Average UK Salary by Age 2026: £32k at 25, £44k at 45

Updated 19 August 2026 with the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025, the latest official figures. ASHE 2026 is due in late October; we will update again on publication day.

“Am I being paid enough for my age?” is one of the most searched salary questions in the UK and one of the hardest to answer honestly, because nobody tells you what they earn. The Office for National Statistics does, in aggregate: every April its Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) records the pay of a 1% sample of employees from PAYE records and publishes it by age band. Here is what British workers actually earned at every age in the most recent survey, with the quartiles that tell you whether you are ahead or behind.

UK median salary by age, full-time employees (April 2025)

Age group	Median	Change on 2024	Mean	10th pct	Lower quartile	Upper quartile	90th pct
18–21	£23,596	+7.3%	£24,394	£14,617	£19,105	£27,571	£32,939
22–29	£32,347	+3.8%	£35,760	£22,758	£26,429	£40,850	£52,197
30–39	£40,668	+4.4%	£48,421	£25,041	£30,717	£54,620	£75,041
40–49	£44,244	+4.9%	£54,591	£25,338	£31,858	£60,919	£88,658
50–59	£41,866	+5.2%	£53,349	£24,757	£30,283	£58,409	£85,226
60+	£36,467	+4.1%	£46,794	£23,318	£27,944	£50,572	£74,677
All ages	£39,039	+4.3%	£48,512	£23,990	£29,262	£54,009	£76,903

Gross annual pay, full-time employees on adult rates who have been in the same job for over a year. Source: ONS ASHE 2025, Table 6.7a.

If you work part-time, or want the figure for all employees regardless of hours, the medians are lower: £13,069 at 18–21, £29,855 at 22–29, £36,000 at 30–39, £37,734 at 40–49, £34,835 at 50–59 and £26,750 at 60+, with an all-ages median of £32,890. The part-time-only median was £14,713.

Hourly, full-time pay runs £12.91 at 18–21, £16.63 at 22–29, £20.77 at 30–39, £22.52 at 40–49, £21.27 at 50–59 and £18.29 at 60+, against an all-ages £19.67.

Three things stand out before we go decade by decade. The biggest single jump is between the early and late twenties. Pay peaks in the forties, not the fifties. And the spread within an age group is much wider than the gap between age groups: a 40–49-year-old at the upper quartile (£60,919) earns nearly twice one at the lower quartile (£31,858).

18 to 21: the minimum-wage floor is rising fastest

The median full-time 18–21-year-old earned £23,596, up 7.3% in a year — the biggest rise of any age group. That is the National Living Wage at work: it rose 6.7% to £12.21 an hour in April 2025, and a full-time week at that rate is roughly £23,800, which is almost exactly the median. The 10th percentile (£14,617) reflects apprentices and those under 21 on the lower age rates. The NLW rose again to £12.71 in April 2026, so expect this group’s median to move up again when ASHE 2026 is published.

22 to 29: the steepest climb

Looking for one age in particular? Average salary for a 25-year-old breaks this band down with percentiles, take-home pay and graduate vs non-graduate figures.

Median full-time pay for 22–29-year-olds was £32,347, and this is the decade in which it grows fastest — from roughly the 18–21 figure at graduation to above £40,000 by the early thirties. The quartiles show how different two people of the same age can already be: the lower quartile is £26,429, the upper quartile £40,850, and the top tenth earn over £52,000 before 30.

What the data tells you: if you are in your late twenties earning under £26,400, you are in the bottom quarter for your age. That is not a verdict — it depends on occupation and region — but it is a prompt to check your market rate. The graduate outcomes data shows the same pattern by degree subject: the median graduate earns £24,800 a year after graduating and £31,400 after five, but the spread between the lower and upper quartiles is already more than £14,000 by year three.

The occupations with the steepest early growth are, as ever, in finance, technology and engineering; the slowest are in creative, education and charity work. If you want the single most useful habit in this decade, it is learning to negotiate your salary early, because every later raise compounds off the number you accept now.

30 to 39: the divergence decade

The median jumps to £40,668 and, for the first time, the mean (£48,421) pulls well away from it: high earners are separating from the pack. The upper quartile is £54,620 and the 90th percentile £75,041, while the lower quartile, £30,717, is barely above the late-twenties median.

This is the decade in which career paths fork. Some move into management or a specialism that commands a premium; some change careers entirely; some stay in the same role for too long without renegotiating and plateau. The thirties are also where the gender gap begins to open (see below).

What the data tells you: at 35 on £40,668 you are exactly median for your age — but “average” hides enormous variation by occupation. A 35-year-old software developer on £40,668 is well below the median for the job (£56,914); a 35-year-old teaching assistant on the same salary is far above it. Compare against your occupation, not just your age, with Where Do I Stand?

