CNC Machinist Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 48,000 jobs.
Median salary
£35,394
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 3.2% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£35,718
Mean
£36,478
Jobs measured
48,000
What most cnc machinists actually earn
Half of cnc machinists earn between £29,047 and £42,591. Earning above £42,591 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 cnc machinists earn less than this.
CNC Machinist salary by region
11 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| South West | £36,938 | £36,456 |
| South East | £36,504 | £39,346 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £36,476 | £37,453 |
| Scotland | £36,394 | £40,156 |
| East | £35,836 | £36,228 |
| East Midlands | £35,387 | £37,028 |
| North East | £33,847 | £37,158 |
| London | £33,123 | £37,028 |
| West Midlands | £33,025 | £33,158 |
| North West | £32,985 | £36,212 |
| Wales | £28,496 | £30,724 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Metal machining setters and setter-operators
- SOC 2020 code
- 5221
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “cnc machinist” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Metal machining setters and setter-operators”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS measures metal machining setters and setter-operators.
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.
CNC Machinist salary FAQs
What is the average CNC Machinist salary in UK?
The median is £35,394 a year and the mean is £36,478, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £35,718.
What is a good CNC Machinist salary?
Half of cnc machinists earn between £29,047 and £42,591. Anything above £42,591 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 48,000 jobs in this occupation.
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