Nurse salary in the UK
ONS data for April 2025 · Page updated
Most UK nurses work for the NHS, where pay is set by national Agenda for Change bands, so the ONS distribution for nurses is much narrower than for most professions. That doesn't mean there's nothing to negotiate.
- Median full-time pay
- £42,300
- 25th percentile
- £36,192
- 75th percentile
- £49,866
- Change on a year earlier
- +4%
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 | Nurse | All UK jobs |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £29,688 | £23,990 |
| 25th percentile | £36,192 | £29,262 |
| Median | £42,300 | £39,039 |
| 75th percentile | £49,866 | £54,009 |
| 90th percentile | £57,736 | £76,903 |
| Mean | £43,205 | £48,512 |
ONS classifies this role as “Other nursing professionals” (SOC 2020 code 2237). 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 nurses can negotiate
Band and starting point. In the NHS, pay within a band rises with time in it. Ask for your previous NHS and relevant non-NHS experience to be recognised when your starting pay point is set, and make sure the role's band matches its responsibilities.
Location supplements. NHS staff in and around London receive a High Cost Area Supplement on top of basic pay. Check which zone a trust falls into when comparing jobs.
Private and agency roles are more flexible. Private hospitals, clinics and agencies set their own pay. Base salary, unsocial hours rates, overtime and training funding can all be negotiated there.
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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.