Adult Nurse Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 702,000 jobs.
Median salary
£39,484
gross, per year, all employees
Part-time work is common in this occupation, so the figure above sits 13% below the £44,601 median for people working full-time.
▲ 7.5% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£44,601
Part-time only
£24,679
Mean
£38,395
Jobs measured
702,000
What a typical adult nurse takes home
On the full-time median of £44,601, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£2,969
Take-home a year
£35,632
Income Tax
£6,406
National Insurance
£2,562
What most adult nurses actually earn
Half of adult nurses earn between £28,725 and £48,531. Earning above £48,531 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of adult nurses earn less than this.
Adult Nurse salary by region
11 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £46,239 | £45,594 |
| South East | £40,820 | £39,819 |
| North East | £39,886 | £39,721 |
| South West | £38,857 | £36,800 |
| East | £38,752 | £37,565 |
| East Midlands | £38,568 | £37,469 |
| West Midlands | £38,367 | £37,462 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £37,799 | £36,809 |
| North West | £37,543 | £36,408 |
| Wales | £37,505 | £36,616 |
| Scotland | £35,468 | £34,601 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Other nursing professionals
- SOC 2020 code
- 2237
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2026 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “adult nurse” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Other nursing professionals”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS measures other nursing professionals - nurses outside the community, specialist, practitioner and mental health groups.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Adult Nurse salary FAQs
What is the average Adult Nurse salary in the UK?
The median is £39,484 a year and the mean is £38,395, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £44,601 and part-time employees £24,679.
How much does a adult nurse earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £23.85 excluding overtime, or £23.67 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Adult Nurse salary?
Half of adult nurses earn between £28,725 and £48,531. Anything above £48,531 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a adult nurse?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of adult nurses earn under £15,042 and the lowest quarter under £28,725 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid adult nurses earn?
The top 10% of adult nurses earn more than £56,984 a year, and the top quarter more than £48,531. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Which part of the UK pays adult nurses the most?
London, at a median of £46,239, is the highest of the 11 GB regions with a precise ONS estimate; Scotland is the lowest at £35,468. Regions where ONS marks the figure as imprecise are not ranked.
Has adult nurse pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +7.5% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many adult nurses are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 702,000 employee jobs in “Other nursing professionals” (SOC 2237) in the UK. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
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