UK Income Percentile Calculator: Check Your Salary Percentile in the UK (2026)

Use this UK income percentile calculator to see where your annual pay falls in the UK earnings distribution. If your pay is at the 70th percentile, for example, it’s higher than the pay in 70% of UK employee jobs and lower than in 30%. That says more about where your salary sits than comparing it only with the average salary.

Data: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2025, provisional figures for April 2025, published on 23 October 2025. All figures on this page are annual gross pay and come from ASHE Table 1.7a (all employee jobs and full-time jobs) and Table 6.7a (by age).

Enter your annual pre-tax pay below. The calculator shows your percentile among all UK employee jobs (full-time and part-time) and among full-time jobs only.

Need a country comparison? See the US income percentile calculator.

How This Calculator Works

This calculator uses the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), the UK’s most detailed source of earnings data. ASHE is based on employer responses for a 1% sample of employees, identified through HMRC PAYE records; the achieved sample in 2025 was 174,000.

Enter your gross annual pay before tax: your total pay before income tax and National Insurance are deducted. ONS publishes the pay level at the 10th, 20th, 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 75th, 80th and 90th percentiles. The calculator places your pay between the two nearest published points with a straight-line estimate. Below the 10th percentile it tells you that, and above the 90th it tells you you’re in the top 10%, because ONS doesn’t publish the 1st to 9th or 91st to 99th percentiles.

A few important notes:

• The data covers employee jobs. Self-employed income is not included in ASHE.
• Percentiles are for jobs, not people or households: someone with two jobs can appear in the sample twice.
• ASHE’s annual pay figures cover employees on adult rates who had been in the same job for more than a year, for the tax year that ended on 5 April 2025.
• Income is pre-tax (gross), so it’s the number on your employment contract — not your take-home pay. Use our income tax calculator to see your after-tax pay.

UK Income Percentile Table

These are the percentiles ONS publishes for annual gross pay in April 2025. “All jobs” includes full-time and part-time jobs; “Full-time jobs” covers jobs with more than 30 paid hours a week (25 or more for teachers).

Source: ONS, ASHE 2025 provisional, Table 1.7a (annual gross pay, UK).

The gaps between percentiles widen towards the top. Moving from the 50th to the 60th percentile of all jobs takes £5,110 more a year (£32,890 to £38,000), while moving from the 80th to the 90th takes £16,572 more (£52,809 to £69,381). This is what statisticians call a “right-skewed” distribution — a small number of very high earners stretch the top end of the scale far beyond the median.

What Does It Take to Be in the Top 10%?

To be in the top 10% of UK employee jobs, annual pay had to be above £69,381 in April 2025, a little over twice the all-jobs median of £32,890. Among full-time jobs, the 90th percentile was £76,903.

The regular ASHE tables stop at the 90th percentile, so this page doesn’t give thresholds for the top 5% or top 1%. Here’s how the top of the published range breaks down:

Crossing the £100,000 threshold has particular tax significance in the UK. Above £100,000, you begin losing your tax-free Personal Allowance at a rate of £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income over £100,000, until it’s gone at £125,140. This creates an effective marginal tax rate of 60% between £100,000 and £125,140 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — higher than the 45% additional rate that kicks in above £125,140. Scotland sets its own rates, so the effect there differs. Many high earners tackle this by increasing pension contributions (which reduce taxable income) or using salary sacrifice arrangements. Use the income tax calculator to see the take-home pay at any salary.

Average vs. Median Salary in the UK

One of the most common sources of confusion when comparing salaries is the difference between the average (mean) and the median:

Source: ONS, ASHE 2025 provisional, Table 1.7a.

The mean is higher because a small number of very high earners pull the average upward. The median — the midpoint where half of jobs pay more and half pay less — gives a better picture of what a “typical” job pays.

This is why this calculator uses percentiles rather than just comparing to the average. If you earn £35,000, comparing yourself with the all-jobs mean of £40,269 might make you feel underpaid, but you’re above the all-jobs median of £32,890 (about the 54th percentile). Against full-time jobs only, the same £35,000 sits at about the 41st percentile, below the full-time median of £39,039. Which comparison fits depends on whether you’re measuring against all jobs or just full-time ones.

The gap between the all-jobs median (£32,890) and the full-time median (£39,039) reflects the number of part-time jobs in the UK: 28.0% of employee jobs in April 2025. Part-time jobs pay less in total annual pay (the median part-time job paid £14,713 a year), though not necessarily less per hour, which pulls the all-jobs median down.

