Adult Nurse Salary in Scotland
Official ONS earnings for Scotland, covering 81,000 jobs.
Median salary — Scotland
£36,254
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 0.7% change on the previous year
Mean
£35,065
Jobs measured
81,000
What most adult nurses actually earn
Half of adult nurses in Scotland earn between £26,456 and £46,836. Earning above £46,836 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
ONS suppresses the detailed spread for this occupation at regional level, so this range describes the wider “Nursing Professionals” group in Scotland.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of adult nurses earn less than this.
How Scotland ranks for adult nurse pay
8th
of 10 GB regions with a published figure
London tops the table on £43,897 and East Midlands sits at the bottom on £35,117. Scotland is £7,643 short of the top.
Ranking compares published regional medians for the same occupation. It says nothing about cost of living — a higher median doesn't survive contact with rent. The cost of living calculator is the honest next step.
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, 2025 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 Scotland?
The median is £36,254 a year and the mean is £35,065, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.
What is a good Adult Nurse salary?
Half of adult nurses earn between £26,456 and £46,836. Anything above £46,836 is in the top quarter for the role.
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, covering 81,000 jobs in this occupation.
Similar roles
Official figures show the market. Your salary shows what employers actually pay.
Add your salary anonymously