a small group of people are qualified to take on.
When you compare these roles with jobs at the lower end of the pay scale, the gap becomes clear.
The lowest earners take home 91% less than the highest.
| Industry | Number of jobs (thousand) | Median (£) |
| Aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers | 20 | 107,712 |
| Transport Associate Professionals | 25 | 93,538 |
| Information technology directors | 60 | 90,081 |
| Marketing, sales and advertising directors | 216 | 90,000 |
| Chief executives and senior officials | 133 | 89,835 |
| Specialist medical practitioners | 187 | 88,997 |
| Directors in Logistics, Warehousing and Transport | 11 | 80,518 |
| Train and tram drivers | 26 | 76,176 |
| Public relations and communications directors | N/A | 72,020 |
| Medical Practitioners | 274 | 71,918 |
Across these roles, a few themes repeat.
Positions where decision-making responsibility is tied to financial or operational risk command the highest pay.
Sectors with complex systems or fast-moving environments also lean toward higher salaries because employers want people who can keep things running smoothly at scale.
Train drivers standing alongside medical practitioners and senior directors is one of the clearer outliers.
Their pay reflects the safety-critical nature of the role and the structured progression frameworks built into rail careers.
Lowest paying industries
At the other end of the pay scale, you see roles that make up much of the UK’s part-time, seasonal or high-turnover workforce and are generally considered to be ‘unskilled’.
You’ll find most of these jobs in hospitality, cleaning, catering and parts of sport and leisure.
These industries often run on tighter margins and offer fewer routes into higher-paying positions.
Even so, these roles play a big part in how many small businesses operate.
If your team includes flexible or variable-hours workers, understanding what these jobs typically pay can help you plan and stay competitive when demand picks up.
| Industry | Number of jobs (thousand) | Annual Median £ | Hourly Median £ |
| Bar staff | 84 | 9,166 | 12.21 |
| Waiters and waitresses | 146 | 10,000 | 12.21 |
| Other Elementary Services Occupations | 653 | 11,382 | 12.38 |
| Kitchen and catering assistants | 322 | 11,840 | 12.41 |
| Cleaners and domestics | 411 | 11,852 | 12.64 |
| Coffee shop workers | 16 | 12,170 | 12.30 |
| Care escorts | 14 | 12,175 | 13.26 |
| Sports coaches, instructors and officials | 62 | 12,570 | 15.60 |
| Elementary Cleaning Occupations | 469 | 12,787 | 12.70 |
| Sports and Fitness Occupations | 98 | 13,819 | 15.58 |
Note: These figures are based on the ONS ASHE dataset (October 2025) and show median pay for employees on adult rates who’ve been in the same job for at least a year. Hourly pay figures only include jobs where pay in the survey period wasn’t affected by absence. From April 2026, the minimum wage increases to £12.71 per hour, so treat the hourly medians here as a historic benchmark and make sure your current pay rates meet the legal minimum.
These occupations sit well below the national median.
Many rely on hourly staffing or operate within industries where wage growth flows more slowly because roles are widely available and entry requirements are minimal.
Even within this group, you can see subtle distinctions.
Sports and fitness roles, for example, sit slightly higher because qualifications or coaching licences shift the pay floor upward.
Most common professions
Professional occupations make up the biggest share of the UK workforce.
These are roles you see across education, healthcare, engineering, science and public services, and they generally sit well above the national median.
If you’re looking for where most mid-to-high-earning jobs fall, this is the group that sets much of that range.
You’ll also notice many directors, managers and administrative roles at the top of the list.
They make up a big part of white-collar employment and show the variety of work happening in office-based or specialist settings.
Then, at the other end, you have elementary and service-based jobs.
These roles are common across the country but tend to sit on the lower side of the pay scale, highlighting just how wide the UK’s earnings spread really is, even within the most familiar occupations.
What’s just as interesting is the work you don’t see as often.
Some professions are much smaller in number: farmers, hospital porters, street cleaners and certain warehouse or storage roles represent only a small slice of national employment.
Many of these jobs depend on niche skills, seasonal patterns or very specific operational needs, which keeps their overall job counts low even though they’re essential in the sectors they support.
Highest number of jobs by industry
| Industry | Number of jobs (thousand) | Median £ |
| Corporate managers and directors | 2,268 | 57,745 |
| Administrative occupations | 2,134 | 27,006 |
| Business, media and public service professionals | 2,057 | 46,925 |
| Elementary administration and service occupations | 1,962 | 17,287 |
| Business and public service associate professionals | 1,883 | 38,760 |
| Health professionals | 1,816 | 40,294 |
| Caring personal service occupations | 1,811 | 21,082 |
| Science, research, engineering and technology professionals | 1,711 | 51,148 |
| Teaching and other educational professionals | 1,447 | 43,119 |
| Teaching Professionals | 1,266 | 42,660 |
Note: Data for is taken from employees on adult rates who held the same job for more than a year. The job counts are not precise and are only provided to offer scale.
