UK Salary Insights
What does official UK pay data really tell us? We dig into the numbers from the latest ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings to uncover patterns, inequality and surprises hidden in the raw statistics.
The Mean-Median Gap: Where the Money Really Goes
Across all 527 occupations, the mean salary is £36,361 whilst the median is £34,126 — a gap of 6.6%. When the mean exceeds the median, it signals that higher earners are pulling the average up. This is a classic indicator of pay inequality within occupations.
Occupations With the Biggest Mean-Median Gap
These roles have the largest difference between mean and median pay, suggesting that top earners vastly out-earn their typical colleagues.
| Job Title | Median | Mean | Gap | Gap % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports and Fitness Occupations | £12,841 | £32,315 | +£19,474 | +151.7% |
| Company secretaries and administrators | £12,570 | £21,738 | +£9,168 | +72.9% |
| Legal professionals n.e.c. | £33,056 | £53,552 | +£20,496 | +62% |
| Elementary Security Occupations | £11,699 | £18,566 | +£6,867 | +58.7% |
| Playworkers | £5,317 | £8,234 | +£2,917 | +54.9% |
| Sports coaches, instructors and officials | £11,198 | £16,912 | +£5,714 | +51% |
| Leisure and theme park attendants | £7,149 | £10,613 | +£3,464 | +48.5% |
| Exam invigilators | £2,635 | £3,872 | +£1,237 | +46.9% |
| Insurance underwriters | £38,958 | £56,568 | +£17,610 | +45.2% |
| Brokers | £49,999 | £71,325 | +£21,326 | +42.7% |
| Chief executives and senior officials | £86,958 | £114,144 | +£27,186 | +31.3% |
| Chief Executives and Senior Officials | £83,577 | £109,171 | +£25,594 | +30.6% |
| Legal Professionals | £47,546 | £61,797 | +£14,251 | +30% |
| Fitness and wellbeing instructors | £11,834 | £15,284 | +£3,450 | +29.2% |
| School midday and crossing patrol occupations | £4,858 | £6,256 | +£1,398 | +28.8% |
Salary Distribution: Where Most Jobs Fall
The vast majority of UK occupations cluster in the £20,000–£50,000 range. Only a handful break through six figures.
Explore the full distribution →
Industry Pay Comparison
Average median salary by industry sector, with the full salary range from lowest to highest paid role in each sector.
| Industry | Average Median | Lowest | Highest | Spread | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 💻 Technology & IT | £46,388 | £28,428 | £90,673 | £62,245 | 21 |
| 🚛 Transport & Logistics | £45,815 | £25,010 | £114,149 | £89,139 | 24 |
| 🏠 Property & Housing | £44,050 | £36,547 | £51,820 | £15,273 | 5 |
| 🔬 Science & Research | £42,871 | £27,248 | £56,814 | £29,566 | 13 |
| ⚙️ Engineering | £42,646 | £32,409 | £58,118 | £25,709 | 33 |
| 💰 Finance & Accounting | £42,475 | £26,774 | £67,505 | £40,731 | 12 |
| 🎨 Arts, Media & Creative | £41,449 | £26,048 | £89,076 | £63,028 | 20 |
| ⚖️ Legal | £41,110 | £32,513 | £55,003 | £22,490 | 7 |
| 🏥 Healthcare & Medicine | £38,942 | £13,029 | £84,072 | £71,043 | 47 |
| 🔨 Construction & Trades | £37,261 | £28,892 | £55,003 | £26,111 | 26 |
| 🏛️ Public Services & Admin | £34,823 | £12,205 | £67,067 | £54,862 | 33 |
| 📊 Management & Business | £34,238 | £9,904 | £101,255 | £91,351 | 214 |
| 🎓 Education & Training | £32,408 | £2,635 | £73,276 | £70,641 | 25 |
| 🛒 Retail & Sales | £26,507 | £13,942 | £36,208 | £22,266 | 26 |
| 🍽️ Hospitality & Food Service | £23,944 | £7,149 | £36,839 | £29,690 | 21 |
Key Findings
10th percentile threshold: The lowest-paying 10% of occupations earn less than £23,632 per year (median). Many of these are commonly part-time roles.
Top 10% threshold: To be in the top 10% of occupations by median pay, you need to earn more than £52,196 per year.
The middle 50%: Half of all occupations have median salaries between £28,198 and £42,887 — a relatively narrow band of £14,689.
Standard deviation: £13,511 — this measures how widely salaries are spread. A large standard deviation (relative to the mean) confirms significant pay inequality across occupations.