The UK’s highest and lowest paid jobs revealed and where people are paid the most

You may have wondered if you are paid more than your colleagues, friends or neighbours – but are too polite to ask.

It’s hard to know if you out-earn those around you – or are getting by on less – when Britons are notoriously tight-lipped about their wages.

This is Money has developed a new interactive salary calculator that shows exactly how rich you are compared to others, using official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). 

You can use the graphic here to see how your salary stands up against others with the same profession or in the same part of the country as you.

Most people underestimate their earnings, so you will be asked to guess where you think you rank on a sliding scale. For example, you may think you’re in the top

30 per cent of earners. Enter your salary and you will see where you stand – and will get a detailed breakdown of how your earnings compare to others of your age, your neighbours and professional peers.

Who is paid the most?

The average salary for full-time workers is £39,039 a year, which is around £31,628 after tax and national insurance.

But for chief executives and other senior officials – the highest-earning profession on the list – the median pay is £99,944 a year. 

This puts them roughly in the top 5 per cent of earners. Marketing, sales and advertising directors follow closely (£94,135) and so do specialist medical practitioners (£92,847).

Headteachers earn £72,192 a year and senior police officers are paid £66,690.

The ONS uses the median salary – lining up all of the earners in that job from lowest to highest and takes the middle figure. 

This gives a better picture of the typical worker’s earnings and is less likely to be skewed by a few very high or very low earners.

The figures are to April 2025 and only include those who have been in the same job for at least a year. 

And the lowest earners?

Teaching assistants and educational support assistants earn the least – just £21,239 and £21,448 a year, respectively.

Leisure and theme park attendants are paid just £22,294 a year, while kitchen assistants receive £22,886. Waiters get £22,936 and bar staff £23,182.

Women are lower earners than men in nearly every age group. The largest gender gap is for those aged 50 to 59, where men earn £45,608 and women £37,024.

Which areas make most?

The best-paid areas are concentrated in the South-East and East of England, with St Albans in Hertfordshire topping the list.

A median full-time salary here is £57,400 a year, around £18,400 (47 per cent) higher than the equivalent UK full-time salary.

Richmond, the exclusive London neighbourhood, is the second highest earning borough with a £57,233 median salary.

Warwick (£48,500) is the only area outside of the South-East where typical earnings are more than £48,000. 

The lowest earners are in Wales, the East Midlands and parts of the South-West. Boston, in Lincolnshire, has the lowest salary, at £29,805 a year.