The overall UK median full-time salary is £39,039 a year — the latest ONS figure, for April 2025. Earnings peak in the 40–49 age band at £44,244, rise steeply through your 20s and 30s, then plateau and gradually fall as workers transition toward part-time or retirement.
Your 30s are the most critical decade for salary growth — the jump from the 22–29 band to 30–39 is the single largest age-related step-change in median earnings.
The table below uses the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, age group (ASHE Table 6), covering full-time employees only. ASHE is published annually: the most recent release, covering the April 2025 pay period, was published on 23 October 2025 and remains the latest available. Part-time workers and the self-employed are excluded, as their inclusion would significantly lower the averages for older age bands where part-time working is more common.
Age bands are ONS’s own (18–21, 22–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59 and 60+); the monthly take-home column is a UKCalc calculation from the ONS gross figure, not an ONS statistic.
| Age band | Median salary (full-time) | vs overall median | Monthly take-home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18–21 | £23,596 | −40% | £1,709 |
| 22–29 | £32,347 | −17% | £2,234 |
| 30–39 | £40,668 | +4% | £2,733 |
| 40–49 ★ peak | £44,244 | +13% | £2,948 |
| 50–59 | £41,866 | +7% | £2,805 |
| 60+ | £36,467 | −7% | £2,481 |
Take-home figures are calculated using 2026/27 tax rates: personal allowance £12,570, income tax at 20%, employee NI at 8% (up to £50,270). Assumes no pension contributions, salary sacrifice or student loan deductions.
These are full-time median figures. The median across all employment types (including part-time) is lower in every band — typically by 10–20%. If you work part-time, your hourly rate matters more than your annual salary as a comparison point.
Self-employed incomes are also excluded. Self-employment median income is approximately £20,000–£24,000 nationally, but with much wider variance than employment.
Gross salary figures can be misleading. Here is what each age band’s median earner actually receives after tax and NI in 2026/27:
Two different things are shown side by side. The median gross column is an ONS observed statistic (ASHE Table 6.7a, April 2025 provisional). The income tax, National Insurance and monthly net columns are UKCalc calculations, derived from that gross figure using the 2026/27 statutory rates and thresholds in our verified rates reference. ONS does not publish take-home pay.
| Age band | Median gross | Income tax (yr) | NI (yr) | Monthly net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18–21 | £23,596 | £2,205 | £882 | £1,709 |
| 22–29 | £32,347 | £3,955 | £1,582 | £2,234 |
| 30–39 | £40,668 | £5,620 | £2,248 | £2,733 |
| 40–49 ★ | £44,244 | £6,335 | £2,534 | £2,948 |
| 50–59 | £41,866 | £5,859 | £2,344 | £2,805 |
| 60+ | £36,467 | £4,779 | £1,912 | £2,481 |
The jump from the 22–29 band to 30–39 adds approximately £630/month to your take-home — the largest single-decade gain in the table. The 30–39 to 40–49 gain is smaller (£210/month) but still meaningful. Beyond 50, median earnings slip slightly as higher earners retire early or switch to part-time.
These are median figures — your actual take-home depends on pension contributions, student loan deductions, your tax code, and any benefits in kind.
Calculate My Take-Home Pay →UK salary growth is not linear. Understanding the typical shape helps you benchmark where you are and what to target:
Starting salaries in most sectors sit between £22,000 and £28,000. Graduate schemes in finance, law, consulting and tech start higher — often £30,000–£40,000 — while public sector, creative and hospitality roles frequently start at or just above minimum wage. Rapid gains are possible in the first 2–3 years as you build measurable skills.
This is the period of fastest salary growth for most UK workers. Moving from junior to mid-level to senior roles typically drives 30–60% pay increases over a decade. Job moves — rather than annual increments — are the primary mechanism: switchers typically see 15–25% salary increases on each move versus 2–5% for staying put.
A 28-year-old earning £32,000 who changes jobs every 2–3 years and negotiates 18% uplifts could reach £55,000+ by 35.
The same person who stays and accepts 3% annual pay rises would earn approximately £41,000 by 35 — the same as the 30–39 median, but with significant foregone earnings over the period.
The compounding effect of early salary gains is substantial: a £5,000 uplift at 28 translates to roughly £100,000+ more in lifetime earnings if maintained.
Salaries tend to plateau or grow more slowly after 35 for most workers — the big structural jumps are behind them. Growth in this period comes mainly from promotions to management or senior individual contributor roles, rather than job moves. Sector matters enormously: financial services, law, medicine and technology see continued steep curves; public sector, retail and hospitality flatten earlier.
The median falls after 49 not primarily because individual salaries drop, but because high earners retire early, switch to part-time, or take lower-pressure roles. If you are tracking your personal salary versus the median, remember the 50+ comparison is skewed by composition — your individual trajectory may continue to grow.
The gender pay gap is very small in the twenties and then widens steadily with age — it does not peak in mid-career and fall back. These are ONS figures for median hourly pay excluding overtime among full-time employees, the basis ONS uses for its headline gap (ASHE Table 6.6a, April 2025 provisional):
The widening through the 30s and 40s is closely tied to parenthood: career interruptions, subsequent part-time working and the concentration of caring responsibilities slow progression and pay growth in that window. The gap then keeps widening rather than closing — it is highest in the 60-and-over band. It is not solely a within-job pay difference: much of it comes from occupational sorting and hours differences.
The ONS reports this as a full-time median gap; when part-time workers are included, the overall gap is larger still. If you are a woman in your 30s or 40s, the national median may understate your peer group's typical earnings — filter by sector and seniority level for a more useful benchmark.
Compares your salary with ONS ASHE full-time medians for your age band and estimates your 2026/27 take-home pay. Estimates only — standard tax code, no pension or student loan.
Raw age-band medians are a blunt tool. Several factors shift what a “good” salary looks like at your age. The directions below are well established, but they are contextual guidance rather than measured statistics — unlike the ONS medians above, they are not drawn from a single citable dataset, so no percentage is attached to them:
| Factor | Direction of effect (contextual, not a measured figure) |
|---|---|
| London vs rest of UK | Median pay is higher in London than the UK as a whole at every age, and higher living costs offset part of the difference. |
| Finance / tech sector | Finance and technology are consistently among the higher-paying sectors for comparable experience. |
| Public sector | Headline pay is often lower than the private sector for comparable roles, typically alongside a more valuable pension. |
| Degree-level education | Graduates earn more than non-graduates on average by their thirties, though the gap varies sharply by subject and occupation. |
| Management responsibility | Roles carrying line-management responsibility usually pay more than equivalent individual-contributor roles. |
The most actionable comparison is not "how do I compare to the national median?" but "how do I compare to peers in the same sector, location and level?" Sites like Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary and industry-specific surveys give more precise benchmarks than ONS data alone.
You are likely underpaid relative to market if: you have been in the same role for 3+ years with only small incremental raises, your offer letters from outside applications are consistently 15%+ higher than your current salary, or your employer replaced a departing colleague at a materially higher salary than you are on.
These are signals worth acting on — the expected value of negotiating is almost always positive, and the downside risk is low.
Sources. The statutory and regulatory figures on this page are checked against ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Last checked 7 September 2026; figures apply to the 2026/27 tax year unless a different period is stated.