Average Salary by Age in the UK

Since it’s difficult to compare the salary of someone just starting their career to someone at their peak earning years, looking at earnings by age group provides a more meaningful benchmark. Your percentile within your age group may be quite different from your overall percentile. Each comparison below is against the median on the same basis: all-jobs age medians against the all-jobs median (£32,890), full-time age medians against the full-time median (£39,039).

Source: ONS, ASHE 2025 provisional, Table 6.7a (annual gross pay, April 2025). Ages 16–17 are left out because few of them are in full-time jobs and several estimates for that age group are unreliable.

Earnings in the UK follow a clear arc: they rise steeply from 18 to 30, peak between 40 and 49, and then decline from 50 onward. The full-time median for ages 40–49 (£44,244) is about 88% higher than for ages 18–21 (£23,596).

This means a 25-year-old earning £35,000 is above the full-time median for their age group (£32,347) — roughly the 59th percentile of full-time jobs held by 22- to 29-year-olds. Conversely, a 45-year-old earning £35,000 is below both the all-jobs median (£37,734) and the full-time median (£44,244) for ages 40–49, despite being above the overall all-jobs median of £32,890.

The fall after 50 is much steeper in the all-jobs figures than in the full-time figures, which points to more part-time work at older ages: in ONS’s indicative job counts, part-time jobs make up roughly 45% of jobs held by people aged 60 and over, compared with about 24% at ages 40–49. Some people also move to different roles or start drawing pension income as they approach retirement. Understanding the average pension pot by age can help frame these decisions.

How UK Salaries Compare by Percentile Band

Here’s what each band of the all-jobs distribution looks like (April 2025 figures):

Bottom Quartile (Below the 25th Percentile): Up to £22,060

Many jobs in this range are part-time: the median part-time job paid £14,713 a year in April 2025. The National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for those 21 and over from April 2026. At these income levels, you pay little income tax (the standard Personal Allowance covers the first £12,570), but budgeting is critical — see our UK budgeting guide and how to save money.

Workers in this band may also be eligible for Universal Credit and other government benefits to supplement their income.

Middle Earners (25th–75th Percentile): £22,060–£48,283

This band covers the broad middle of UK employee jobs — from £22,060 to £48,283 a year, with the median at £32,890. It spans a huge range of occupations; see our nurse and teacher salary pages for how specific roles compare.

At £30,000, you’re at about the 43rd percentile of all jobs — just below the median. At £40,000, you’re at about the 63rd percentile and firmly in the upper half. The cost of living varies enormously by region, though — £35,000 goes much further in Sheffield or Leeds than it does in London.

Upper Earners (75th–90th Percentile): £48,283–£69,381

Pay between £48,283 and £69,381 puts a job in the top quarter of UK employee jobs. At £50,000, you’re at about the 77th percentile — earning more than in roughly three out of four jobs. For role-by-role figures, see our software engineer and accountant salary pages.

Earners in this band pay the higher rate of income tax (40%) on income above £50,270 (outside Scotland, which has its own bands). This is where tax planning starts to become more relevant — pension contributions, ISAs, and Stocks and Shares ISAs can all help reduce your tax burden and build long-term wealth. See our guide to getting started with investing.

Top 10% (Above the 90th Percentile): Over £69,381

The top 10% of UK employee jobs starts at £69,381 (£76,903 among full-time jobs). At £80,000, you’re in the top 10% on both measures. ASHE doesn’t break pay down further above this point. For specific professions, see our doctor and lawyer salary pages.

Earners above £100,000 face the Personal Allowance taper (losing £1 of allowance for every £2 over £100,000), creating an effective 60% marginal rate between £100,000 and £125,140 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Above £125,140, the additional rate of income tax (45%) applies outside Scotland. At these levels, maximising pension contributions (tax relief is available on contributions up to 100% of your earnings, within the £60,000 annual allowance) becomes one of the most tax-efficient strategies available. See our pension guide and SIPP guide for tax-efficient retirement saving options. At higher incomes, capital gains tax and dividend tax can matter too.

Regional Income Differences

UK income varies by region, which means your income percentile tells a different story depending on where you live. London salaries are considerably higher than the rest of the UK, but so is the cost of living.

The ONS publishes median pay for each region and country of the UK in its ASHE regional tables. Because pay and living costs differ by region, the same salary can sit at a very different place in your local pay distribution. For a deeper look at regional costs, see our cost of living by city comparisons and our guide to average rent in London.

This is also why the rent-to-income ratio can look very different depending on where in the UK you live.