40 to 49: peak earnings

The forties are the peak. Median full-time pay reaches £44,244, the mean £54,591, and the 90th percentile £88,658 — the highest of any age group on every measure. Seniority, experience and accumulated expertise are paid most here; directors, partners, senior consultants and principal engineers cluster in this decade.

But the ceiling is low. The median rises only £3,576 between the thirties and the forties, against £8,321 between the twenties and the thirties. For most people, growth slows sharply after 40 unless they move into senior leadership, develop a rare specialism or start a business. If you are in your forties earning over £60,919, you are in the top quarter for your age; over £88,658, the top tenth. Which careers peak earliest looks at where the plateau arrives.

50 to 59: the quiet decline begins

Median pay in the fifties (£41,866) is £2,378 below the forties, even though this group had the fastest growth of any over-21 band last year (+5.2%). The fall is real and consistent year after year. It is driven by restructuring and redundancy, which hit older workers’ re-entry salaries; by voluntary downshifting; and by people in declining industries finding their experience commands less. The upper end holds up better than the middle: the 90th percentile (£85,226) is only 4% below the forties.

What the data tells you: financial planning in your forties should assume your fifties may not hold peak earnings. The years around 45 are when pension contributions do the most work.

60 and over: winding down

The full-time median drops to £36,467 and the all-employee median to £26,750, because a large share of this group works part-time while drawing a pension or has stepped back from senior roles. Those still working full-time past 60 split two ways: professionals and directors at the top (the 90th percentile is still £74,677) and people on lower pay who need to keep working.

Men vs women: the gap compounds with age

Age group	Men, full-time median	Women, full-time median	Gap (annual)	ONS hourly gap
18–21	£24,107	£22,464	6.8%	—
22–29	£33,400	£31,261	6.4%	0.9%
30–39	£42,899	£37,745	12.0%	3.9%
40–49	£47,313	£39,737	16.0%	9.1%
50–59	£45,608	£37,024	18.8%	12.5%
60+	£39,348	£31,583	19.7%	12.6%
All ages	£41,832	£35,670	14.7%	6.9%

Annual gap from ASHE Table 6.7a; hourly gap (the ONS headline measure, which strips out differences in hours worked) from “Gender pay gap in the UK: 2025”.

On an hourly basis the gap is close to zero in the twenties (0.9%) and then widens every decade to 12.5% in the fifties. On an annual basis it is wider at every age because men work more paid hours. The ONS notes the gap “is largest for employees aged 40 years and over”, which is the signature of career breaks and part-time years in the thirties feeding through into progression later on. The overall full-time hourly gap fell to 6.9% in 2025 from 7.1%, and has narrowed by more than a quarter over ten years. The gender pay gap by career breaks it down by occupation.

How your region shifts every figure above

These are national numbers. The same age band is paid very differently across the country. Median full-time pay by place of work in April 2025:

Region	Median full-time pay	vs UK
London	£49,692	+27%
South East	£39,983	+2%
Scotland	£39,719	+2%
East of England	£38,597	−1%
North West	£37,361	−4%
South West	£37,195	−5%
West Midlands	£37,064	−5%
Northern Ireland	£37,052	−5%
Wales	£35,796	−8%
Yorkshire and the Humber	£35,682	−9%
East Midlands	£35,600	−9%
North East	£34,403	−12%

As a rough rule, a 30–39-year-old in the North East is at the national median for their age on about £36,000, and in London on about £52,000. If you live outside London and the South East, the “average salary” figures in the press will feel inflated, because they are. Regional pay gap and cost of living vs salary by region put the figures against what they buy.

What to do with this at each age

In your 20s: optimise for growth, not the starting number. This is the only decade in which the median moves by more than £8,000. Take roles that build skills, change employer when you stop learning, and negotiate from the first offer.

In your 30s: decisions compound. If you are below the median for your age and your occupation, a move is the fastest correction; if you are at the median for your age but below it for your occupation, you are underpaid. Check both with Where Do I Stand? and project the difference with the Salary Forecast tool.

In your 40s: you are at or near peak. Over £60,919 is the top quarter for your age. Bank it: pension contributions at higher rate are at their most efficient now, and the data says your fifties may pay less.

In your 50s and 60s: plan for the statistical decline rather than being surprised by it, and if redundancy comes, know that re-entry salaries usually come at a discount. The Lifetime Earnings calculator shows what the full arc is worth for your occupation.

And at every age: compare against people doing your job in your region, not the country. The national median is a benchmark; your real comparison set is on your occupation’s page.

Sources: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional, published 23 October 2025): Table 6.7a (annual pay by age group, all/full-time/part-time and by sex), Table 6.6a (hourly pay excluding overtime by age), Table 7.7a (region, place of work); “Gender pay gap in the UK: 2025” (hourly gap by age). Figures are gross pay for employees on adult rates who have been in the same job for more than a year. National Living Wage rates: GOV.UK. Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.