Civil engineer salary in the UK
ONS data for April 2025 · Page updated
Civil engineers earn well above the UK median. Pay rises with chartership and with responsibility for projects or teams, and contractors, consultancies and the public sector pay differently for similar roles.
- Median full-time pay
- £51,366
- 25th percentile
- £39,802
- 75th percentile
- £65,000
- Change on a year earlier
- +2.3%
How pay is spread
Line: 10th to 90th percentile. Bar: the middle half of earners (25th to 75th). Mark and label: median. Where ONS doesn't publish the 90th percentile, the line stops at the highest published point.
| Full-time annual pay | Civil engineer | All UK jobs |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £32,149 | £23,990 |
| 25th percentile | £39,802 | £29,262 |
| Median | £51,366 | £39,039 |
| 75th percentile | £65,000 | £54,009 |
| 90th percentile | – | £76,903 |
| Mean | £54,163 | £48,512 |
– ONS doesn't publish this figure because the sample is too small to be reliable.
ONS classifies this role as “Civil engineers” (SOC 2020 code 2121). Figures cover full-time employees across the whole UK, at every level of seniority, so a senior role in London or at a large employer will usually sit above the median. Pay by region for individual occupations isn't published reliably at city level.
What civil engineers can negotiate
Chartership. Becoming chartered with the ICE or IStructE usually triggers a step up in pay. Ask whether the employer funds membership and training, and whether chartership comes with an automatic grade change.
Site roles. Site allowances, travel, accommodation and car allowances can add a lot to total pay for site-based roles. Negotiate them alongside salary.
Consultancy vs contractor. Contractors often pay more base salary; consultancies may offer better progression and hours. Compare on total compensation and expected hours.
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Other roles
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional), Table 14.7a (occupation, SOC 2020). Gross annual pay for full-time employee jobs, April 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See how we use this data.