How to Move Up the Income Distribution

If you’re looking to increase your income percentile, the strategies differ depending on where you currently sit:

Early Career (Below 50th Percentile)

• Invest in qualifications — a degree or a professional certification (accounting, project management, tech) can open up higher-paid roles
• Switch industries — pay levels differ between industries, so the same skills can be worth more in another sector
• Negotiate your starting salary — a higher starting point can carry through to later pay rises
• Student loan management — understand your plan type and repayment thresholds so you can plan take-home pay effectively

Mid-Career (50th–75th Percentile)

• Specialise — specialist skills in high-demand areas (data, cybersecurity, healthcare) can command higher pay
• Change employers — changing employers can sometimes bring a bigger pay rise than staying put, though it is not guaranteed
• Consider London or remote London-rate roles — pay in London is higher, though so are living costs
• Start building passive income — investing through ISAs and pension contributions builds long-term wealth alongside employment income

High Earners (75th+ Percentile)

• Maximise tax efficiency — pension contributions, salary sacrifice, and ISAs become more valuable above the higher rate threshold
• Develop multiple income streams — dividend income, rental income, or side business income alongside employment
• Focus on net worth growth rather than just income — at higher income levels, how much you keep and invest matters more than earning more
• Use the net worth percentile calculator to see how your total wealth compares

Income vs. Net Worth

Your income percentile is only half the picture. A high income doesn’t automatically mean high wealth — someone earning £80,000 with £50,000 in debt has a lower net worth than someone earning £30,000 with £100,000 in savings.

Over time, what matters most is the gap between what you earn and what you spend. A consistent saving and investing habit — even starting with £100–£200 per month into a Stocks and Shares ISA — can build substantial wealth over a career. See our average net worth by age breakdown to understand how wealth accumulates at different life stages.

Use our UK net worth percentile calculator to see where your total wealth (assets minus debts) ranks compared to other UK adults.

Methodology and Data Sources

The percentile thresholds used in this calculator come from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) — the UK government’s primary source of detailed earnings data. ASHE is based on employer responses for a 1% sample of employees, identified through HMRC PAYE records; the achieved sample in 2025 was 174,000.

Key details about this data:

• Release: ASHE 2025, published 23 October 2025. The 2025 figures are provisional; ONS revises each year’s figures when it publishes the next year’s.
• Tables: Table 1.7a (annual gross pay, all employee jobs and full-time jobs, UK) and Table 6.7a (the same by age group).
• Coverage: Employee jobs on adult rates of pay, where the employee had been in the same job for more than a year. Self-employed workers are not included, and someone with more than one job can appear more than once.
• Income measure: Gross annual pay before tax and National Insurance, for the tax year that ended on 5 April 2025 (ONS labels these April 2025 figures).
• Percentiles: ONS publishes the 10th, 20th, 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 75th, 80th and 90th percentiles. Values between them are estimated by straight-line interpolation; nothing below the 10th or above the 90th is estimated.
• All jobs vs. full-time: “All jobs” includes part-time jobs, which is why its median (£32,890) is lower than the full-time median (£39,039). Full-time means more than 30 paid hours a week (25 or more for teachers).
• Updates: ONS publishes ASHE each autumn. The calculator and tables need refreshing when the next release comes out.

Since ASHE only covers employees, high-earning self-employed individuals (business owners, freelance consultants, barristers, etc.) are not represented. For information on self-employed taxation, see our self-employed tax guide.

Related: Average UK Salary | Income Tax Brackets | Income Tax Calculator | Net Worth Percentile Calculator | Average Net Worth by Age | Cost of Living UK

Sources

• Office for National Statistics. “Employee earnings in the UK: 2025.” ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2025
• Office for National Statistics. “All employees: ASHE Table 1,” 2025 provisional edition (Table 1.7a, annual pay). ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/allemployeesashetable1
• Office for National Statistics. “Age group: ASHE Table 6,” 2025 provisional edition (Table 6.7a, annual pay). ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/agegroupashetable6
• GOV.UK. “Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances.” gov.uk/income-tax-rates
• GOV.UK. “National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates.” gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
• GOV.UK. “Tax on your private pension contributions.” gov.uk/tax-on-your-private-pension/pension-tax-relief

Compare Income Percentiles by Country

Wealthvieu also has income percentile calculators for these countries:

• United States Income Percentile Calculator
• Canada Income Percentile Calculator

Written by WealthVieu

WealthVieu researches and writes data-driven personal finance guides using primary sources including the IRS, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve, and Census Bureau.