Download the Average UK Salary datasheet for occupations and industries.
Average salary over last 25 years in the UK
When you look back over the last 25 years, you can see how steadily salaries have climbed in the UK, even if the journey hasn’t been perfectly smooth.
The early 2000s brought predictable year-on-year growth, but things slowed right down after the 2008 financial crisis, when earnings barely moved for several years before starting to pick up again.
From around 2015, pay began rising more consistently, and the biggest jumps show up in the most recent years.
That’s where you see the impact of post-Brexit labour shortages, rising demand for skilled workers and the inflation pressures that pushed wages higher across many sectors.
Altogether, the long-term trend moves upward, but each bend in the curve reflects what was happening in the wider economy at the time.
Looking at it, this way helps you understand why today’s salary expectations feel so different and why pay has accelerated so quickly in the past few years.
All employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey period was unaffected by absence.
Estimates for 2020 and 2021 include employees who have been furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
Annual earnings estimates relate to employees who have been in the same job for at least 12 months, regardless of whether their pay was affected by absence.
Comparisons between 2022 and 2023 data should be treated with caution due to methodological changes applied from 2023 onwards that improved how we validate data, particularly for high earners among each occupation.
How to use UK salary data
For small businesses, salary data affects everything from payroll planning to hiring decisions.
When you understand what people earn across the UK, you can make clearer choices about how much to pay, when to hire and what growth will realistically cost.
Here are a few ways to put the data to work.
Financial planning
You want to bring in great people and pay them fairly, but can your business afford it?
What is the average salary for the roles you need and how does that compare with what you’re offering today?
With salary data in hand, you can set pay levels that feel competitive without stretching your budget.
The more you understand typical earnings in your region and industry, the easier it becomes to plan payroll costs and forecast what your team will cost over the next year.
Benchmarking your salaries
Replacing employees can get expensive quickly. In many cases, it’s far more cost-effective to keep the right people and reward them for staying.
But you can’t do that confidently unless you know what the market is paying.
When you benchmark your salary data against national and regional medians, you can know you’re ahead of the curve, keeping pace or sitting below similar businesses.
With that in mind, you can adjust your employees’ pay where it matters most.
Budget allocation
Salaries tend to make up the biggest part of your budget, no matter how you prefer to plan it.
That’s why having a sense of what people typically earn in the roles you hire for makes such a difference when you’re setting numbers for the year.
Once you know the usual salary range for your core positions, it becomes much easier to budget for new hires, build in expected wage growth and avoid underestimating your payroll costs.
And if you’re using accounting software, you can track these adjustments across teams or projects without having to rebuild your budget every time something changes.
Spotting market trends
How is the economy shaping wages in your sector and are salaries in your area rising quickly or moving at a slower pace?
Keeping an eye on average pay helps you spot changes before they reach your doorstep.
You can see when certain roles are starting to cost more, when wage growth suddenly picks up or when shortages are pushing salaries higher.
That gives you time to adjust your plans instead of scrambling to catch up later.
It’s also useful for the bigger picture.
Looking at how salaries have shifted over the past decade and the direction they’re moving now helps you plan with more confidence and fewer surprises.
Planning for growth
If you’re planning to grow, salary data helps you understand what that expansion will cost.
Bringing on several new people, building out a new function or moving into a different type of work all come with their own pay expectations.
By checking typical salaries before you hire, you can get a clearer sense of whether your plans are financially realistic.
You’ll also see whether your business can keep up with rising expectations as it scales, or whether you may need to adjust pay to stay competitive over the next few years.
If you’re ready to build these insights into your payroll processes, Sage’s payroll software can help you manage salary changes, stay compliant and keep calculations running smoothly as regulations evolve.
You can explore the full set of features here.
FAQs
What is the average salary in the UK for 2026?
The current median annual salary is £32,890 according to the latest ONS data from October 2025.
Keep in mind that the median is just a starting point.
Some occupations move much faster than the national trend, such as tech-related roles, while others stay flat for years.
When you’re planning salaries for next year, comparing medians for both your industry and your region gives you a much clearer picture.
How much does the average person earn in London?
The median annual full-time salary in London is £39,778, which is 25% higher than the median salary across all regions.
