Barrister Salary in London
Official ONS earnings for London, covering 15,000 jobs.
Median salary — London
£28,113
gross, per year, all employees
Mean
—
Jobs measured
15,000
What a typical barrister takes home
On the median of £28,113, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£1,980
Take-home a year
£23,761
Income Tax
£3,109
National Insurance
£1,243
What most barristers actually earn
Half of barristers across the UK earn between £21,705 and £60,096. Earning above £60,096 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
This range is UK-wide — ONS publishes no regional breakdown of the spread for this occupation.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of barristers earn less than this.
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Barristers and judges
- SOC 2020 code
- 2411
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS publishes a sampling error of 17.1% for this figure and asks that anything above 10% is treated as imprecise — too few people in this region answered the survey for this occupation. The figure is shown because it is the one ONS published, but it is not firm enough to rank London against anywhere else, so this page doesn't.
ONS doesn't measure “barrister” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Barristers and judges”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS group combines barristers with judges.
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.
Barrister salary FAQs
What is the average Barrister salary in London?
The median is £28,113 a year and the mean is —, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.
How much does a barrister earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £32.05 excluding overtime, or £32.19 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only, so there is no separate rate for London.
What is a good Barrister salary?
Half of barristers earn between £21,705 and £60,096. Anything above £60,096 is in the top quarter for the role.
Do barristers in London earn more than the UK average?
The median in London is £28,113 against £34,253 across the UK, 17.9% lower. ONS marks the London figure as imprecise, so treat the gap as indicative.
How many barristers are there in London?
ASHE counts around 15,000 employee jobs in “Barristers and judges” (SOC 2411) in London. 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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