That number reflects the work available in the capital, finance, professional services, law, tech and other roles that traditionally pay more than the national median.
Employers in London also offer higher salaries so they can compete in a tight labour market. Because of this, salaries climb higher and faster in London.
What is a top 10% salary in the UK?
The top 10% of earners make £69,381 per year or more.
You’ll often see these figures in executive roles, specialised technical fields, or specialist occupations with significant qualifications.
What’s striking about the top bracket is how quickly earnings escalate once you reach it.
While the median sits in the low £30,000s, the upper end rises sharply.
This widening gap shows how unevenly high-earning positions are distributed across the workforce.
If you’re assessing whether a salary is “top-tier,” it helps to compare it with both national percentiles and occupation-specific medians.
Many professions have their own internal hierarchy, and a top 10% salary nationally may be closer to average in some specialist industries such as medicine.
What is a good salary in the UK by age?
A “good” salary often depends on where you are in your career.
Workers in their early twenties typically benchmark around £13,000–£29,000, depending on whether they’re in full-time roles or moving into early-career paths.
By the late twenties, the median rises to £29,855, which becomes a common reference point for this age group.
In your thirties and forties, earnings rise more sharply.
Median pay reaches £36,000 for people aged 30–39 and £37,734 for those aged 40–49, which is often considered strong mid-career compensation.
These decades tend to include promotions, leadership responsibilities and industry specialisation.
After age 50, salaries tend to level off or decline slightly, dropping to £34,835, and then to £26,750 for employees aged 60+.
Career changes, part-time work, reduced hours and transitions toward retirement all contribute to this shift.
Looking at medians by occupation and not just age gives a clearer sense of what “good” looks like for your field.
What are the highest-paying jobs in the UK?
The highest-paid roles in the UK sit in a narrow group of professions, almost all tied to leadership, specialist expertise or safety-critical decision-making.
Top earners include aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers, IT directors, marketing and sales directors, CEOs, and specialist medical practitioners.
What stands out is how concentrated the top of the pay scale is.
These roles require either extensive training, deep technical skill, or responsibility that carries significant risk.
Running a company or directing a large technical function isn’t just about experience, it demands judgment, resilience and the ability to make decisions that influence entire organisations.
Pilots occupy one of the most regulated and high-stakes professions in the country. Their work involves years of training, recurrent testing, strict safety requirements and responsibility for hundreds of passengers at a time.
The salary reflects not just the flying itself, but the level of accountability built into the role.
When risk and expertise converge, pay typically rises with them.
While these top earnings may seem far removed from the national median, they help illustrate how wide the UK’s salary distribution is and how different the pathways can be for workers entering professional, technical or executive careers.
Sage accounting software includes solutions for budget management and payroll management, allowing you to simplify accounting workflows and automate processes, freeing up valuable time so you can focus on running your business.
Methodology
All data is taken from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), Annual Survey for Hours and Earnings (ASHE) from 23rd October 2025 data release.
ASHE covers employee jobs in the United Kingdom. It does not cover the self-employed, nor does it cover employees not paid during the reference period.
Hourly and weekly estimates are provided for the pay period that included a specified date in April. They relate to employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence.
Annual estimates are provided for the tax year that ended on 5th April in the reference year. They relate to employees on adult rates of pay who have been in the same job for more than a year.
ASHE is based on a 1% sample of jobs taken from HM Revenue and Customs’ Pay As You Earn (PAYE) records. Consequently, individuals with more than one job may appear in the sample more than once.
ASHE data are weighted to UK population totals from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) based on classes defined by region, occupation, age and sex.
PakarPBN
A Private Blog Network (PBN) is a collection of websites that are controlled by a single individual or organization and used primarily to build backlinks to a “money site” in order to influence its ranking in search engines such as Google. The core idea behind a PBN is based on the importance of backlinks in Google’s ranking algorithm. Since Google views backlinks as signals of authority and trust, some website owners attempt to artificially create these signals through a controlled network of sites.
In a typical PBN setup, the owner acquires expired or aged domains that already have existing authority, backlinks, and history. These domains are rebuilt with new content and hosted separately, often using different IP addresses, hosting providers, themes, and ownership details to make them appear unrelated. Within the content published on these sites, links are strategically placed that point to the main website the owner wants to rank higher. By doing this, the owner attempts to pass link equity (also known as “link juice”) from the PBN sites to the target website.
The purpose of a PBN is to give the impression that the target website is naturally earning links from multiple independent sources. If done effectively, this can temporarily improve keyword rankings, increase organic visibility, and drive more traffic from search results.
